Call for Papers: British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies – What Happens Now Conference (BACLS-WHN)
What Happens Now Conference (BACLS-WHN)
- URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFp3R7qeeXBnk5olr36GysDbDOk08ULl4660kOC6BCpJ0xAQ/viewform
- Event Date: 2025-06-10 ~ 2025-06-12
- Abstract Submission Date: 2025-01-31
- Submission Date: 2025-01-31
- Organizer: BACLS
- Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom
Humanities, Literature & Arts (General) Interdisciplinary Studies (General)
BACLS are delighted to open for proposals for their 2025 conference which, for the first time, will be held in Scotland at the University of Stirling.
Now a quarter of the way into the 21st century, theorisations of the contemporary and the discipline of literary study have sought to capture both new and reiterating forms: Anna Kornbluh proposes that we’ve entered a permacrisis-induced age of ‘immediacy’ where art eludes mediation and prioritizes feelings of presence; for John Guillory in his recent Professing Criticism, the perennial disciplinary and existential anxieties of university English should be understood as a now-permanent feature of the subject. BACLS-WHN asks its participants to engage with cultural and creative works and their relation to the emerging formations of the present—engaging, in broad terms, with the question: what happens now?
To approach this question, we welcome contributions on topics and methods from across the field of contemporary and global literary studies, including but not limited to: comparative and world literatures, eco-criticism, postcolonial studies, migration and critical refugee studies, posthumanism, disabilities studies, gender studies, translation studies, drama, theatre and performance studies, publishing studies, contemporary book history, media theory, comics studies, narrative theory, cultural studies, critical theory, critical-creative practice, medical humanities, and digital humanities. For the avoidance of doubt, the ‘British’ in BACLS refers to the location of the organising scholars rather than the disciplinary range of the association–proposals do not need to take British literary culture as their subject.
We also welcome submissions for presentations other than the traditional academic research paper: these might include performances, readings or workshops. The BACLS committee will be arranging a series of sessions related to aspects of professional development and pedagogy, but you are welcome to submit a presentation or panel within or beyond this theme.
BACLS is especially concerned to encourage participation that reflects the diversity of our field in terms of all protected characteristics and institutional affiliations. We strongly encourage and will give preference to panels that demonstrate this diversity. As an organisation we are actively working to reduce physical, social, and economic barriers to participation; to this end, BACLS will make some travel bursaries available. Please indicate on the submission portal whether you would like to be considered for one.
For panel or session proposals please upload an abstract of no more than 600 words and a brief biographical note (about 50 words for each participant)
For paper proposals please upload an abstract of no more than 250 words with a brief bio
For all abstracts:
please include any AV requirements that your session might have (you don’t need to tell us if you’re planning to use PowerPoint);
please indicate if you would benefit from your panel being hybrid, or your paper being delivered online rather than in person. The conference will have limited capacity for hybrid sessions
All submissions should be uploaded to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFp3R7qeeXBnk5olr36GysDbDOk08ULl4660kOC6BCpJ0xAQ/viewform by Friday 31st January 2025.
NB To attend BACLS-WHN you will need to register as a member of BACLS. You do not need to be a member in order to submit a panel, paper, or workshop proposal.
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