The University of Calgary English Department Graduate Association cordially invites both critical and creative proposals for our annual Free Exchange Graduate Conference, taking place from March 20-21, 2026. Going back nearly 20 years, Free Exchange is a transdisciplinary conference that aims to bring together emerging scholars from across Canada and beyond in the spirit of collaboration and knowledge creation.

The theme of this year’s conference is Alterity: Thresholds of the Possible. In an age marked by political impasse, humanitarian crises, and ecological threat, catastrophe increasingly seems a foregone conclusion. The complexities of these problems demand solutions that reach beyond traditional theories, methodologies, and ways of knowledge building. We contend that the first step to finding a new path is to imagine that such a path exists.

We invite proposals that dare to imagine alternative worlds, practices, and ways of being. Our aim is to consider not just possible futures, but also new ways of understanding the past, and alternative modes of living in the present--not only what could be but what can be. Whether one’s focus is research creation or critical analysis, we encourage participants to think about alterity not only regarding the subjects of their proposals, but also in their scholarly frameworks and practices.

Sub-themes of this conference include, but are not limited to: 

• Alternative Futurisms (Afro-, Africanfuturisms, Indigenous Futurisms, Queer Futurisms, Utopia/Dystopia, etc.)
• Environmental Justice
• Energy Humanities
• Experimental Pedagogies
• Indigenous Knowledgemaking and Resurgence
• New Approaches in Medicine and Care Work
• Posthuman Ontologies
• Queer Liberation
• Rhizomatic Politics
• Speculative Literature (Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Romance, Slipstream, etc.)

Please submit your 200-250 word abstracts and 100 word biographies via the Google Form below. While Free Exchange will be taking place in person this year, we do offer remote attendance for those with accessibility needs, as well as submissions from outside Canada and the US. If you are attending in person, please indicate any additional accommodation considerations you might require. 

Keeping with the theme of alterity, we also invite (but don't require) proposals that make use of alternative forms of staging and presentation. These might include alternative modes of address, distance/orientation to the audience, and visual/audio accompaniments. If you plan on including an alternative presentation style, please include a brief description with your abstract. While timing, venue, technical, and accommodation considerations mean that we cannot guarantee every proposal, providing detail early will help us to collaborate on possible alternatives in advance of the conference.

Submission Form: https://forms.gle/ujgGVGGPGkUt6vtN6