Chairs and Discussants: Your basic obligations as Chair of a panel are few but nonetheless important. You should gather basic biographical information about the presenters prior to the session so as to introduce them appropriately. You should inform those present that it is customary to defer questions to the end of the session. It is also crucial to manage your scheduled time appropriately. In most sessions, presenters are allotted about fifteen or twenty minutes, and it is the Chair’s duty to cue them when their time elapses, perhaps providing a "five minute warning". As Chair, you are also charged with managing the question-answer period, and you are certainly free to pose questions or make comments yourself. Finally, you should bring your session to a timely close by thanking all those who participated.
Discussants are usually allotted ten to fifteen minutes to comment on the papers and should be respectful to participants by providing constructive criticism. Discussants may focus their comments on various aspects of the paper, including how the paper is organized, what evidence is used, or the logic of the author's arguments.
More guidelines on the roles of all participants may be found at the American Historical Association website.
Discussants are usually allotted ten to fifteen minutes to comment on the papers and should be respectful to participants by providing constructive criticism. Discussants may focus their comments on various aspects of the paper, including how the paper is organized, what evidence is used, or the logic of the author's arguments.
More guidelines on the roles of all participants may be found at the American Historical Association website.