CFP for chapter contributions to book edited by the “VR as Empathy Machine: Media, Migration and theHumanitarian Predicament” Research Group at Utrecht University 

Book Title: Beyond the Empathy Machine: Critical Perspectives on Virtual Reality

The Cultural Studies Cell

Department of English and Cultural Studies

CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bangalore

in collaboration with

Department of English 

Panihati Mahavidyalya

Organizes

A Symposium on 

Raymond Williams’ Keywords at 50

Dates: February 12-14, 2026

In the sociology of knowledge, some scholars argue that human memory can only function within a collective context (Halbwachs, 1968/2018). Others place the search for knowledge within the discipline of genealogy (Foucault, 2022; Mendoza, 2024). Qualitative research, on the other hand, is where sociology and philosophy intersect (Silverman, 2020; Adorno, 2022; Adorno, 1976). Genealogy, in the context of this volume, refers to the ancestry or history of a discipline, profession, or people (Haley, 1976/2021; Martin, 2016; Nietzsche, 1887/2022).  The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about change and continuity in qualitative research (Jung, 2019; Mosweu, 2025).

“Childhood in the Meantime: Interrupting Temporalities of Youth”

American Studies Association, Chicago, Oct. 22-25, 2026

The Children and Youth Studies Caucus seek panelists for a session entitled “Childhood in the Meantime: Interrupting Temporalities of Youth” for the American Studies Association 2026 meeting. We seek papers that consider the multiple temporalities that children are expected to inhabit: normative developmental timelines, trajectories oriented toward futures that adhere to the state-sanctioned scripts for proper adult citizenship, and culturally-accepted deviations of “sideways growth” that can ultimately be assimilated into dominant narratives of childhood presents and futures.

Queer and minor audiovisual practices increasingly challenge the assumption that any form of visibility offers a reliable route to recognition or to political and evidentiary clarity. This panel asks how, rather than treating visibility or audibility as stable states, we might attend to the ways vocal fabulations, relational and spatial practices of telling, and imaginative or speculative interventions unsettle the evidentiary burdens traditionally placed on marginalized histories. In other words, we are interested in forms that make presence felt without fully disclosing it, and in the tensions that emerge when bodies, voices, images, and testimonies exceed the representational frames built to contain them.

The historical relationship between Muslims and Christians dates back to the seventh century C.E., when Islam began to spread throughout the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent; by the early eighth century, parts of Europe were under Muslim control. Consequently, this Special Issue seeks to understand Christian–Muslim interactions over the centuries. Recent studies of Syriac texts reveal early interactions between Christians and Muslims, the beginning of centuries of Christian–Muslim dialogues, debates, and perspectives that continue into the present day.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The First Transdisciplinary Forum on Art, Culture, History, and Theory

May 2026, Online 

The Global Forum on Art, Culture, History, and Theory (ACHT) hosted by Kaarnamaa Institute of Art and Visual Culture invites submissions.  

Call for Proposals for Vol. 4, Issue 1–Jackson & Animality [deadline extended: Feb. 1, 2026]

The Washington Irving Society (washingtonirvingsociety.org) invites papers discussing innovative ways to teach and/or research Washington Irving and his texts, for the American Literature Association Conference in Chicago, May 20-23, 2026. We welcome papers offering new insight into “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and also encourage insightful studies into other Irving texts. Please send an abstract of approximately 250 words plus a brief bio to Dr.

LOOK! : a graduate student workshop 

Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender
Columbia University

April 17–18, 2026

The next Conference on John Milton will be held at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT from 22–24 October 2026.

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers addressing any aspect of Milton's life or work, including papers that explore connections between Milton and other writers or artists of the time period (or beyond). Proposals for panels or sessions are also welcome.

Please send abstracts of 150–200 words along with a CV to jason_kerr@byu.edu by 31 January 2026.

For updates, bookmark the conference website: https://english.byu.edu/conference-on-john-milton-2026

American Literature Association

May 20-23, 2026

Chicago, IL

Thoreau and Abolition

This roundtable seeks to explore Thoreau’s relation to the abolitionist movement, whether through his antislavery writings, his biography, or the legacies and afterlives of some of his more famous essays such as “Civil Disobedience.” We are interested in papers that explore any aspect of his political and/or abolitionist thought, his political-economic critiques, or the intertwinement of Thoreau’s ecological and antislavery thinking. We also welcome papers that consider how turning to Thoreau or the politics of nineteenth-century abolition in these terrible times provides us with political paths forward.

English

The University of Florida, the University of North Florida, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and the Transborder Digital Humanities Center and Consortium (TBDH) at the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) will host the fourth annual Latin American & Caribbean Digital Humanities Symposium from September 8-10, 2026, in person at the UT San Antonio-Downtown campus. The symposium will also offer virtual sessions the week of September 21, 2026. 

The theme of Mind and Body resonates with recent publications in Old Norse scholarship, such as Saga Emotions (2025) and The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World (2023), considering how the mental and physical is understood and represented in the Old Norse world. This conference aims to tackle questions of how the mind and body are represented and understood in Old Norse-Icelandic language and literature, Icelandic and Scandinavian history and culture, and more. Potential topics may include (but not limited to):

• Emotions

• Dreams, Visions, and Magic

• Gender (non-)conformity

Journal of Travel Literature Studies (JTLS) (ISSN: 3106-6674，EISSN：3106-6682) is a rigorously peer-reviewed international academic journal, formally published by Hong Kong HIEP Press.. The journal is edited by Professor Tian Junwu of Beihang University. The journal welcomes submissions in both Chinese and English. It is dedicated to advancing foundational theoretical and methodological research in the field of travel literature. Unconstrained by temporal or geographical boundaries, JTLS seeks to showcase the diverse textual paradigms and narrative characteristics of travel literature, while encouraging interdisciplinary perspectives and pluralistic critical approaches.

School of Humanities and Performing Arts

Department of English and Cultural Studies

Central Campus

CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bangalore

Organizes

Mélange

An MA in English with Communication Studies Initiative

&

A Student Led - Postgraduate International Conference on

I seek submissions for a Critical Insights anthology, under contract with Salem Press. The volume will explore quite possibly the greatest female American novelist of the mid-twentieth century, Shirley Jackson. Known and renown for her gothic horrors and suspenseful mysteries, Jackson (1916-1965) may be best remembered for her shorter works such as “The Lottery,” “The Summer People,” and We Have Always Lived in the Castle as well as her landmark and frequently adapted novel The Haunting of Hill House.

The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society invites proposals for one panel at the American Literature Association 37th Annual Conference, May 20-23, 2026, in Chicago. Any topic related to Ralph Waldo Emerson, transcendentalism, or related figures is welcome. Please send 300-word abstracts by email to Bill Scalia (bscalia@alumni.lsu.edu) and John Min (john.min@csn.edu). The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, 15 January 2026.

Florida Atlantic University’s English Graduate Student Society (EGSS) is pleased to announce the return of our annual academic conference, to be held in person on FAU’s Boca Raton campus on Saturday, April 4, 2026. 

This conference is completely free for presenters and attendees. We invite undergraduate and graduate students from all institutions, as well as independent scholars, educators, and creatives, to explore the theme of “(Re)memory” through both academic and creative work.

The Immersive Experience Alliance (IXA), in partnership with Agog, is proud to announce the launch of the Immersive Impact Review, a new open-access publication dedicated to advancing knowledge at the intersection of immersive technologies and social good. We invite submissions for our inaugural issue exploring the theme of “Value(s) in Practice.”

The Association for Computers and the Humanities (ACH) will be holding our annual virtual conference, ACH 2026, from June 24 to 26, 2026. We are excited to share our annual call for papers, due February 2, 2026: https://ach2026.ach.org/en/cfp/

Through their intricately textured scenes and characters, the ten plays of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle chart the epic historical contours and idiomatic genius of Black American life across the entire twentieth century. Despite his plans for continued literary production after the Cycle’s completion, Wilson died shortly after the final play (Radio Golf)’s world premiere in 2005. 

Two decades hence, and now in the second quarter of the twenty-first century, Wilson’s presence and prescience in American culture are not only enduring but expanding:

**Extended Deadline!**

We welcome proposals that investigate aurality across media and genres, including literature, film, television, radio, theatre, podcasting, music, video games, and performance. Paper proposals might consider how adaptation translates, transforms, or reimagines texts as auditory experiences.

Sessions will be held on the Burman University campus, but we will also offer “Early Bird” and “Night Owl” online sessions for scholars facing travel difficulties at the moment. Please select “Online” on the proposal form if you are interested in this option.

It’s in their Blood:

Television Series and the Representation of Violence in the 21st Century

International conference hosted by

Metropolitan University Prague and

ULICES – University of Lisbon Center for English Studies,

School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon.

6-7 March, 2026

Online