PILL 2026

Personal Identity through a Language Lens (PILL) International Conference Series

24–26 September 2026
University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland

The PILL Conference Series brings together scholars and researchers to explore one of the most compelling questions in linguistics and discourse studies: How is identity constructed, performed, and negotiated through language?
This year’s edition of PILL invites scholars to critically engage with the concept of identity in (post)modernity, with particular attention to the challenges and dilemmas that arise in both the discursive construction of identity and the methods used to investigate identity through language. We aim to explore how individuals position themselves and are positioned by others, and how researchers can respond to these complexities through refined linguistic and narrative tools.
Drawing inspiration from Bamberg and Dege’s call to decenter dominant identity narratives, we seek contributions that examine identity as a discursive and interactional phenomenon. We are particularly interested in the dilemmas of identity, i.e., moments of tension, contradiction, and ambiguity, not only as they emerge in everyday talk, institutional discourse, and mediated communication, but also as they challenge the methodological assumptions and analytical frameworks of identity research.
Join us as we explore the intersections of language, discourse, and identity, and uncover how narratives, interactional practices, and linguistic resources reveal the dynamic processes of identity construction in contemporary society.
 

PILL 2026 Organizing Committee

Department of Linguistics and Communication

Kamila Ciepiela (Founding Organiser , PILL2026 Chair),  email: kamila.ciepiela@uni.lodz.pl

Janusz Badio (Conference Secretary)

Nina Shtok (Conference Secretary)

Jakub Żak (IT Engineer)

Anna Pietruszewska

Huang Qi (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)

We welcome contributions that adopt linguistic, cognitive linguistic, discourse-analytic, sociolinguistic, or narrative methodologies to examine:

• The methodological implications of studying identity in fragmented, fluid, and transitory environments

• The tension between individual agency and structural constraints in identity discourse

• The role of language and narrative in shaping identity across diverse social contexts

• The interplay between big narratives (e.g., institutional, ideological) and small stories (e.g., everyday talk)

• The impact of language ideologies on identity construction and perception

• The tensions of multilingual identity negotiation in transnational contexts

• The employment of multimodality in identity construction and research

Submission Guidelines

We invite proposals for individual papers (20-minute presentation + 10-minute discussion)

Abstracts should be:

• No more than 200 words

• Submitted in English

• Accompanied by a short biographical note (max. 100 words) and 3–5 keywords

Please submit your Abstract through the following form.
Deadline for abstract submission: [31 May 2026]
Notification of acceptance: [14 June 2026]

Registration and fee payment deadline: [24 August 2026]

Michael Bamberg (Clark University, USA)

Kristiina Praakli (University of Tartu, Estonia)

Agnieszka Stępkowska (University of Szczecin, Poland)
 

REGISTRATION FORM
PAYMENTS:
The fee, which covers organisation costs, conference materials, lunches, and refreshments, is 900 PLN for participants working at Polish institutions (750 PLN for students) and 250 Euro for participants from other countries (200 Euro for students). The deadline for registration and bank payments is August 24th, 2026. The fee should be transferred to the PILL 2026 bank account (bank transfer charges are the responsibility of the payer).

Please make payments to the university bank account: (NOTE: please remember to specify your name and the name of the conference – PILL 2026.
Account holder:
UNIWERSYTET ŁÓDZKI
KF26 Personal Identity through a LanguageLens 6
IBAN: PL 80 1240 3028 1111 0011 6193 0272
BIC/Swift: PKOPPLPW
Bank: Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., II Oddział w Łodzi
Piotrkowska 270, 90-361 Łódź
Participants from Poland make payments in PLN
For participants from Poland – additional financial information
Osoby, które będą potrzebowały faktury, prosimy o dokonanie płatności przelewem najpóźniej do 24.08.2026 i wpisanie danych do faktury w formularzu zgłoszeniowym. 
Dane do faktury dla uczestnika konferencji ‘PILL 2026’:
Imię i nazwisko:
Nazwa i adres instytucji:
NIP Instytucji:
Upoważniam Uniwersytet Łódzki w Łodzi do wystawienia faktury VAT bez mojego podpisu:
Data i czytelny podpis
 

CONFERENCE VENUE
The conference is planned for three full days, September 24-26, 2025. The conference will be held at the Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz (Pomorska 171/173)
ACCOMMODATION
We recommend the University of Lodz Conference Centre (Kopcińskiego 16/18 – 15-minute walk from the conference venue)
Close to the venue are:

1. Arche Residence, Łódź www.archeresidencelodz.pl
2. A budget option is BB Consul

A little further away is Villa Masoneria (rezerwacja.villamasoneria@gmail.com)
 

Lodz airport (LCJ) currently has regular connections to London (STN), Nottingham, Birmingham, Dublin, Alicante, Malaga, Brussels, and Milan.
Lodz is also easily accessible by train from Warsaw airport (WAW), which has a wide range of international flights.
The faculty building is situated between the intercity hubs Lodz Widzew and Lodz Fabryczna, and is within walking distance from the local stations Lodz Niciarniana and Lodz Stoki. The intercity train timetable is here.