The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians, in partnership with the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University, presents the 34th Annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press, Nov. 12-14, 2026.

Technological futures are not given. They are made, and they can be made differently. EMERGE 2026: Contested Futures takes place at a moment when AI systems have become central to the organization of economic power, political control, and social sorting, while democratic institutions struggle to keep pace and ecological costs mount. Rather than treating technological change as inevitable or neutral, the conference invites critical reflection on how emerging technologies are developed, governed, narrated, and contested.

eds. Kate Genevieve, Jessica Hurley, Juan Francisco Salazar

An anthology marking fifty years since the launch of NASA’s Voyager mission and the Golden Record, inviting outer space studies and artistic contributions to grow just, plural futures for the second space age. This volume takes the Voyager Golden Record as a catalyst for creatively rethinking planetary futures. Bringing together artists with historians of science, STS scholars, ethnographers and community practitioners engaged with outer space, the book combines critique with reparative and imaginative work. 

SAVE THE DATE

Alternative Endings:
A Symposium Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman

October 17, 2026

Northwestern University--Downtown Campus
Chicago, Illinois

Join scholars, filmmakers, artists for a one-day symposium commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of Cheryl Dunye's groundbreaking film The Watermelon Woman.

The symposium will feature:

• A special panel showcasing previously unreleased alternative endings from the film, with commentary from invited scholars.

• A luncheon bringing together contributors to the film, panelists, and local Black women filmmakers.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Things Left Unsaid: A Flash Fiction Anthology

Silence. Regret. The conversation that never happened.

Submission Deadline: August 20, 2026
Acceptance Notifications: August 25, 2026
Submissions: specialanthologyfreshwordsmag@gmail.com
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements

There are things we meant to say. Words swallowed before they could land. Letters never sent, calls never returned, confessions rehearsed in the dark and abandoned by morning.

In the wake of ecocriticism and environmental humanities, the blue humanities have emerged as a field of study that emphasizes the centrality of aquatic environments in understanding interactions between humans and nonhumans. This interdisciplinary field, which initially grew out of Anglophone literary criticism, proposes to shift our terra-centric perspective by adopting the seas and oceans as a new vantage point to rethink our understanding of both the planet and literature (Klein, 2002; Blum, 2008; Bailyn, 2005). Originally developed in the United States within the field of Oceanic studies (Blum 2010; Cohen 2010; Mentz 2009), the “Blue studies” have since expanded and become increasingly decentered and diversified.