6th International e-Conference
on
Imagining Futures: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Humanity, Crisis, and Change
Date: 25th and 26th September, 2025(Thursday & Friday)
To be Organized by
New Literaria- An International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities
In collaboration with
School of Languages & Literature & Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Cell, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Jammu & Kashmir, India
&
Department of History, Humanities and Society, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy
Location: Virtual Platform (GOOGLE MEET/ZOOM/YOUTUBE)
Conference Theme:
In an age marked by planetary crisis, rapid technological evolution, political volatility, and shifting social values, the need to imagine viable and just futures has become urgent. From the escalating climate emergency and pandemics to the rise of artificial intelligence and the erosion of democratic institutions, the world finds itself at a crossroads. This conference aims to bring together scholars, researchers, artists, and practitioners across disciplines to interrogate the role of narrative, knowledge, ethics, and creativity in shaping our collective future.
Amitav Ghosh (2016) argues in The Great Derangement that “the climate crisis is also a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination,” suggesting that our ability to confront global challenges depends as much on our stories and cultural frameworks as it does on science and policy. Similarly, Donna Haraway (2016) in Staying with the Trouble writes, “It matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with; it matters what thoughts think thoughts; it matters what stories make worlds.” These insights underscore the importance of narrative and interdisciplinary collaboration in constructing new visions for humanity and the planet.
This conference provides a platform for critical conversations on how literature, science, technology, law, media, education, philosophy, and the arts intersect to confront crises and offer transformative ideas. It seeks to examine not only how futures are imagined in various disciplines, but also how those futures might be made more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive. y bridging diverse domains of knowledge, this conference will serve as a fertile ground for reimagining the future not as a distant abstraction, but as a collaborative and participatory endeavour grounded in justice, creativity, and responsibility.
Sub-themes:
Topics welcomed for this conference include, but are not restricted to:
- Speculative Fiction and the Ethics of Possibility
- Climate Fiction and the Future of the Planet
- Artificial Intelligence and Posthuman Narratives
- Digital Futures: Identity, Surveillance, and Virtual Reality
- Ecological Futures: Sustainability, Activism, and Hope
- Education for the Future: Interdisciplinary Pedagogies in a Time of Crisis
- Legal and Ethical Challenges in Emerging Technologies
- Smart Cities and the Narrative of Technological Environmentalism
- Medical Humanities and Bioethical Imagination
- Ethics of Storytelling: Representation, Voice, and Consent
- Migration, Borders, and Belonging in a Changing World
- Reimagining Democracy: Political Futures and Participatory Culture
- Memory and Trauma in Future-Oriented Narratives
- Green Economics and the Narrative of the ‘Just Transition’
- Eco-Cinema and the Environmental Imagination
- Philosophy of Time and Temporality in Crisis Literature
- The Role of the Arts in Future-Making
- Utopias and Dystopias: Literary and Cultural Perspectives
- Environmental Justice and Indigenous Futurisms
- Feminist and Queer Futures: Gender, Resistance, and Transformation
- Global Health Crises: Lessons from Literature and History
- Climate Communication and the Humanities
- The Future of Work and Creativity in an Automated World
- Digital Storytelling and Ethical Innovation
- Peacebuilding Through Narrative and Intercultural Dialogue
- Religion, Ethics, and Spirituality in Future Imaginaries
- Public Humanities and the Role of Academia in Shaping Futures
- Language and Power in the Post-Truth Era
- Science Fiction as Method in Interdisciplinary Research
Work cited:
Ghosh, A. (2016). The Great Derangement: Climate change and the unthinkable. University of Chicago Press.
Haraway, Donna J. (2016). Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.
Submission Guidelines:
We welcome submissions of abstracts only from scholars, researchers, and academicians across the globe. Those presenting individual papers should submit an abstract, including keywords, within a maximum limit of 300 words and a brief biography in the Google Form – https://forms.gle/rCjw56RQEjSpYvkp9 (up to 150 words) by 31st August 2025. Full paper submissions before the conference, are encouraged but not required.
Important Dates:
| SCHEDULE | |
| Conference Dates | 25th September – 26th September, 2025 |
| Deadline for Submission of Abstracts (Restricted to 300 words) and Panel Proposals (750 words) | 31st August, 2025 |
| Acceptance of Abstracts | 2nd September, 2025 |
| Registration | 2nd – 5th September, 2025 |
| Last date of sending full paper | After the conference is over (30th Nov, 2025) |
Registration fee:
- Single Presenter: ₹1000 / $30 (USD)
- Joint Presentation: ₹2000 / $50 (USD)
- Conference participation Certificate with hours of participation mentioned- 200 INR / 10 Dollars (For Non-Paper Presenters)
The registration fee covers conference presentation, a soft copy of the certificate of participation, and the opportunity for publication in New Literaria subject to peer review. Please note that acceptance of an abstract does not guarantee publication; only selected papers will be published after successful peer review.
Publication Opportunity:
Selected papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of our Journal, New Literaria, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences.
List of Speakers for the e-Conference- 2025(New Literaria)
Prof David Higgins, Professor of Environmental Humanities, University of Leeds, UK.
Prof Sudhir Chella Rajan, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, India.
Prof. Smriti Singh, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India.
John Charles Ryan, Associate Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Nulungu Institute, University of Notre Dame, Australia
Prof. Kaori Mori Want, Konan Women’s University, Japan.
Prof. Prasad Pannian, Department of English & Comparative Literature, Central University of Kerala, Kerala, India.
Organizing Team
Conveners:
Dr. Subhankar Dutta, Assistant Professor of English, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan(Deemed to be University), India.
Dr. Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi, Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences (FoHSS) ), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Prof. Ashutosh Vashishtha, Dean, Faculty of Management (FoM), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India .
Dr. Anurag Kumar, Head, School of Languages & Literature (SoL&L), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Organizing Secretaries:
Dr. Tanmoy Kundu, Editor, New Literaria & Assistant Professor, Midnapore College (Autonomous), Midnapore, West Bengal, India.
Dr. Elisabetta Marino, Associate Professor of English and American Studies, Department of History, Humanities and Society, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy.
Dr. Shankar Singh Kushwaha, Assistant Professor, School of Civil Engineering (SOCE), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Dr. Parthasarathi Mondal, Assistant Professor of English, Manbhum Mahavidyalaya, Purulia, West Bengal, India.
Gokul S., Assistant Professor, Department of English, PGDAV College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India.
Dipra Sarkhel, Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, India.
Dr. Moumita Bala, Assistant Professor of English, GLA University, India.
Organizing Committee
Dr. Isha Malhotra: Assistant Professor, School of Languages & Literature (SOLL), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Dr. Madhu Mangal Chaturvedi: Assistant Professor, School of Philosophy & Culture (SoPC), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Dr. Manpreet Sharma: Assistant Professor, School of Languages & Literature (SOLL), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Ms. Sanna Ashraf Mirza: Assistant Professor, School of Languages & Literature (SOLL), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Dr. Poonam: Assistant Professor, School of Languages & Literature (SOLL), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Sougata Sahoo, Research Scholar, Raiganj University, India.
Zahra Ahmad, MA English Student, Patna Women’s College (Autonomous), Patna University, India.
Mitali Bhattacharya, Research Scholar, University School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India.
Sanchari Chattopadhyay, Research Scholar, Dept. of MHSS, NIT Agartala, India.
Debasmita Tripathy, Research Scholar, Midnapore College(Autonomous), Midnapore, India.