Call for Papers

New European Trends in Ecocriticism and Climate Change Literatures

Conference Dates: 28-29 May 2026
Venue: Centre for European Studies (CEUROS), University of Limerick
Submission Deadline: 31 January 2026

Conference Overview

European literary and cultural studies are witnessing a significant shift as climate change reshapes how texts imagine and articulate human–environment relations. This conference focuses on new ecocritical directions emerging within European contexts, including innovative theoretical approaches, evolving narrative forms, and the growing integration of environmental justice into cultural analysis.

We invite papers that examine how contemporary European literature and media engage with the ecological crisis through posthumanist perspectives, intersectional and justice-oriented frameworks, emerging digital methodologies, and broader themes such as affective ecologies, Anthropocene temporalities, multispecies relations, shifting narrative forms, and the cultural imaginaries of climate futures. Our aim is to highlight emerging trends that are redefining environmental thinking across European cultural landscapes.

This conference is organised in collaboration with the DAAD-funded project “European Societal Challenges in German Cultures: Exploring Ageing and Climate Change in Tandem” (2025-26). One section of the conference will be reserved for presentation of the project findings.

Topics of Interest

Contributions may address (but are not limited to):

• Posthumanist and new materialist readings of European literature
• Environmental justice and the unequal distribution of ecological harm in Europe
• Narrative strategies of contemporary European climate fiction (cli-fi)
• Non-traditional and multimedia forms (film, TV, digital culture, gaming) representing environmental change
• Transnational environmental themes in European writing, including postcolonial ecologies
• Digital humanities approaches to mapping, visualizing, or analysing environmental texts

Submission Guidelines

Please submit a 250 word abstract and a short bio to Clarisa.Novello@ul.ie

• Deadline: 31 January 2026
• Notification: 28 February 2026
• Presentations: 20 minutes