Constitution

ANZSECS Constitution

Drafted 14 November 2014. Approved (with changes) at the Inaugural AGM 12 December 2014.

ARTICLE 1: NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1

The Society shall be called the Australian and New Zealand Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. It shall herein be referred to as “the Society.” Its purposes are to advance interest in the study of the culture and history of the long eighteenth century within Australia and New Zealand, to encourage research and investigation in eighteenth-century studies on a broad interdisciplinary basis in the region, and to acquaint students of the eighteenth century with Australian and New Zealand scholarship in this field.

Section 2

The Society shall accomplish these purposes by promoting the exchange of information and ideas among members of various scholarly disciplines engaged in eighteenth-century studies through meetings, a website, the creation of scholarship programmes, and any other means it deems appropriate.

Section 3

The Society shall accumulate property for the sole purpose of carrying on its stated ends, including the holding of conferences every 3-4 years (the David Nichol Smith Seminar), the maintaining of a website, and the publication of a volume of selected conference proceedings.

Section 4

The fiscal year of the Society shall be from the first day of July to the thirtieth day of June in the following year.

ARTICLE 2: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1

Membership shall be open to all those interested in the purposes of the Society and who pay the annual membership dues determined by the Society.

Section 2

The Society shall decide categories of membership, the amount of dues, and the privileges of membership.

Section 3

The Society may welcome affiliated societies.

Affiliated societies are non-profit societies whose interests coincide with those of the Society. They could be invited to propose sessions for the Society’s conferences.

Candidacies of societies wishing to become affiliated societies must always be accompanied by an introductory dossier. They may originate from the societies themselves, from the Executive Committee or from a petition of fifteen members of the Society in good standing. In the case of candidacies presented by the Executive Committee or by a petition from members, the societies thus presented must give their agreement.

The affiliated societies are accepted by the General Meeting on the basis of a recommendation from the Executive Committee.

Membership in an affiliated society does not exempt individuals, if they wish to participate in the Society’s activities, from paying either their membership fees to the Society or the registration fees for the Society’s conferences.

The association between an affiliated society and the Society shall end when the affiliated society is dissolved, when the aims of the affiliated society no longer correspond to those of the Society, or when the affiliated society or the Society requests it.

ARTICLE 3: GENERAL MEETINGS

There shall be a General Meeting of the membership held during the Society’s conference. Additional meetings may be called by the Executive Committee at times in between and may be held electronically. General Meetings shall be held in order to make decisions affecting the business of the Society and its members. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be twenty members. Only those who are members in good standing of the Society shall be allowed to vote in General Meetings.

ARTICLE 4: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1

There shall be an Executive Committee, which shall meet at the conference of the Society in order to conduct the business of the Society, determine its policies, and administer its affairs in a manner consistent with the Society’s purposes, subject to the direction and approval of the General Meeting of the Society. The quorum for the Executive Committee meeting shall be three. The Executive Committee may also meet at times other than the conference, as determined necessary by the members. As with an additional General Meeting, these may be conducted electronically.

The Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that General Meetings are held, and it must make a full report on its activities, including the administration of prizes and fellowships, at the General Meetings. Members of the Executive, if called upon, will assist in the organization of the programmes for the annual conferences.

Section 2

The members of the Executive Committee shall be:

  1. a. a President
  2. b. a Vice President (or co-Vice Presidents)
  3. c. a Vice President (International), as required
  4. d. a Treasurer
  5. e. a Secretary
  6. f. a Webmaster
  7. g. a News Editor
  8. h. a Postgraduate Student Representative

The members of the Executive Committee shall be chosen in such a way as to ensure that a range of disciplines will be represented.

All members of the Executive Committee will be elected for four-year terms, renewable for one further term, with the exception of the Postgraduate Student Representative. The Postgraduate Student Representative shall be elected by the student members of the Society at the conference for a term of two years, renewable for one further term.

The President shall be responsible for chairing meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Meeting of the membership, raising funds for the Society as a whole, and overseeing the ongoing functioning of the Society as a whole. He or she shall be the Society’s representative with other relevant societies.

The Vice President(s) shall be responsible for organizing, and for raising and disbursing funds for the David Nichol Smith Seminar. He or she will convene and chair the conference committee. The Vice President(s) shall work in consultation with the both the President and the Secretary and Treasurer. As planning the conference is a large responsibility, we anticipate the possibility for the election of co-Vice Presidents who will be based in the same city.

As the society represents scholars from Australia and New Zealand, if the executive does not have representation from both countries, a Vice President (International) will be added to secure this representation. He or she will be responsible for pursuing links with the Asia-Pacific region and to encourage participation by scholars working on subjects outside Europe.

The President or a Vice President will either act as or appoint the Society’s delegate to the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS). The delegate shall participate in the congresses and meetings of that society and prepare a report for the Executive Committee on all matters concerning the two societies.

The Secretary shall be responsible for:

  1. a. The maintenance of Society records.
  2. b. Correspondence with other organizations and learned societies, such as ISECS, ASECS, BSECS, the George Rudé Society and the Romantic Studies Association of Australasia.
  3. c. Coordinating relations with sister societies and affiliated societies, in concert with the Society’s delegate to ISECS.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for:

  1. a. Matters pertaining to membership in the Society.
  2. b. The administration of the finances associated with the continuing operation of the Society, including receiving dues and disbursing them as directed by the membership, the administration of travel grants, prizes and bursaries, and the payment of Society dues for membership in national and international organizations.
  3. c. The submission of grant applications and financial statements, as required and in consultation with the President and relevant members of the Executive Committee.

The Webmaster is responsible for the administration and the regular updating of the Society’s website and connecting members, where possible, through other forms of social media.

The News Editor is responsible for soliciting and preparing content for a regular newsletter. He or she will provide content to the Webmaster for the Society’s website.

The Postgraduate Student Representative shall meet with the student members of the Society at the conference of the Society and shall maintain contact with student members throughout the year.

Section 3

The members of the Executive Committee shall ordinarily be elected by the membership of the Society at the General Meeting. If any vacancies arise because of resignation or death, these may be filled by the Executive Committee without the ratification of the membership of the Society.

Section 4

In the interval between the meetings of the Executive Committee, extraordinary business may be handled by the President, the Vice President(s), or the Secretary and Treasurer, in consultation with other members of the Executive.

ARTICLE 5: CONFERENCES

Section 1

The David Nichol Smith Seminar will provide the occasion for the Society’s conference. The conference takes place once every three to four years and attempts to respect the geographical distribution between Australia and New Zealand.

Section 2

Only members of the Society in good standing may present papers at the conferences.

Section 3

The conference themes are determined by the Executive Committee and the organizing committee of each conference.

ARTICLE 6: AMENDMENTS

The Constitution of the Society may be amended by a two-thirds majority of those voting, either at a General Meeting of the Society, or in a postal or electronic ballot. One month before the ballot, the proposed amendments must be discussed by the Executive Committee, and then put forward to the membership for consideration or ratification.

Advertisement