NeMLA’s 57th Annual Convention (Virtual Session)

Conference Date: March 5-8, 2026

Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025

All presentations will be delivered via Zoom.

Session Title: Touching the World at the Speed of Light: Community and Conflict in the Global Village

As digital technologies collapse the boundaries of space and time, we find ourselves more connected and more exposed than ever before. In a world marked by numerous conflicts and crises, both near and far, it has become increasingly urgent to reflect on how we relate to one another, how we disagree, and how we inhabit shared and contested spaces. Digital proximity compels us to rethink notions of intimacy, identity, and belonging, raising pressing questions about the changing nature of friendship, citizenship, nationalism, warfare, and neighbourly relations.

Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan argued that earlier (mechanical) technologies, in addition to speeding up human affairs, separated the individual from the group in terms of space, thought, and work. The printing press, rising literacy, and the mass-circulated book, in particular, overpowered oral cultures, dismantled tribal social bonds, and helped usher in the modern, rationalized individual. This trend has reversed, however, with the advent of technologies that put electricity to practical use—the telegraph, the telephone, the television, and so forth. High-speed technologies have further accelerated human affairs to such an extent that they appear to have revived tribal structures in what McLuhan famously called the “Global Village.”

This virtual panel invites papers that explore the implications of living in a digitally mediated world—from its liberating potential to its adverse consequences. Questions to consider include, but are not limited to, the following:

• What should we make of McLuhan’s claim that the last phase of technological development is the extension of human consciousness?
• Can artificial intelligence be programmed to sidestep the dangers associated with past technologies—or is it doomed to be repurposed in ever-new ways for warfare?
• How has all the physical and virtual closeness brought about by modern technologies affected the nature of conflict and war?
• Is nationalism a thing of the past, with its remaining supporters clinging to an antiquated idea, or are new versions of nationalism emerging today?
• In what ways do humans shape—and find themselves being shaped by—digital connections?
• What does it mean to have or be a friend today?
• In view of the physical, cyber, and trade wars between neighbouring countries across the world, how should we redefine the good neighbour?
• What happens to local languages and oral traditions in a hyper-digitized media landscape?
• How do rising anti-immigrant sentiments challenge the ideals of multicultural democracy and reshape notions of belonging in today’s globally networked “village”?

While the panel draws inspiration from the work of McLuhan, submissions need not focus on his theories. The session welcomes diverse perspectives—critical, interdisciplinary, or creative—that explore the promises and perils of an increasingly connected world. Scholars, educators, critics, and creative professionals are encouraged to submit a 200–300 word abstract through the NeMLA abstract submission portal: https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/21765

For details regarding NeMLA membership and conference registration, please visit: https://www.nemla.org

For inquiries regarding this session, please contact Houman Mehrabian at houman.mehrabian@ucanwest.ca