[Commlist] CFP: UEA Postgraduate Research Conference Hope in uncertain times: enabling social change through the Humanities.

*UEA Postgraduate Research Conference Hope in uncertain times: enabling 
social change through the Humanities. *

We are pleased to announce the University of East Anglia’s School of 
Politics, Philosophy, and Area Studies and School of Media, Languages 
and Communication PGR Conference. Taking place in person 
*on Friday 26th** of June 2026*, our theme this year is ‘Hope in 
uncertain times: enabling social change through the Humanities’. 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/call-for-papers-uea-postgraduate-research-conference-2026-tickets-1983349978175?aff=oddtdtcreator 
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/call-for-papers-uea-postgraduate-research-conference-2026-tickets-1983349978175?aff=oddtdtcreator> 


Abstract Deadline: *Tuesday 7 April 2026*

Location: University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

The theme for this year’s PGR Conference, Hope in uncertain times: 
enabling social change through the Humanities, invites participants to 
critically engage with the role of the humanities in driving social 
change in an unpredictable world, and how transdisciplinary approaches 
to humanities research can fortify this discussion. As we navigate a 
period shaped by democratic challenges, international conflict, climate 
change and the far-reaching implications of technological, social, and 
political transformations, this conference will provide a space to 
interrogate the relevance and adaptability of the humanities in times of 
challenges. These pressing concerns highlight not only the critical role 
but the pedagogical role of the Humanities in creating the social space 
conducive to find solutions to these interconnected realities. By 
fostering robust discourse, the humanities and their intersection with 
other disciplines can help provide the hope and determination needed to 
not only react to our evolving cultural, social, and political 
landscape but foster social change.

With transdisciplinarity as a focus, we welcome contributions across the 
humanities, social sciences, and the cross-disciplinary intersections 
between these fields and those beyond (e.g. medicine, natural 
sciences, law).  We encourage critical reflection on – but not limited 
to – the following:

  * Environmental action: the role of Humanities in creating and shaping
    political, social or cultural narratives which not only stimulate
    and maintain awareness but also foster a desire for change.
  * Pedagogy’s role in promoting social change as well as how it may
    change in an age of technological upheaval, including from
    Generative AI.
  * -Fostering trust in the age of disinformation, democratic erosion
    and populist narratives, and addressing impacts from these factors
    in the cultural, political, scientific or religious spheres.
  * Beyond the Human? Social, political and cultural effects of
    emerging movements including transhumanism and posthumanism and what
    role, if any, they could play in addressing rapid social,
    political, economic or technological change.
We welcome abstracts applying quantitative or qualitative methodologies 
such as experimental, diverse discourse/rhetorical analysis methods, 
content analysis, case studies, and research based on ethnographic 
techniques. We are also happy to receive contributions that are still a 
work in progress.

*How to submit a proposal:*

Interested researchers are invited to submit max. 400 word paper 
proposals for a 15-minute presentation that approaches these themes from 
theoretical, practical, and/or empirical perspectives by the *7^th 
 April 2026* to *(pgr.conference /at/ uea.ac.uk)*.

Participants will be informed about our decision by the *28th** of April 
2026*.

We aim to provide a safe and friendly environment for developing and 
refining our ideas regarding these and other relevant topics. Each panel 
will benefit from an academic respondent, to whom you can send draft 
papers or presentations in advance. The UEA campus has extensive 
accessibility provisions; however, please let us know via the email 
address above if you have any accessibility requirements so we can do 
our best to accommodate them. Lunch and refreshments will be provided 
during the event.

Organising Committee

Sohini Chakraborty, Zhizhuo Zhang, Oliver Bos, Abigail Morton-Wilcox, 
Alicja Jancelewicz, Darko Aleksov

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