Constitution

Constitution

Article I. Name. The name of this society shall be The International Society for the Study of Narrative.

Article II. Purpose. The purpose of the society shall be to promote research and teaching in the field of narrative studies. The Society welcomes members who work on narrative in any language, any discipline, and any medium.

Article III. Membership. Membership shall be open to scholars, students, and other persons interested in narrative.

Article IV. Officers. The officers of the Society shall form the Executive Council of the Society. The officers shall be a President, a Past President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, six members-at-large, a Secretary-Treasurer, the editor(s) of Narrative, the conference liaison(s), two members of the Graduate Student and Contingent Faculty Caucus. and an Outreach Coordinator. The President shall preside at meetings of the Executive Council, and at general meetings of the Society. The Past President (the immediate predecessor of the President) shall advise the President and the other members of the Presidential Committee and the Executive Council and shall perform duties as assigned by these Committees. The First Vice-President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President. The Second Vice-President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and First Vice-President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the minutes of the meetings and provide periodic reports on the finances of the Society. The Outreach Coordinator shall oversee the Society’s listserv, its activities on social media, and its on-line elections and other surveys. The Outreach Coordinator will also be responsible for keeping the Society’s website up-to-date.

Article V. Presidential Committee. The Presidential Committee of the Society shall consist of the presidential officers. The Presidential Committee shall be responsible for advancing the interests of the Society and implementing its policies in the intervals between meetings of the Executive Council and the general membership at the annual conference.

Article VI. Executive Council. The Executive Council shall serve as the major policy-making body of the Society as well as the group that oversees the regular activities of the Society such as the annual Conference, the journal, and the work of the Committees designated in the By-Laws. 

Article VII. Election of Council Members. The Society shall hold an annual election to select a second Vice-President and two members-at-large. The second Vice-President moves through the rotation of presidential officers described in Article IV. Members-at-large serve three-year terms. Other members of the Council are ex officio, and they serve five-year, renewable terms.

Article VIII. Amendments. Amendments to the Constitution must be approved by vote of two-thirds of the members responding to an on-line ballot. 

Article IX. Purpose of Organization. Said organization qualifies as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. 

Article X. Permitted Activities. No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the purpose clause hereof. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. 

Article XI. Dissolution Statement. Upon dissolution of the Society, assets shall be distributed to one or more tax-exempt non-profit organizations with similar educational goals within the meaning of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes. (Amended December 2024)