When Are We? International Conference on Time in the Face of Contemporary Crises – Call for Abstracts

The UNIC Alliance partner university, University College Cork (Ireland), will host the interdisciplinary conference "When Are We?" on 11-12 May 2026. The event will focus on reflecting on time in the context of global political, social and ecological crises. The conference is open to researchers, scholars and creators who wish to engage in a discussion about how contemporary times shape our understanding of temporality. Abstracts can by submitted until 15 January.

Opublikowano: 13 January 2026

The event poses the question "When are we?" (which can be translated as "In what time are we living?") at a time when we are confronting wars, the climate crisis, growing inequalities and the impact of the pandemic. The conference aims to be a space for conversation about how different disciplines – the humanities, social sciences, and the arts – describe and represent time. Like most UNIC events, this conference is a great opportunity to meet individuals with whom we can establish further cooperation and build a transnational academic community together.

Questions to explore might include, but are not limited to:

  • how thinking about time helps us understand contemporary crises,
  • how culture and art reveal and change our sense of time,
  • what "other" temporalities are, e.g., the time of nature, the time of the Earth's deep history,
  • how technology and artificial intelligence influence our experience of time,
  • how climate change alters the pace of social and ecological life,
  • how postcolonial studies think about time and how they explain contemporary conflicts.
     

The organisers are accepting proposals for individual papers as well as thematic panels. Abstracts (approximately 300 words) and a short bio should be submitted by 15 January to: LMasini@ucc.ie. Acceptance e-mails and further info will be shared by mid-February. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes. 

More information can be found in the conference announcement 

The conference is organised by Dr Leonora Masini, Dr Barbara Siller, Dr Chiara Giuliani and Prof. Laura McAtackney of the University College Cork.

Date and time of the event: 11 May 2026 (Monday) 08:00 - 12 May 2026 (Tuesday)

UNIVERSITY OF LODZ

 

Narutowicza 68, 90-136 LODZ

fax: 00 48 42/665 57 71, 00 48 42/635 40 43

NIP: 724 000 32 43

Funduszepleu
Projekt Multiportalu UŁ współfinansowany z funduszy Unii Europejskiej w ramach konkursu NCBR