Recent work has demonstrated the positive impact of incorporating linguistic representations as additional context and scaffolding on the in-domain performance of several NLP tasks.We extend this work by exploring the impact of linguistic representations on cross-domain performance in a few-shot transfer setting.An important question is whether linguistic representations enhance generalizability by providing features that function as cross-domain pivots.We focus on the task of relation extraction on three datasets of procedural text in two domains, cooking and materials science.Our approach augments a popular transformerbased architecture by alternately incorporating syntactic and semantic graphs constructed by freely available off-the-shelf tools.We examine their utility for enhancing generalization, and investigate whether earlier findings, e.g. that semantic representations can be more helpful than syntactic ones, extend to relation extraction in multiple domains.We find that while the inclusion of these graphs results in significantly higher performance in few-shot transfer, both types of graph exhibit roughly equivalent utility.

NLP is in a period of disruptive change that is impacting our methodologies, funding sources, and public perception.In this work, we seek to understand how to shape our future by better understanding our past.We study factors that shape NLP as a field, including culture, incentives, and infrastructure by conducting longform interviews with 26 NLP researchers of varying seniority, research area, institution, and social identity.Our interviewees identify cyclical patterns in the field, as well as new shifts without historical parallel, including changes in benchmark culture and software infrastructure.We complement this discussion with quantitative analysis of citation, authorship, and language use in the ACL Anthology over time.We conclude by discussing shared visions, concerns, and hopes for the future of NLP.We hope that this study of our field's past and present can prompt informed discussion of our community's implicit norms and more deliberate action to consciously shape the future.