Storytelling: Narrating Agency

deadline for submissions: 
March 3, 2023
full name / name of organization: 
University of Idaho English Graduate Association
contact email: 

The University of Idaho English Graduate Association is seeking submissions for our multidisciplinary conference, Storytelling: Narrating Agency. Historically, humans have attributed agency to human consciousness and intentionality, often to exert control over other entities. Narrating Agency is an exploration of the meaning of agency, and what/who can have it. Within and beyond humans, we wonder what has the capacity and drive to enact change? In the stories we read, tell, and see, who has the ability to take action and why? Who are the characters, elements, landscapes, and settings that drive change in our stories of the world around us? How do the narrators and voices of our natural and social world assert themselves, or become silenced, in a story?

No story has a single author. In an increasingly divisive world, we hope to come together to tell our own story; a story of a conference as a confluence of perspectives that form new patterns and ties among different disciplines and agents that we may not always consider when working alone. We challenge you to push the boundaries of who is included in your – or, our – story, from the trees of a forestry study, to the bacteria living in wildfire, to the psychologically confounding identities of our social and bodily realities, and, finally, to any imagery, speaker, perspective, or agent that influences the formation and telling of your story.

We are looking for presentations, panel discussions, and other forms of scholarly engagement that approach these concepts of narrating agency within storytelling. All disciplines of work and all levels of scholars and students are invited to contribute to the conversation, including undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral students, faculty, and community. We aim to broaden “storytelling” as a genre, tool, and method of communication and making meaning. Therefore, we welcome and encourage diverse disciplines with work in areas including, but not limited to, literary analysis, scientific research, creative writing, and visual arts/media.

The conference will be held on April 1st, 2023 on the University of Idaho’s campus in Moscow, Idaho from 9 am - 4 p.m. There will be a keynote presentation from Caj Matheson, Director of Natural Resources for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, on storytelling in Indigenous cultures. The conference will feature approximately 10 symposia and 3 themed panel discussions engaging with various aspects of agency in different fields of study. Proposals will automatically be considered for both individual presentations and themed group (panel) discussions, which will be led by University of Idaho faculty and graduate students. Panel topics will be decided at a later date. We are not accepting pre-formed panels.

To apply for an individual 10 - 15 minute presentation followed by a 5 - 10 Q & A, please submit a titled proposal or abstract of approximately 250 words. Please include your name, affiliations, contact information, and a 1 - 2 sentence biography. You are also welcome to include any essential data or graphics in your abstract.

As you may still be in the process of your creative or scientific work, we encourage presenters to mention how they will adapt or evolve their work as they broaden their perspective of what and who the forces and agents of their project are, and what influence they have on the “story” of your research as a whole.

Please submit submissions to our Google form:

University of Idaho's English Graduate Association Spring Conference Submissions Storytelling: Narrating Agency (google.com)

by March 3, 2023. Additional questions and materials may be sent to idahoenglishga@gmail.com, as well as concerns for audiovisual needs or other accommodations.