Call for Papers

✏️ Form for submission of the papers

In a context marked by accelerated social and technical transformations, epistemological shifts, and political and ecological crises, Cultural Studies assumes an increased responsibility as a critical field for reading, interpreting and intervening in the world. This congress proposes to reflect on the ways in which culture — understood as a field of signifying practices, apparatus of power and expressions of subjectivities — acts as an intervening force, whether in contesting meanings, mediating conflicts, or in projecting possible futures.

The centrality of culture in contemporary social organisation makes problematising regimes of visibility, hierarchies of symbolic value and the infrastructures that shape forms of life imperative. Adopting an inter-, trans- and in-disciplinary perspective, the aim of this conference is not only to map cultural artefacts themselves, but to also pay attention to the material and discursive conditions of their production, circulation and reception. This approach calls for taking culture as a site of political conflict and of meaning-making, a space where identities are articulated, belongings negotiated, and grammars of the future experimented with.

Within this framework, cultural practices are not neutral: they inform and perform modes of existence, draw boundaries between the visible and the invisible, that which can be said and not said. Culture, therefore, becomes a critical driver of social and political transformation, particularly when mediated through artistic, educational, media or institutional practices. The field of Cultural Studies is thus called upon to reflect on forms of cultural intervention as sites of friction, reinvention and critical imagination.

Researchers, academics, artists, lecturers, students and cultural practitioners are invited to submit abstracts and/or full papers that engage with the thematic axes presented below, contributing to critical reflection on contemporary cultural practices and their potential for intervention. Proposals may adopt different disciplinary approaches, reflecting the plural and transversal nature of Cultural Studies.

Approved papers will appear in the conference programme. Full papers, if approved by the Scientific Committee, will be published in an edited volume with ISBN and DOI. A selected set of papers will be published in a special issue of the journal Prâksis (Scopus) dedicated to the theme of the conference.

Thematic Tracks:

  • Signifying Practices and the Production of Meaning
  • Media, Digitality and Cultural Transformations
  • Visual Culture, Image and Configurations of the Present
  • Cultural Policies and Collective Dynamics
  • Interculturalities, Hegemonies and Resistances
  • Identities and Cultural Circulations in the Lusophone Space
  • Gender Representations and Intersectional Perspectives
  • Education, Culture and Transformation Processes
  • Body, Arts, Performance and Modes of Intervention
  • Memory, Heritage and Social Reconfiguration
  • Cultural Trends and Future Scenarios

Key Dates and Submission Guidelines

Papers may be submitted in Portuguese, Spanish or English.

  • Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2026
  • Notification of acceptance (abstracts and papers): by 15 May 2026

Speakers/authors who require a formal acceptance letter may request it after submitting their abstract by contacting the conference email: rnec.esecs@gmail.com

Instructions for the Submission of Paper Proposals

Abstract Submission

  • Abstracts must be between 250 and 350 words.
  • Up to 5 keywords must be provided.
  • Formatting should follow APA 7th edition guidelines.
  • Submissions must be sent in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).
  • Contributions are accepted in Portuguese, English or Spanish.
  • Abstracts must be submitted in two separate files:
    • File 1: title and abstract of the paper
    • File 2: title of the paper and author identification/affiliation

Full Paper Submission — after abstract acceptance

  • Full papers must be submitted by 18 September 2026 to: rnec.esecs@gmail.com
  • Papers must contain between 15 and 25 pages.
  • Files must be submitted in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx)
  • Page size: A4 (21 × 29.7 cm)
  • Orientation: Portrait (vertical)
  • Typeface: Times New Roman
  • Font size: 12 pt
  • Line spacing: 1.5 (except for Abstract, long quotations and references)
  • Margins: top 3 cm; bottom 2 cm; left 3 cm; right 2 cm
  • Contributions are accepted in Portuguese, English or Spanish.
  • Papers must be submitted in two separate files:
    • File 1: full text, title, keywords and abstract
    • File 2: title of the paper and author identification/affiliation
  • Use footnotes rather than endnotes.

For any questions regarding the submission of papers, please contact the organising committee at: rnec.esecs@gmail.com