Governance of SE17

BYLAWS OF THE SOCIETY FOR

INTERDISCIPLINARY FRENCH SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

PURSUANT TO 13 B M.R.S.A. §101, ET SEQ.

FOR ALL PURPOSE HEREUNDER, THE BYLAWS SHALL BE REFERRED TO AS THE “CONSTITUTION”.

Revised November 7, 2020

(Download a PDF version or download a Word version here.)

ARTICLE I: Name and Logo

The name of the Maine nonprofit corporation as filed with the Secretary of State for Maine is SE17 which stands for “The Society for Interdisciplinary French Seventeenth-Century Studies” (the “Society”) in English, and the “Société d’études pluridisciplinaires du dix-septième siècle français” in French. The SE17 logo is visible at the top of this page. It is the only legitimate SE17 logo. It must be used to identify any and all official SE17 documents, whether in black and white or in color.
Neither the above name or logo may be used by any person or organization in an activity not officially connected to or officially authorized by SE17.

ARTICLE II: Purposes

The purposes of SE17 shall be solely the disinterested promotion and advancement of scholarship in and teaching of all aspects of French seventeenth-century studies.

The purposes of SE17 shall extend to any and all countries, states or territories, where there may be persons residing who are interested in the purposes of SE17.

In the course of its activities, neither SE17, nor any of its individual members acting in duly authorized fashion on behalf of SE17, may engage in other ventures, particularly for-profit commercial enterprise, or use for such purposes the Society's name, or the SE17 logo, in whole or in part, unless duly authorized to do so by the Board of Directors of SE17, as defined in Article III of the Bylaws.

Neither SE17, nor its individual members acting in authorized fashion on behalf of SE17, may, in the course of its activities, promote or endorse a particular political candidate, political point of view, or political agenda, whether American or foreign.

ARTICLE III: Membership

Membership in SE17 shall be open to all persons regardless of age, color, creed, marital status, national origin, nationality, physical disability, political opinions or affiliations, race, sex, or sexual orientation, as consistent with the purposes and activities of SE17. Membership shall be granted by the Board of Directors upon application pursuant to the procedures established by the Board.

An individual's membership in SE17 may be terminated by the member upon notification of the Board of Directors of SE17, or by SE17 upon decision of its Board of Directors, with or without cause, and due notification of the individual member.

Members shall pay annual membership dues for each calendar year, the amount of which to be determined by the SE17 membership at an annual meeting by majority vote of members present. Membership includes annual subscription to the Society’s journal: Cahiers du dix-septième: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a publication which is the sole property of the SE17.

ARTICLE IV: Activities of SE17

The members of SE17 shall meet normally in an Annual Conference, in order to discuss SE17 business, and also to provide individual members with the opportunity to bring before their colleagues the results of their research, consistent with generally accepted standards of scholarship. The latter activity shall take place within regularly organized sessions.

SE17 shall publish the Society’s journal: Cahiers du dix-septième: An Interdisciplinary Journal. All articles published in the Cahiers will be double-blind peer-reviewed, with the exception of special issues, which will be peer-reviewed.

SE17 shall make annual awards for outstanding work in the field of seventeenth-century French studies.

SE17 shall collect donations for the purpose of furthering the work of the Society, supporting the work of graduate students, and awarding travel grants.

ARTICLE V: Registered Office

The corporation’s registered office and primary place of business shall be on the campus of its Executive Director, c/o Katherine Dauge-Roth, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Bowdoin College, 7800 College Station, Brunswick, Maine 04011.

The Annual Conference shall be held in a location approved by the SE17 membership, or by the Board of Directors on behalf of said membership.

ARTICLE VI: Languages

English or French shall be the sole languages used at the Annual Conference, whether in the conduct of official SE17 business, or in the public reading of or responding to research papers.

ARTICLE VII: Annual Conference

Six plenary session topics and one pedagogy session are nominated at the annual Business Meeting and chosen by the membership at large through on-line voting following the conference. The President retains the right to make final decisions as to the retention of session topics and the inclusion of alternative session formats such as workshops and roundtables.

The President will set the conference schedule and determine the number of slots available to plenary session chairs as well as determine the feasibility and number of alternative format sessions prior to the final selection process. The President will follow the conference organization guidelines in consultation with the executive committee.

Anyone wishing to attend the Annual Conference must be, or become, a member of SE17 at the Conference and pay the required registration fee and membership dues if not already paid for the current calendar year, whether or not reading a paper, responding, or chairing a session. Invited plenary speakers and the faculty, staff, and students of the host institution may, at the discretion of the current President, be exempted from paying membership dues and the registration fee. The host institution is defined as the institution of higher learning contributing significantly in cash or in kind to the support of the Annual Conference being held on or near its campus. Other exceptions regarding the payment of the conference registration fee may be made at the discretion of the President.

Subject to the conditions listed in the paragraphs below, all members attending the Annual Conference shall be permitted a maximum of two separate scholarly (not administrative) activities in any one Annual Conference. Scholarly activities consist of reading papers, participating in workshops or roundtables, chairing academic sessions, and/or acting as a respondent in academic sessions.

The President appoints session chairs.

No one may submit for consideration or read more than one paper in the plenary sessions at the Annual Conference. Session chairs reserve the right to forward proposals to another session chair for consideration if they feel the submission is more appropriate for that panel.

No one may both read a paper and act as a discussant or respondent in the same academic session.

No one may chair an academic session and also read a paper in the same session.

No one may chair an academic session, whether the same or a different one, two years consecutively, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.

Papers may not be read in absentia, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. The current President shall decide, upon petition by the conferee, and in consultation with the chair of the affected session, whether granting permission for a reading in absentia is warranted. No paper presentations may be made via virtual means. In any case, the full conference registration fee must have been paid within the prescribed deadline.

ARTICLE VIII: Leadership and Its Election

The Board of Directors consists of the Founder, the Executive Director, the current President, the Past President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Editor, the Website Editor, the Awards Committee Chair, the Communications Officer, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Officers, and the Members-at-large.

Board of Directors members shall be nominated or confirmed and elected at the Annual Conference Business Meeting and shall continue in office according to the terms indicated below until replaced by vote of the membership.

Term Lengths:

a.Upon nomination or confirmation and election, the Executive Director, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Editor, the Website Editor, the Awards Committee Chair, the Communications Officer, and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Officers shall serve a five-year term. At the conclusion of a board member’s five-year term, the member may choose to stand for re-election for additional terms, with no limit on the number of consecutive terms a board member may serve. Nominations will also be solicited from the membership at the conclusion of a board member’s term. The Board of Directors shall work to maintain staggered terms among the above members and may adjust terms as appropriate to achieve this.

b.Upon nomination and election, the current President is chosen and assumes office for a one-year term. The previous year's President becomes past President and remains a member of the Board of Directors for the following year. The six members-at-large are elected for a period of three years, serving staggered terms so that two new members-at-large shall be elected each year to replace two outgoing members.

c.All elected members of the Board of Directors shall begin serving their term upon January 1 of the year following the Annual Conference Business Meeting at which they were elected.

No one may serve in more than one role simultaneously on the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE IX: Definitions and Responsibilities

of Members of the Board of Directors and Officers:

The Founder originally founded the Society in 1982 on the campus of the University of Georgia; as long as he is able, he will continue to assist any other members of the Board of Directors with advice as needed, and participate in the deliberations of the Board of Directors at the Annual Conference.

The current President organizes and chairs the current Annual Conference.

The past President, who organized and hosted the previous year’s Annual Conference, assists the current President with conference organization.

The Executive Director leads and represents the Society, chairs the Board of Directors, carries out the normal business of SE17, maintains the membership database and administrative sections of the website, communicates with the membership, and assists the current President and the rest of the Board of Directors as needed.

The Secretary takes and prepares the minutes, maintains and updates the by-laws, assists the Executive Director with the preparation of meeting agendas and annual reports, the election of officers, and SE17 correspondence, and assists the current President, and the rest of the Board of Directors as needed.

The Treasurer collects membership dues, records dues payments, makes payments to vendors hired by SE17, manages the funds, prepares the annual financial report, files appropriate state and federal documents to maintain the non-profit status of the Society, and assists the current President and the rest of the Board of Directors as needed.

The Editor edits and publishes the Society’s journal: Cahiers du dix-septième: An Interdisciplinary Journal and carries out other duties consistent with this function.

The Website Editor publishes and maintains the joint SE17-NASSCFL Website, with the exception of the administrative sections.

The Awards Committee Chair, leads the Prize Committee in gathering, reviewing, and awarding prizes to annual submissions.

The Communications Officer promotes the Society, its website, and the Cahiers du dix-septième: An Interdisciplinary Journal to its membership and beyond, communicates with other scholarly societies, and assists current President and the rest of Board of Directors as needed.

The two IDEA officers promote inclusion, diversity, equity and access across three domains: the membership of the society, the scholarship of the society, and the annual conference. IDEA is defined as pertaining to diversities of race, gender, national origin, sexuality, ability, socioeconomic and/or academic status. The officers set a list of priorities, tasks, and recommendations regarding these three domains, approved by the Board of Directors. These priorities will have the ultimate aim of sustaining a welcoming, inclusive, diverse, and accessible Society in the long term and responding to any obstacles that may impede these long-term goals.

The members-at-large are elected by the members of SE17. They assist and advise the other members of the Board of Directors as needed, or by conveying to them requests from the general membership.

All such elections shall be solely by the members present during the Business Meeting, with no quorum requirements, voting on the basis of a simple majority.

ARTICLE X: Distribution of Assets upon Dissolution

Upon dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall distribute its assets to another organization dedicated to the promotion and advancement of scholarship in and teaching of all aspects of French seventeenth-century studies that is tax exempt under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

ARTICLE XI: Amendments to the Bylaws

The Bylaws may be amended, in whole or in part, by at least two-thirds of those eligible members of the SE17 voting in person during the Business Meeting at the Society’s Annual Conference. Proxy and/or absentee ballots are not permitted.

OFFICERS (2025)

Officers

(rev. 2025)

BYLAWS (2025)