Symposium Meaning: What a Symposium Is and How It Differs From a Conference

TL;DR

• A symposium is a meeting where a few experts each present on one theme, then discuss it under a chair, usually with questions from the room.
• The dictionaries agree on the core. Oxford even calls a symposium “a small conference”.
• The word comes from the Greek for a drinking party.
• A conference is broader, a summit is defined by who attends, a convention is a members’ gathering and a colloquium is academic.
• The standard format: three or four linked papers in a 60 or 90 minute slot, a chair, often a discussant, and protected question time.

For an organiser, the symposium meaning is practical: a symposium is a tightly themed meeting where a handful of experts each give a short paper on one subject, then discuss it with each other and the room under a chair. It can be one session inside a bigger conference or an event in its own right. The single theme and the discussion make it a symposium, not the size of the venue. If you are writing an agenda or a call for papers, this is the definition to work from.

What is a symposium?

A symposium is a formal meeting where experts discuss one subject, usually through short presentations followed by discussion. The big dictionaries say much the same thing, with different emphasis.

• The Cambridge Dictionary describes an occasion where people with great knowledge of a subject meet to discuss a matter of interest.
• The Oxford Learner’s dictionary describes a meeting at which experts discuss a particular subject, and adds: a small conference.
• Collins lists three senses: a meeting to discuss a subject, especially an academic topic or social problem; a collection of scholarly papers published together; and a classical Greek drinking party with intellectual conversation.

The second Collins sense catches people out. A journal “symposium” is a set of papers on one theme printed together, with no meeting at all.

For event purposes, three words do the work: experts, one subject, discussion. The speakers are expected to engage with each other, not deliver separate keynotes and leave.

Where does the symposium meaning come from?

The word comes from the Greek sumposion, built from “together” and “drinker”, so it first meant a drinking party. Oxford’s word origin dates the English word to the late 16th century, when it still meant exactly that.

In ancient Greece a symposium was an aristocratic banquet where men discussed philosophy and poetry, and Plato’s Symposium is a dialogue in which Socrates and others debate the nature of love.

The wine has mostly gone. The experts talking about one theme stayed.

How do you pronounce symposium, and what is the plural?

Say it sim-POH-zee-um, with the stress on the second syllable. Cambridge accepts both plurals, symposia and symposiums. Academic calls for papers tend to say symposia. Pick one and stick to it on your agenda and signage.

What a modern symposium looks like

A modern symposium is built from linked papers, not standalone talks. Learned societies spell the format out in their calls for submissions, and the shape barely changes from one to the next.

• BERA’s call for its 2014 conference asked for symposia of three or four linked papers in 90-minute slots, naming a convenor and a discussant, plus a 400-word overview showing how the papers hang together.
• The SAPC (Society for Academic Primary Care) describes a mini-symposium as 3 or 4 presentations on one theme in a 60 or 90 minute session, chaired by its organiser, with time for discussion and an optional discussant.
• The SRHE conference set four to six papers per symposium in 2017, each held to the same quality bar as an individual paper.

The discussant needs a word of explanation. Their job is to respond to the papers as a set and draw out the links and disagreements. Here is a sample 90-minute session with three papers:

The same shape works outside academia. If you are running a sector or internal leadership symposium, link the papers properly and protect the discussion time.

Symposium vs conference: what is the difference?

A symposium is narrower and more discursive; a conference is broader and bigger. Oxford defines a conference as a large official meeting, usually lasting a few days, where people with the same work or interests discuss their views. Put that next to its symposium entry and the gap is mostly scale and focus.

The difference shows up in four places:

• Scope. A conference covers a whole field. A symposium sticks to one question.
• Size. Conferences often run parallel streams, while a symposium is usually one room and often just one session inside a conference.
• Format. Conference talks often stand alone. Symposium papers are chosen to speak to each other, and the discussion is the point, not the bit you cut when the morning overruns.
• Length. Days for a conference; 60 or 90 minutes for a society symposium.

Many conferences contain symposia, which is exactly how BERA and SAPC use the word.

Symposium, conference, summit, convention and colloquium compared

What is a summit, a convention or a colloquium?

A summit is defined by the seniority of the people in the room, a convention by membership, and a colloquium by academic discussion.

What is a summit?

Collins defines a summit as a meeting of chiefs of governments or other high officials. Business borrowed the word, so a “leadership summit” promises that the decision-makers will be there. If they won’t be, don’t call it a summit.

What is a convention?

Oxford defines a convention as a large meeting of the members of a profession or a political party, and gives conference as a synonym. British English tends to say conference: Oxford’s own example sentence mentions the Labour Party’s annual conference.

What is a colloquium?

Oxford calls a colloquium a formal academic seminar or conference, from the Latin for “to converse”. You will mostly meet it in universities. Outside academia it can sound obscure, and most delegates grasp “symposium” faster.

Does the symposium meaning fit your event?

Call it a symposium if three things are true: one clearly defined theme, speakers with real expertise, and discussion time that is protected rather than squeezed. If one is missing, use a more honest name:

• Many unrelated talks across a day: a conference.
• One expert teaching a group: a seminar.
• One conversation between three or four people on stage: a panel discussion.
• Senior leaders meeting to decide things: a summit.

The name sets expectations. A delegate who signs up for a symposium expects depth and debate, not a string of sales presentations.

How a host runs a symposium

The chair carries a symposium. SAPC gives that role to the organiser, but at a corporate or professional event it often works better with someone whose only job is the room. That is where a chair or moderator earns their place.

I have hosted 800+ events as a host and panel moderator, and chairing a symposium uses the same skills as moderating a panel. The jobs:

1. Frame the theme in two minutes, so the room knows why these papers sit together.
2. Hold every presenter to time. In a 90-minute slot, one paper that runs ten minutes over eats 10 of the 25 discussion minutes.
3. Brief the discussant to draw out links and disagreements, not give a fourth paper.
4. Run the questions. I use RoomReader, my own live Q&A software, included with hosting. Delegates send questions from their phones, nothing to download, so I can group them by paper instead of taking whoever reaches the microphone first.
5. Close properly: what was agreed, what was not, and what happens next.

If symposia sit inside a bigger programme, the conference agenda template shows where they fit, and the guide to host a conference covers the rest of the day.

Planning a symposium, or a conference with symposium sessions, and want a chair who keeps the whole room with you? Send the agenda or check availability at hello@conferencehost.uk.