[Commlist] The Sixth Annual Humanities Podcast Network Symposium 2026 - Call for Proposals

*The Sixth Annual Humanities Podcast Network Symposium 2026 - Call for 
Proposals*

**

****

**

Kath Burton (she/her/hers

*Symposium*

**

*Date*

October 23, 2026 - October 24, 2026

**

*Location*

United Kingdom/ONLINE

*Subject Fields*

Communication, Digital Humanities, Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies

**

*What to do now? Humanities Podcasting Agency and Avowal*

We are living through a moment that tests the nerve of anyone who makes 
things, says things, or puts ideas into the world. Public institutions 
are under pressure. Trust in expertise is fractured. The space for 
independent, thoughtful voices feels both more necessary and more 
precarious than at any point in recent memory.

For humanities podcasters — whether you work inside the academy, 
alongside it, or entirely beyond it — these pressures are personal as 
well as political. Who gets to speak? Who gets heard? What does it cost 
to say something true out loud, and what does it cost to stay quiet?

**

*The Call*

This year's Humanities Podacst Network 
<https://humanitiespodnetwork.org/> symposium takes those questions 
seriously. /Agency/ is about finding and using our power — as creators, 
as scholars, as communicators — inside systems that were not always 
built with us in mind (cf. 
https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/agency 
<https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/agency>). /Avowal/ is about 
the harder, quieter work of believing that what we do matters: owning 
our values, claiming our expertise, and trusting that our audiences are 
worth showing up for (cf. 
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11543736/ 
<https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11543736/>).

Together, these ideas form a practice. The 2026 HPN symposium is an 
invitation to explore that practice in community at our online gathering 
*23 and 24 October 2026*.

We invite proposals from humanities podcasters, scholars, students, 
independent producers, audio professionals, and anyone whose work seeks 
to bring rigorous, humane thinking to a public audience.

Submit your proposal - we're eager to hear from you and the *submission 
form* 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXhtyIJKQHO35y2pf2CQVVeLChNZsIaevmIm4kBT0x1LnQ8A/viewform>* i*s 
open!

We are especially keen to hear from practitioners who have navigated the 
tensions between institutional constraint and creative freedom; from 
technical and production teams working inside scholarly environments; 
and from professionals in adjacent fields — journalism, education, 
community organizing, archiving, sound design — whose practices speak to 
this moment.

Proposals may take the form of panels, roundtables, workshops, or solo 
presentations. We welcome work-in-progress, honest failure, and 
practical wisdom in equal measure and off the following suggestions by 
way of inspiration for your proposal:

  * *Uncoding Ourselves*: *why* *Agency and Avowal matter now* What
    assumptions do we carry into the studio, about who a humanities
    podcaster sounds like, what "good" audio means, whose stories
    deserve production values?
  * *The Fear of Saying the Wrong Thing* Silence is not neutral. This
    session explores what holds podcasters back and what it looks like
    to move forward anyway. Practical strategies welcome.
  * *Who Gets to Be the Expert?* Expertise in the humanities has always
    been contested. How we credit the knowledge that lives outside
    credentialed spaces, and how we build shows that listeners trust
    precisely because they do not oversimplify.
  * *Finding Agency in the Commercial World* Let’s focus on what
    actually works: sustainable models, strategic partnerships, and the
    small, meaningful decisions that keep independent voices independent.
  * *Trust, Longevity, and the Long Game* Audiences are not metrics. We
    will also explore what longevity looks like for shows, for teams,
    and for the broader humanities podcasting community.

**

*Who Should Propose*

  * Humanities podcasters at any stage — new, established, dormant, or
    reinventing
  * Scholars and researchers working in public-facing audio formats
  * Technical producers, sound designers, and editors working within
    academic contexts
  * Professionals from journalism, education, archiving, community
    media, and related fields
  * Students and emerging practitioners

**

*Proposal Guidelines*

We encourage experimentation. Panels should fit within a 1.5-hour time 
limit inclusive of Q&A. Preference will be given for full panels of 
three or more presenters, but individual submissions are welcome and 
will be grouped with similarly themed proposals. Solo submissions should 
be suitable for a 15–20 minute presentation. If you would like to 
propose a session that falls outwise of the sessions noted above, feel 
free to contact us via email at: (humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com)>

/All of our sessions will be recorded and uploaded to the //HPN YouTube 
channel/ 
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz55O777KYrzrg_NyaqwNGg?app=desktop>/, 
and may be used in a future HPN podcast. /

/This year everyone who presents will receive the audio & video footage 
to post on your podcasts, websites, clips for social media, etc./

Please *submit a minimum 100-word abstract for individual presentations 
or a minimum 250-word abstract for full panel proposals.* Please include 
brief bios for each participant.

**

*Proposals are due** via Google Form * 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXhtyIJKQHO35y2pf2CQVVeLChNZsIaevmIm4kBT0x1LnQ8A/viewform?usp=header>*by* 
*5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, September 7, 2026*. Please contact the HPN 
Symposium Committee at (humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com)> with any questions, and include 
“HPN Symposium 2026” or “Agency and Avowal” in the subject line.

Register to attend (free) via eventbrite: 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-humanities-podcasting-network-symposium-agency-avowal-tickets-1990792934257 
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-humanities-podcasting-network-symposium-agency-avowal-tickets-1990792934257>

**

*Contact Information*

Please direct any specific questions about the Symposium CFP or 
registration to the Humanities Podcast Network Committee inbox: 
(humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(humanitiespodnetwork /at/ gmail.com)>

Any general queries can be directed to Kath Burton as Chair of the 2026 
Symposium.

**

*Contact Email*

(kathburton15 /at/ gmail.com)

*Attachments*

Sixth Annual Humanities Podcast Network Symposium poster 
<https://networks.h-net.org/system/files/attachments/6th-hpn-symposiumpng.png>

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely. The commlist has no responsibility for any damage caused by its postings. Subscription to the list automatically implies agreement with this rule.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------