CfP: Beyond Borders – 24th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities
From 1 to 3 July 2026, NOVA FCSH will host two intrinsically related conferences running in parallel: the annual meeting of the New Directions in the Humanities Research Network, 24th Internacional Conference on New Directions in the Humanities: “Beyond Borders: The Role of the Humanities in Reimagining Communities”; and the annual meeting of its sub-group, Information, Medium & Society – The Publishing Studies Research Network, 24th International Conference on Publishing Studies: “Beyond Borders: Democratizing Knowledge in a Polarized World”.
These two conferences, which will take place in parallel and within the same venue, propose a reflection on the ways in which the humanities and knowledge circulate within and beyond communities, and how this circulation transforms and shapes not only the public sphere, but also cultural expression and the very structures underlying the creation and sharing of knowledge.
Both are grounded in a productive dialogue among participants from fields as diverse as academic research, education, writing, publishing, philosophy, design, the arts, music, technology, archives, libraries, and cultural production more broadly.
Shared focus: Beyond Borders
The traditional concept of community has long been border-based—tied to territorial, linguistic, or cultural boundaries. Reimagining communities beyond borders means not only envisioning new models of human connection, but also critically examining the limits and consequences of inherited frameworks. This is not merely a utopian exercise—it is both realistic and necessary, as it confronts dominant paradigms that must be questioned and redefined.
We are currently witnessing an increasing questioning of the concept of belonging, intensified by migration, digital mediation, planetary crisis, and political polarisation. In this context, it is essential to draw upon the tools provided by the Humanities to initiate and deepen reflection on the borders that divide, the narratives that bind, and the ways in which communities are created, sustained, negotiated, and transformed.
In a world marked by deepening divides—national, ideological, economic, and epistemological— these 2026 conferences invite participants to explore the critical role of the Humanities in interrogating, challenging, and reshaping notions of belonging and exclusion, of the individual and the collective, as well as the role of publishing and circulation (print, digital, or hybrid) in reinforcing or dissolving geographical, linguistic, and ideological barriers, shaping flows of information and disinformation, and ultimately contributing to the creation or erosion of democratic society.
Lisbon, as the host city, embodies — both in its historical landscape and in its contemporary reality — many of the tensions and possibilities of community-making across space and time. It has been a point of departure and arrival, of violence and exchange, of rupture and reinvention, of imperial expansion, migration, and cultural layering, of the circulation of texts, images, people, and narratives, in all their contradictions: in short, a metaphor for the role of the Humanities in today’s world.
Proposals are welcomed from all disciplinary backgrounds and methodological traditions that explore how the Humanities and publishing — together or separately — contribute to understanding, questioning, and reimagining the social, cultural, and intellectual formations of our time.
The conference will also feature research addressing the following annual themes:
THEME 1: Critical Cultural Studies
THEME 2: Communication and Linguistics Studies
THEME 3: Literary Humanities
THEME 4: Civic, Political and Community Studies
THEME 5: Past and Present in the Humanistic Education
Keynote Speakers: Luís Duarte de Almeida, Paulo Ferreira de Castro, Inocência Mata, Teresa Araújo, Asun López-Varela. More information here.
Call for Papers: more information here.
Registration is open until 1 July 2026.
Proposals are open until 1 June 2026.
For more information and to register, please visit the Call for Papers.
All accepted proposals are eligible to be submitted to the New Directions in the Humanities Journal Collection. And authors, reviewers, and Research Network members gain subscriber access to the journal.
The 24th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities and the 24th International Conference on Publishing Studies are the result of a partnership between NOVA FCSH and the New Directions in the Humanities Research Network.
Chair of New Directions in the Humanities Network: Asun López-Varela
Conference Organizer: Common Ground Research Network
Local Chair: Inês Thomas Almeida, INET-md/NOVA FCSH, inesthomas@fcsh.unl.pt
About the New Directions in the Humanities Research Network
Founded in 2003, the New Directions in the Humanities Research Network is brought together by a common interest in established traditions in the humanities while at the same time developing innovative practices and setting a renewed agenda for their future.
https://thehumanities.com/about
About Common Ground Research Networks
Since 1984, Common Ground Research Networks (Not-for-Profit) has been committed to supporting new kinds of knowledge communities—innovative in their media and forward-thinking in their messages. As a scholar-led, mission-driven organization, we support member-based networks dedicated to impactful scholarship inside the academy and in the broader world. Our Research Networks offer an integrated program of action, including an international conference, scholarly journals, book imprints, and a dynamic online dialogue platform powered by our path-breaking social knowledge software, CGScholar.
Related
