Organizers: Rhema Hokama (University of Washington) and Mihoko Suzuki (University of Miami)

This is a call for submissions for a guaranteed session in English Literature sponsored by the Renaissance Society of America for the 2026 RSA conference in San Francisco (February 19–21, 2026).

This roundtable will discuss new research on East or Southeast Asia in the context of global literary studies. We welcome contributions that explore literary, cultural, and intellectual exchanges involving Asia across time periods and geographies, including both comparative and connective approaches. Presenters may address material and textual circulation, translation, critical methodology, or the theoretical frameworks that shape our understanding of global literary history and cultural contact. Each speaker will have the opportunity to talk about new directions in their research for 5 to 10 minutes at the start of the roundtable, which will be followed by open discussion.

We especially encourage scholars to reflect on the challenges and possibilities of integrating European literary and historical ideas about East and Southeast Asian materials, languages, and perspectives into broader narratives of literary study. How do such engagements reshape disciplinary boundaries, historical periodization, or concepts such as world literature, cosmopolitanism, or transnationalism?

Topics might include:

• Travel writing and literature of travel focusing on European encounters in Asia
• European theological responses to Asian religions and ethics
• Early forms of ethnography focusing on Asian peoples and cultures
• Bidirectional exchanges in scientific, printing, or cartographical knowledge between Europe and Asia
• Cross-cultural translation and textual transmission in Europe and Asia
• European literary networks involving East or Southeast Asia
• Problems and methods in multilingual and global literary study
• New approaches to archives, print cultures, or travel writing
• Pedagogical or institutional dimensions of global literary studies

Please submit the following materials to Rhema Hokama at rhema@uw.edu by July 15, 2025:

• Topic title (15-word maximum)
• Topic abstract for a short project presentation (200-word maximum)
• CV
• PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
• Full name, current affiliation, and email address

Accepted presenters will be notified by July 30, 2025.