National University of Singapore
25-26th Jun 2026
Deadline: 15th Oct 2025
Location: National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore, 119260
Co-organized by the Association of Chinese and Comparative Literature and the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore. The conference is also cosponsored by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at George Mason University.
Conference Theme: Humanities in Uncertain Times
What is the role of the humanities in a time of global uncertainty? In a time when the values that once underpinned humanistic inquiry are under pressure, we ask: How do artistic practice and criticism address, resist, or reflect the structures of uncertainty — sociopolitical, environmental, epistemological — that now define our age? What new forms might they take? How have Chinese and Sinophone cultural traditions responded to moments of crisis in the past, and what can they offer us today? The ACCL 2026 conference offers an opportune moment for scholars of Chinese and Comparative Literature to critically examine the evolving place of the humanities and reimagine their relevance, purpose, and methods in an increasingly precarious world.
In particular, the uneven experiences of crises in the Global South — including economic instability, environmental vulnerability, postcolonial displacement, and political precarity —demand that we pay closer attention to how the humanities are practiced and imagined across different geographies. What does it mean to think and teach the humanities from the South, where uncertainty is often a structural condition rather than an episodic one? How can literature from and about the margins speak to — or challenge — global narratives of crisis and survival?
We invite scholars to present research on (but not limited to) the following topics: the role of literature and other modes of artistic practice in uncertain times; the transformation of humanistic values under crisis; rethinking tradition, memory, and continuity; precarity and the literary imagination; epistemic instability and aesthetic form; the humanities and the state; the ethics of reading in a fragmented world; literature and the climate crisis; AI and the future of authorship; Southern epistemologies and humanistic knowledge; and the place of the human in a techno-capitalist or posthuman condition. We welcome work on poetry, prose, drama, film, digital media, and genre fiction; on classical, modern, and contemporary texts; and across historical, theoretical, and comparative frameworks.
The conference welcomes papers in both Chinese and English, and that both organized panels and individual papers will be considered. Conference participants are encouraged to bring their own perspectives and provocations to the theme. We look forward to a vibrant exchange that reaffirms the vitality of the humanities — even, and especially, in uncertain times.
Keynote Speakers
Tina Lu (Yale University)
Michael Berry (University of California, Los Angeles)
He Guimei (Peking University)
Yung Sai-Shing (National University of Singapore)
For the Conference Participants
The official languages of the conference are Chinese and English. We welcome conference participants from all over the world. While we accept proposals for both organized panels and individual papers, priority will be given to organized panels. Organized panels should consist of four papers centered on a coherent theme. Additionally, each panel must designate a chair and/or a discussant (the same person may serve both roles). Proposals for individual papers and organized panels may be submitted in either English or Chinese. Abstracts for individual papers and panel descriptions should not exceed 300 words in English or 250 characters in Chinese. When submitting, please include your full name, institutional affiliation, position, and email address. Each participant may submit only one abstract and may not appear on more than one panel. For each panel, only the organizer is required to submit the form on behalf of all participants. Please download and fill in the designated submission form provided by the conference and send it to the conference email address, only Word or PDF format are accepted.
Submission Deadline: October 15, 2025
Application Form Download
Google Docs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vharjI9OxWzhpLtH0FbS4JeEP_SSC7aCwj4R1y3JZm4/edit?usp=sharing
Tencent Docs:
https://docs.qq.com/doc/DTExDdHNsTFJNWXZp
Submission
When submitting your proposal, please fill out the submission form and send the completed form in PDF/Word format to the designated email address (2026accl@gmail.com)
Acceptance Letters will be sent by December 20, 2025
Contact Persons
Liang Luo, ACCL President (lluo5@gmu.edu)
Hang Tu, Chair of the Organizing Committee (tuhang@nus.edu.sg)
Jianing Li, Conference Coordinator (jianingli@u.nus.edu)
ACCL Website