American Society for Premodern Asia
CALL FOR PAPERS
Two Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Meeting
The 236th Meeting of the ASPA will be held Friday, April 24–Monday April 27, 2026, in Los Angeles, CA USA.
Hotel and Reservations: A block of conference-rate accommodations has been reserved at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, 251 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 USA
The conference rate per night for rooms is $249-$289 (single-double-triple-quad. Occupancy tax is 16.22%.
You must make reservations directly with the hotel well in advance of the meeting, no later than Monday, April 6, 2026. After the cutoff date, any uncommitted rooms in the block we have reserved will be released for general sale, and additional reservation requests will be accepted if rooms are available and without the conference discount. The conference rate also applies 1 day prior and after the conference, based upon availability.
Reservations may be made by phoning the hotel 1-800-THE-OMNI (general Omni number) or (213) 617-3300 (Direct). You need to identify yourself as a member of the AOS. Preferably, reserve by visiting our customized Group Web Page.
The Society’s contract with the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza for securing conference rates requires that a minimum number of rooms per night be reserved and occupied by members for the duration of the meeting. Thus, your stay at the Omni Parker House Hotel assures that the AOS will not be assessed extremely high fees for meeting and banquet space rental. We truly need your cooperation in this matter.
Directions, Parking, and Transportation:
• Travel, Directions, Local Attractions.
All sessions will be held at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza. The Annual Subscription Banquet and Presidential Address will take place on Sunday evening, April 26, also at the hotel. The Program, which will be accessible online in late January 2026, will provide information on other special activities and events to take place during the meeting.
Payment of 2026 Membership Dues and Meeting Pre-Registration Fees
Online Dues and Meeting Pre-Registration Payment:
• Pay 2026 dues online at:
AOS Membership Dues
• Pre-register at:
REGISTER HERE FOR THE 2026 ANNUAL MEETING
On-Line Registration Closes 4/19/2026. Afterwards, only on-site registrations accepted.
Note: If you prefer to submit dues or registration payment by check or credit card and send payment by post, you may use this 2026 Dues Registration Form.
NOTE: You may renew your AOS membership early by viewing your Profile page and finding on the right side: "Your Membership is not yet due for renewal. If you want to renew early, click here"
Otherwise, you may wait until you receive the system-generated dues notice in late October 2025.
Submission of Abstracts
Members of the Society are hereby invited to submit communications to be presented at the 236th Meeting.
Abstracts of no more than 300 words should cover the following points: (a) the precise topic treated, (b) your exact contribution to the problem, (c) its relationship to previous scholarship on the topic, (d) specific conclusions. Please also keep in mind that abstracts of papers accepted for presentation will appear in the published Abstracts in the way in which they have been submitted. It is impossible for this Office to edit them. Please transliterate non-Latin writing systems. Text submitted in non-Latin writing will be not appear in the printed abstracts.
Submission Guidelines (Submit Online or by Email Attachment):
Upload to the AOS site: Select the Abstracts of Communications Folder, and upload to that folder.
Members must log-in to see the Abstracts folder.
Alternatively, you may submit abstracts by email attachment. Use "AOS Abstracts" in the subject line. Abstracts must be in Microsoft Word format or .pdf produced from MS Word. Please name your abstract according to following convention: YourLastNameYourFirstInitial.docx, e.g., RodgersJ.docx. You must include the abstract title and your name, email, and academic affiliation in the abstract. Abstracts need not be submitted anonymously.
Please note that the Program Committee will not accept papers for inclusion on the Program submitted by members who have not paid 2026 membership dues and pre-registration fees in full or who neglect to submit abstracts by the October 31, 2025, deadline.
Members who submit abstracts of papers will be notified of their inclusion on the Program soon after January 15, 2026.
Sectional Committee Chairs, whose names are listed at AOS Officers should be contacted directly only in the matter of organizing special panels.
Papers from non-members, except for those of visiting scholars invited to participate in special panels, cannot be considered because of the expense the Society bears in running the Annual Meeting. When inviting colleagues and students who are not ASPA members to participate in the program, please inform them that they should apply for membership and pre-register at the time they submit abstracts.
Please respond to the Call for Papers only if you plan to attend the Meeting. Failure to present a paper that has been accepted on the Program creates a very poor impression of the Society and is particularly discourteous to those members who may have travelled great distances just to hear certain communications.
Presenters are usually allotted 15 minutes to read their papers. Five minutes of discussion following presentation is the convention, if there is sufficient time. These limits are flexible, depending on the number of papers and available time.
We thank you for your anticipated participation and cooperation.
Important: Finally, the ASPA Election: You are hereby encouraged to submit the names of AOS members whom you consider potential candidates for consideration by the Nominating Committee. Only one candidate, for Vice-President, who succeeds to President the following year, will be on the 2025 ballot. Following tradition, the Vice-Presidential Candidate in this election will be from the South & Southeast Asia Section. Please submit your suggestions to the Chair of the Nomination Committee, Alexei Ditter. Be certain that the potential candidate is a member of the Society by confirming in the Membership Directory (log-in necessary).