Jürgen Habermas suggested that it is through communicative action, that is reasoned and open discourse, that we transmit, change, and recreate cultural knowledge, and that in so-doing we can achieve mutual understanding. 

Communicative action and communicative rationality are self-reflexive dialogues through which we can learn from others, question dominant paradigms, and advocate for cultural change. 

This conference aims to explore how we might use language as a tool for teaching, for challenging paradigmatic structures, for radicalization, for advocacy, and for empowering marginalized voices to effect social change. We aim to explore how language is being used as a tool of oppression, but how that oppression can be subverted into a tool of freedom. 

This conference seeks to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue that asks us to examine the ways we might use language to shape not only the academy, but the world beyond it– and to consider the implications of this power.  

This conference will be offered in a hybrid format, so we are accepting submissions from virtual presenters.

Scope and Themes of Interest:

We are interested in (but not limited to) interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work in fields such as linguistics, history, political science, literature studies, and other humanities. 

We welcome the following strands of thinking but are in no way restricted to them:

• Language as Counter-Hegemony
• Rhetoric of Politics, Power, Propaganda, and Persuasion 
• Decolonizing the Classroom through Language
• Stories from underrepresented and marginalized populations
• Impacts of Social Media on Language and Language Use
• Counter-narratives
• Silence as Subversion 
• Language of Social Justice
• Censorship
• Gender and Language

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and must include the title of the paper, author’s name, institution of affiliation, and contact information.
• Submissions must be original contributions to scholarships. Draft papers are always encouraged, and we provide a supportive audience that can help you develop your ideas. 

Registration Fees:

• $15.00 for ISU Students
• $25.00 for non-ISU Students.

  Limited fee waivers are available. Please contact us for information.

Important Dates:

• Abstract Submission Deadline: January 31, 2026 EXTENDED to February 15, 2026
• Conference Dates: March 13-14, 2026

Submission Process:

Please submit your abstracts and papers through our email at egsa@isu.edu. Any additional queries about submissions are also welcome. Join us in a vibrant and intellectually stimulating exploration of how thinking in terms of multiplicities shapes the future of humanities. We look forward to your contributions!