[HYBRID OPTION AVAILABLE] The 2026 Multi-ConTEXT International Graduate Conference: “Interweaving Voices and Worlds: English Studies in Transformative Contexts”
Call for Papers
The 2026 Multi-ConTEXT International Graduate Conference
“Interweaving Voices and Worlds:
English Studies in Transformative Contexts”
- Dates: October 16–17, 2026 (Friday–Saturday)
- Venue: Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea
- Presentation Format: Primarily on-site, with limited hybrid options
- Organizer: Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities
- Registration: No registration fee. Lunch and light refreshments provided.
- Two Keynote Speakers: 1) Benjamin Poore (University of York, UK)
2) Reto Winckler (City University of Hong Kong, China)
This conference seeks to explore how English studies—encompassing literary, linguistic, and cultural inquiries—are being reconfigured across shifting intellectual, social, and global contexts. Rather than treating literature and language as fixed or isolated domains, the conference foregrounds their movement across boundaries: between texts and readers, languages and cultures, traditions and emerging forms of expression. By centering the notion of interweaving, we aim to create a space for dialogue that acknowledges multiplicity, hybridity, and transformation. We welcome approaches that rethink established frameworks, experiment with new methodologies, or revisit canonical materials from fresh perspectives.
Conference Sessions and Suggested Topics:
The conference is organized into three thematic sessions (linked to our Department’s BK21 Multi-ConTEXT Project’s research labs). Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, the following subthemes:
1) ‘Culture and Communication’ (CC) sessions
- Language structure analysis – Studies on sentence structure and formation across various languages
- Patterns of language use and communication – discourse analysis and sociolinguistic patterns
- Cross-linguistic comparison – comparative studies of languages or dialects
- Translation – theory and practice of translation, intercultural communication
2) ‘Nature and Civilization’ (NC) sessions
- Literature and science – intersections of literary works with scientific thought or discovery
- Environmental humanities – ecological criticism, literature of nature and environment
- Medical humanities – representations of medicine, illness, and the body in literature
- Posthumanism – explorations of the posthuman, cyborgs, and beyond human-centric narratives
3) ‘Media and Text’ (MT) sessions
- Adaptation and appropriation in visual/performance media – film, theatre, or TV adaptations of texts;
intermedial transformations
- Digital humanities – computational approaches to literature, digital literary archives, and analysis
- Multimedia humanities – studies of text in multimedia, transmedia storytelling, video games, etc.
- Artificial intelligence – AI in literature and art, or the use of AI in literary analysis
Abstract Submission Deadline: July 10, 2026
We invite a 250-word abstract (in English), along with a bio (100 words) including your affiliation and contact information. Please indicate which thematic session (CC, NR, or MT) your paper belongs to. Submission via this link: https://forms.gle/1zRqW5PNJoq3H12N9
Notification of Acceptance: Decisions will be notified by July 30, 2026. Authors of accepted proposals will receive an official invitation and further instructions for preparing their presentations.
We look forward to your contributions to the 2026 Multi-ConTEXT International Graduate Conference. This international conference offers emerging and early-career researchers from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds a chance to exchange ideas and build global research networks through the comparative and convergent study of English Language and Literature. This year, five outstanding presentations will be recognized with awards of approximately USD 100. Join us in Cheongju this October to explore how multiple contexts can open new horizons in English studies!
Travel and Accommodation Information:
- Travel: Cheongju is approximately 1 hour from Seoul by train (via KTX high-speed rail) and about 2 hours from Incheon International Airport (via KTX through Osong Station). From Osong Station, Chungbuk National University is about a 20 to 30-minute taxi or bus ride (roughly 13 km). Bus options are also available: the Seoul-Cheongju Express Bus and the Airport Limousine Bus. Detailed directions to the campus and local transit options will be provided for accepted participants.
Cheongju: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/whereToGo/locIntrdn/locIntrdnList.do?menuSn=216
CBNU website: https://www.cbnu.ac.kr/english/index.do
- Accommodation: We will supply a list of hotels/guesthouses near the university and on-campus guesthouse options, as well as information on transportation within the city. A discounted price will be offered to conference attendees at the Gloucester Hotel Cheongju, Cheongju. More details will follow.