FAQ: First Biennial conference

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the First Biennial Conference of the International Association of Inter-American Studies

How do I get to Essen?
Please plan to make your own travel arrangements and please request travel funding from your home institution. If you are traveling by airplane, the closest airport to fly into is Duesseldorf. From Duesseldorf there is a direct train connection to Essen main station about once every half hour. The train ride from Duesseldorf airport to Essen takes about half an hour. Another option is to fly into Frankfurt, from where there are direct trains to Essen about once every hour. The train ride from Frankfurt to Essen takes about two hours. When traveling by train, please get a ticket for “Essen Hauptbahnhof,” the main train station.
For instructions on how to get to Essen from the airport, how to get to your hotel, and how to get to the conference location, please click here.

For a map of Essen public transportation, please click here.

Where do I stay?
We have been able to negotiate special rates with seven hotels in Essen. Bookings for five of them are managed through the Essen Tourism Board (“Essen Marketing”). With the other two, you can reserve a room directly with the hotel. Please be aware that special rates at the hotels managed through the Tourism Board are granted only for bookings up until October 11, 2010.
Click here for a description of the seven hotels.
Click here for the Essen Tourism Board’s booking form, which is to be used for five of our seven conference hotels.

How will I get to the conference?
Most conference hotels (except for InterCity Hotel Essen and Bildungshotel) are located within walking distance from the conference. If you are using Google Maps, please enter “Universitätsstraße 12, Essen” as your destination and find the best route from your hotel to the conference.
Click here for directions on how to reach the conference location by public transportation.
Click here for a map of Essen public transportation.

When should I be at the conference?
The conference organizers would very much appreciate it if all conference participants could attend the whole conference. The conference will start mid-morning on Thursday, November 11 and end late evening on Saturday, November 13. If this is at all possible for you, please plan to arrive in Essen, on Wednesday, November 10 and stay until Sunday, November 14.


Where can I park my car?

Please check whether the hotel of your choice has parking facilities. If you are planning to drive from your hotel to the conference rather than taking public transportation: There is a parking structure located opposite the conference location on Universitätsstraße. Parking is free there and there are usually parking spaces available any time of the day. Please make sure to remove your car from the parking structure by 10:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. At those times the structure will be closing for the night.


When and where do I register for the conference?

Please complete the Registration Form and send it to amerikanistik@uni-due.de or fax it to +49-201-183-4224 by October 15, 2010. Please also pay your registration fee and other fees by that date (see bottom of registration form for details).


When and where do I check in at the conference?
At the conference, please check in at the registration office to receive your name tag and conference folder. To check in: As you get to the corner of Universitätsstraße and Gladbecker Straße, please enter the building marked “R12.” As you enter, you will see a cafeteria on your right and an information booth in front of you. Please pass the information booth toward the left and take the first possible left. This will lead you into an area called “Glaspavillon.” There you will see the conference office.

Will there be a registration fee?
Yes. The registration fee will be 40 euros for members of the association who are university-employed and 50 euros for university-employed non-members of the association. The registration fee for undergraduate and graduate students, PhD candidates, and unemployed participants is 25 euros for members of the association and 35 euros for non-members. These funds will be used toward covering the costs of coffee breaks, the catered lunch on Saturday, conference materials etc. The conference registration fee also includes admission to the performance by Monica Palacios. Please pay your registration fee and other fees by October 15, 2010 either by bank transfer or through PayPal (see bottom of registration form for details).

Which additional expenses and options will there be?
Lunch on Thursday and on Friday as well as dinner on Friday are self-pay.
Late afternoon on Saturday there will be a sightseeing tour. Participation will be 10 euros.
On Saturday evening we will celebrate an end-of-conference party. (Dancing is encouraged.) The party will take place at a unique location with artists’ studios, community meeting rooms, and performance space. 30 euros will be added to the registration fee of those participants attending the end-of-conference “all you can eat and drink” party. For those 30 euros you may help yourself between 7:00 p.m. and midnight to the buffet dinner (which will include vegetarian options) as well as all the non-alcoholic drinks, beer, and wine you desire.

For which events do I have to sign up; for which will I be automatically included?
On the conference registration form please indicate whether you will be attending

  • the reception by the President of the University of Duisburg-Essen on Thursday, Nov. 11 in the evening,
  • the conference dinner on Friday, Nov. 12, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.,
  • the conference luncheon on Saturday, Nov. 13,
  • the sightseeing tour late afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 13 (extra change: 10 euros)
  • the end of conference party on Saturday, Nov. 13 in the evening (extra charge for the all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet: 30 euros)

All registered conference participants are automatically admitted to the performance by California performance artist Monica Palacios the evening of Friday, November 12 at no extra charge.

How can I pay my registration fee?
We ask that you pay your registration fee plus the fees for the sightseeing program and for the end-of-conference party (if you will be participating in those events) by October 15, 2010. The two preferred payment options are a bank transfer or credit card payment through PayPal:

  • Bank transfer from within Germany: Universitätskasse Duisburg-Essen, Sparkasse Essen, BLZ: 360 501 05, Kto. 248 997, Verwendungszweck: “AA00058A Transnational Americas”
  • Bank transfer from abroad: Name of account: Universitaetskasse Duisburg-Essen, Bank: Sparkasse Essen, IBAN: DE40 3605 0105 000 248 997, BIC: SPESDE 3EXXX, Reference: “AA00058A Transnational Americas”
  • Credit card payment: Please go to this page. Click on the “Donate” button. Proceed, although the system will tell you that your payment is for “English Membership IAS.”

If you cannot pay by bank transfer and if you do not have a credit card, please pay in euro cash as you pick up your conference folder from the conference office. No checks.

When will the conference program be available?
A preliminary program will be posted here in mid-October. The final program (along with abstracts of all presentations) will be available in the conference folders that participants will receive as they check into the conference office.

When will the conference office be open?
Thu., Nov. 11: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 12: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 13: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

How many people will be attending the conference?
We are expecting about 80 presenters plus about 50 conference participants who will not be presenting papers.

What and where will I eat?
A list of restaurant recommendations will be included in your conference folder. Vegetarian options will be available throughout the conference. During the conference it would be nice if all participants could take meals together. Lunches on Thursday and Friday will be taken at the university commons, where everyone will pay for her/his own meal and a seating area will be reserved for conference participants. Lunch on Saturday will be catered and will be taken at a student union facility. The dinner reception on Thursday will be catered at a university club. Dinner on Friday will be self-pay at the Italian restaurant “Capobianco” (www.ristorante-capobianco.com). For this conference dinner, please indicate on the registration form which one of three dishes you would like to pre-order. Dinner on Saturday will be part of the (all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink) end-of-conference party (see above under “Which additional expenses…”) held at “Unperfekthaus” (www.unperfekthaus.de).

Which technical equipment is available at the conference?
On the conference registration form please note which technical equipment you will need. Projectors and loudspeakers will be in all conference rooms. If you need a DVD player or a VHS player, please let us know on the registration form. If you are using PowerPoint, you can bring your presentation along on a memory stick or disk. If you prefer to hook up your own laptop to the projector and/or loudspeakers, this can also be done. Internet access during presentations is possible.


How long should my presentation be?

In general, presentations in panels should be no longer than 25 minutes. If there is also a respondent on the panel, presentations should be shorter. We want to allow at least 25 minutes of discussion time per panel.

Will essay versions of conference presentations be published?
One or more volumes of essays based on selected conference presentations will be published. You will be approached either by your panel chair or by the conference organizers.

Can I check e-mail and go on the Internet?
Most conference hotels offer internet access—either in the rooms or in the lobby. Please check with the hotel of your choice. The university campus is equipped with WLAN. Please bring your own laptop if you want to use the Internet or check e-mail on campus. You will receive a WLAN/WiFi access code and password in your conference folder.

When can I see the city of Essen? What is there to see?
We would like to encourage all conference participants to attend the complete conference and to schedule any sightseeing for either the Wednesday before or the Sunday after the conference.

Essen is located in what used to be the industrial heartland of Germany. In past decades the city (about 600,000 inhabitants) has, however, transformed itself into a business and administration center. This year, Essen is “European Capital of Culture.”

In our conference sightseeing tour late afternoon on Saturday we will visit Zeche Zollverein, a former coal mine and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Get an impression at their webpage.

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For some general information on Essen please refer to this site.
For sightseeing suggestions, please consult this site.
Essen’s most prominent museum is Museum Folkwang. Get an impression at the Museum’s Website. At the time of the conference the museum will be showing a special exhibit entitled “Images of a Capital: The Impressionists in Paris.” For a preview of this exhibit click here

Is there an emergency telephone number?
During business hours and during the conference you can reach the conference staff at 0201-183-3411 (if you are calling from within Germany). If you are using a cell phone and your provider is outside of Germany, you may need to dial the country code “49,” followed by the area code “201.” From the U.S. call 011-49-201-183-3411. From other countries use that country’s international code followed by 49-201-183-3411.