New Directions in the Humanities Research Network

Invitation

We invite proposals for 2027 Imagining Human Worlds, an annual online symposium in the Common Ground Imagining Futures Series, taking place 27–28 January 2027, online on CGScholar.

The symposium brings together scholars, researchers, educators, humanities scholars, learning specialists, technologists, practitioners, and community-engaged professionals working across questions of culture, learning, identity, meaning, communication, ethics, and human development. We welcome proposals that explore how human worlds are formed, interpreted, taught, experienced, mediated, and transformed.

For 2027, New Directions in the Humanities Research Network serves as the host Network, helping shape the symposium’s emphasis within the wider theme of Imagining Human Worlds.

Hosted by the Common Ground Media Lab @ Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the symposium is also part of Common Ground’s ongoing research into the knowledge experience: exploring how online environments can support focused dialogue, continuous exchange, publication pathways, and new forms of scholarly communication.

Proposals are welcome in English or Spanish, and participants may present in either language.

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Annual Themes

Imagining Human Worlds is organized around four annual themes that reflect the broad ecology of humanistic inquiry and practice across Common Ground.

Imagining Human Worlds is organized around four annual themes that reflect the wider ecology of human inquiry and practice across Common Ground.

We welcome proposals that examine human life as shaped through learning, culture, language, ethics, identity, technology, memory, belief, and lived experience. Contributions may be theoretical, empirical, pedagogical, practice-based, interpretive, creative, or community-engaged.

Together, the themes invite participants to consider how human worlds are understood, taught, narrated, mediated, and remade across changing social, cultural, educational, and technological conditions

  • Theme 1: Culture, Meaning, and Interpretation
  • Theme 2: Learning, Pedagogy, and Human Development
  • Theme 3: Digital Learning, AI, and Human-Centered Technologies
  • Theme 4: Belief, Community, and Lived Experience
Read More About Themes

Ways to Participate

Imagining Human Worlds is designed as an online symposium that combines live exchange, asynchronous engagement, and support sessions for developing work.

The format is intentionally focused and flexible. Rather than replicating the scale of a full conference, the symposium creates a concentrated space for sharing work, testing ideas, building connections, and continuing conversations beyond a single live session.

Participants may engage through live presentations, themed discussions, workshops, digital media, posters, asynchronous presentation pages, and training or support sessions. These formats support different ways of participating: real-time dialogue, reflective viewing, written exchange, mentoring, and follow-up discussion.

A central aim of the symposium is to support emerging scholars and emerging work. Dedicated support sessions will help participants strengthen their proposals, develop presentations, think through publication pathways, and connect their work to wider field conversations.

Live sessions create opportunities for direct conversation and shared thematic exchange, while asynchronous formats allow work to remain visible and accessible before, during, and after the symposium.

All live sessions are held online via Zoom and scheduled in US Central Time.

Read more about the format

Publication Pathways

Imagining Human Worlds connects presentation with publication, giving participants opportunities to develop their work beyond the symposium.

Accepted and registered presentations will be included in the symposium proceedings, creating a formal record of the work shared. Participants may also develop their papers for possible publication in journals associated with the participating Research Networks, depending on the scope, quality, and fit of the work.

Selected contributions may be invited for inclusion in a curated best of the symposium book volume.

The symposium also supports wider field-level reflection through plenary dialogue, Talking Circles, publication advice sessions, and a dedicated working group contributing to a collective state of the field statement.

Together, these pathways support both individual scholarly development and the wider work of defining emerging questions, voices, and directions in humanistic, educational, cultural, and technological fields.

Publication Pathways

Proposal and Registration Periods

Proposal submission and registration are organized into Early, Regular, and Late periods. Proposals are accepted until 27 December 2026, one month before the symposium begins, and are reviewed within two to four weeks of submission.

Registration remains open through the start of the symposium, though presenters are encouraged to register early so they have time to prepare and upload the required digital media before the deadline.

Proposal Periods

Proposals will be reviewed within two to four weeks of submission.

Early Launch to 27 September 2026
Regular 28 September–27 November 2026
Late 28 November–27 December 2026

Registration Deadlines

Digital media should be uploaded by 20 January 2027.

Early Launch to 27 October 2026
Regular 28 October–27 November 2026
Late 28 November 2026–27 January 2027

Registration Options FAQ | Proposal Review

Submit Proposal

Ready to share your work? Submit a proposal to join 2027 Imagining Human Worlds and contribute to a focused online exchange on culture, learning, identity, meaning, education, technology, belief, and human futures.

We welcome proposals from scholars, researchers, educators, humanities scholars, students, early career researchers, technologists, practitioners, and community-engaged professionals working across human-centered fields.

Proposals may be submitted in English or Spanish. Accepted presenters will be invited to take part in the symposium’s live and asynchronous formats, with opportunities for discussion, feedback, support sessions, and publication pathways.

Submit Proposal

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