Decolonising the Digital: Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equitable Knowledge Production

deadline for submissions: 

September 20, 2026

full name / name of organization: 

DHARTI 2026 Biennial Conference

contact email: 

tanmoy.putatunda@gmail.com

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

DHARTI 2026 Biennial ConferenceDecolonising the Digital: Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equitable Knowledge Production

18–20 December 2026
KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Hosted by KIIT Deemed to be University in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Alliance for Research and Teaching Innovations (DHARTI).

The conference has received a Letter of Intent from Peter Lang for a proposed edited volume, which is being considered for Scopus-indexed publication.

Conference Theme

DHARTI 2026 foregrounds Digital Humanities as a critical site for examining social justice, digital inclusion, digital justice, infrastructural access, representation, and epistemic inequality, particularly in Global Majority contexts.

The conference invites critical, creative, interdisciplinary, and practice-based engagements that explore how Digital Humanities can move beyond techno-deterministic approaches towards more inclusive, multilingual, community-oriented, and socially grounded practices.

We welcome scholars, researchers, educators, artists, archivists, technologists, activists, community practitioners, students, and other engaged stakeholders.

Suggested Sub-Themes

Contributions may address, but are not limited to:

• · Decolonising Digital Humanities and decolonial practices
• · Digital justice, infrastructural inequalities, and digital futures
• · Digital justice and literary/cultural expressions
• · Collaborative knowledge production and digital spaces
• · Archives, memory, and digital preservation
• · Language technologies and multilingual futures
• · Digital pedagogy and curricular practices
• · Visual cultures and media ecologies
• · Platform studies and algorithmic cultures
• · Digital archives, marginalised communities, and Indigenous knowledge systems
• · Digital Humanities, urban studies, mapping, and spatiality
• · Accessibility and inclusive digital practices
• · Digital labour and data politics
• · Responsible computing, data ethics, and AI governance
• · Participatory and relational AI/ML practices in India and the Global South
• · Race, class, caste, religion, gender, and Digital Humanities
• · Black Digital Humanities and Afrofuturism
• · Digital Humanities and Dalit Futurism
• · Environmental Humanities and digital ecologies
• · Digital storytelling, creative practice, and interactive media
• · Public Digital Humanities and community engagement

Modes of Participation

Academic Papers
15-minute presentation followed by discussion.

Panel Proposals
3–4 papers organised around a common theme, with attention to plurality of perspectives.

Poster Presentations
For completed or ongoing research, digital projects, datasets, and practice-based initiatives.

Pre-conference Workshops
Proposals for workshops are invited from DHARTI members.

Submission Guidelines

Individual Papers

• · Title
• · Extended abstract: 750–1000 words
• · 4–5 keywords

Panels

• · Panel rationale: 500 words
• · Individual abstracts: 750–1000 words per panelist
• · Details of all presenters

Posters

• · Title
• · Abstract: 500–750 words
• · 4–5 keywords

Important Dates

• · Abstract Submission Deadline (Extended): 20 September 2026
• · Notification of Acceptance: 10 October 2026
• · Early-Bird Registration Deadline: 30 October 2026
• · Regular Registration Deadline: 20 November 2026
• · Conference: 18–20 December 2026

Submissions will be made through the online submission portal: https://tinyurl.com/46krkzjb

In case technical problems still persist and you are unable to register or submit through the open review system, you may send your submission directly to both of the following email ids: dhalliance@gmail.com and conference.ksll@kiit.ac.in.

For information on registration, fees, DHARTI membership, publication opportunities, accommodation, and other conference details, please visit the DHARTI 2026 conference website: https://dhdharti.in/dharti2026-call-for-papers/

We invite contributions that critically interrogate, creatively imagine, and collaboratively build more equitable digital futures.

DHARTI 2026 | KIIT Deemed to be University | Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India