Call for Papers, Participation, and Creative Works
For the 16th Meeting of the Luce Irigaray Circle
Liveable Futures
9-11 July 2026
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
(Click here to download the Call as a PDF)
The 16th meeting of the Luce Irigaray Circle is an interdisciplinary conference devoted to scholarship and creative work on, or inspired by, the thought of Luce Irigaray. Irigaray’s work has influenced scholarship across a range of fields including Gender & Women’s Studies, Queer Theory, Trans Studies, Indigenous Studies, Sociology, Political Theory, Geography, Philosophy, Literary and Cultural Studies, Classics, Religious Studies, Linguistics, Legal Theory, Art, Architecture, Design, Music, Performance, and more. The Circle cultivates a space for honouring and interrogating the question of sexual difference by supporting multiple research trajectories, methods, and projects inspired by Irigaray’s thought.
From rethinking the most fundamental philosophical questions about life and ethics to concrete interventions in law, democratic politics, architecture, and ecology, Irigaray’s thought provides essential resources for imagining, and building, a more liveable future. Inspired by this task, the 2026 conference is devoted to exploring the conceptual and practical infrastructures that might sustain liveable futures. We invite submissions that engage Irigaray’s concrete proposals as well as her philosophical contributions in relation to the following themes:
Papers and Panels
The Circle invites proposals for both individual papers and complete panels.
Work in Progress
In addition to formal academic presentations, the Circle has a tradition of supporting works and thinking in progress. Submissions should include a title, abstract (300 words), and 5 keywords. If you are admitted to the WiP track, we will ask you to send your unfinished piece of writing one month prior to the conference, which will be shared with others who have signed up to join the WiP session(s).
Creative Work
In addition to academic presentations, the Circle invites proposals for creative work related to the thought of Luce Irigaray. Past events have included theatrical and musical performances, poetry readings, art installations, and more. Submissions should include an abstract (300 words) describing the work and an explanation of the technical needs related to presenting the work.
Submission Instructions
Please submit all proposals at https://forms.office.com/e/aiPBWtvzjY by 1 February 2026. To accommodate international travel planning, early decisions are available on abstracts from 5 January 2026. Please note this on your submission form if needed.
Karen Burke Memorial Prize
The Karen Burke Memorial Prize honours our late colleague Karen Burke, who was a gentle philosopher and founding member of the Luce Irigaray Circle. The Prize recognizes excellent work by a postgraduate student (Master’s or PhD) or early career researcher (PhD awarded in 2021 or later). The paper should be unpublished at the time of submission. The winner of the competition will receive a £500 award and give the Karen Burke Memorial Prize Lecture in a keynote session of the conference. Applicants should:
About the Luce Irigaray Circle
The Luce Irigaray Circle is an interdisciplinary society dedicated to stimulating and supporting scholarly and creative endeavours that are inspired by or informed by the philosophy of Luce Irigaray. The Circle was established at Stony Brook University in 2006 by the philosophers Sabrina L. Hom, Serene J. Khader, and Mary C. Rawlinson with support from the Office of the President. Scholars and artists from all disciplines who are interested in the Circle’s activities and research are invited to join the Circle. For more information, see the Luce Irigaray Circle website: http://www.irigaray.org.
Please contact the local host Stephen D. Seely ([email protected]) with any queries about the meeting.
For the 16th Meeting of the Luce Irigaray Circle
Liveable Futures
9-11 July 2026
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
(Click here to download the Call as a PDF)
The 16th meeting of the Luce Irigaray Circle is an interdisciplinary conference devoted to scholarship and creative work on, or inspired by, the thought of Luce Irigaray. Irigaray’s work has influenced scholarship across a range of fields including Gender & Women’s Studies, Queer Theory, Trans Studies, Indigenous Studies, Sociology, Political Theory, Geography, Philosophy, Literary and Cultural Studies, Classics, Religious Studies, Linguistics, Legal Theory, Art, Architecture, Design, Music, Performance, and more. The Circle cultivates a space for honouring and interrogating the question of sexual difference by supporting multiple research trajectories, methods, and projects inspired by Irigaray’s thought.
From rethinking the most fundamental philosophical questions about life and ethics to concrete interventions in law, democratic politics, architecture, and ecology, Irigaray’s thought provides essential resources for imagining, and building, a more liveable future. Inspired by this task, the 2026 conference is devoted to exploring the conceptual and practical infrastructures that might sustain liveable futures. We invite submissions that engage Irigaray’s concrete proposals as well as her philosophical contributions in relation to the following themes:
- Air, breath, and practices of breathing
- Art, poiesis, creation
- Biopolitics, biopower, bioethics
- Capitalism and alternative economies
- Death, the death drive, necropolitics
- Desire and the erotic
- Ecologies, nature, vegetal thinking
- Embodiment, tactility, touch
- Ethics, relationality, sharing
- Gender, genealogy, generation
- Inhabitation, dwelling, architecture
- Justice, rights, law
- Pedagogy, parenting, caring for future generations
- Philosophies of life, ethics, and temporality from beyond the European ‘canon’
- Physical and psychic wellbeing
- Religion, theology, spirituality
- Technologies of life, reproduction, and communication (including AI)
- Temporalities, spatialities, futurities
- Utopia, hope, pessimism
- Vitalism, bio-philosophy, and the meaning of ‘life’ across disciplines
- War, coloniality, extractivism, pollution
Papers and Panels
The Circle invites proposals for both individual papers and complete panels.
- For individual papers (20-25 minutes), please include: the title of your paper, an abstract (300 words), and 5 keywords.
- For complete panels (3 papers per panel), please include: the title of the panel, an abstract explaining the panel rationale (300 words), 5 keywords for the panel, and titles and abstracts (300 words each) for each paper. Only one member of the panel should submit all abstracts.
Work in Progress
In addition to formal academic presentations, the Circle has a tradition of supporting works and thinking in progress. Submissions should include a title, abstract (300 words), and 5 keywords. If you are admitted to the WiP track, we will ask you to send your unfinished piece of writing one month prior to the conference, which will be shared with others who have signed up to join the WiP session(s).
Creative Work
In addition to academic presentations, the Circle invites proposals for creative work related to the thought of Luce Irigaray. Past events have included theatrical and musical performances, poetry readings, art installations, and more. Submissions should include an abstract (300 words) describing the work and an explanation of the technical needs related to presenting the work.
Submission Instructions
Please submit all proposals at https://forms.office.com/e/aiPBWtvzjY by 1 February 2026. To accommodate international travel planning, early decisions are available on abstracts from 5 January 2026. Please note this on your submission form if needed.
Karen Burke Memorial Prize
The Karen Burke Memorial Prize honours our late colleague Karen Burke, who was a gentle philosopher and founding member of the Luce Irigaray Circle. The Prize recognizes excellent work by a postgraduate student (Master’s or PhD) or early career researcher (PhD awarded in 2021 or later). The paper should be unpublished at the time of submission. The winner of the competition will receive a £500 award and give the Karen Burke Memorial Prize Lecture in a keynote session of the conference. Applicants should:
- Complete the submission form with their paper title, abstract (300 words), and keywords at https://forms.office.com/e/aiPBWtvzjY by 1 February 2026.
- Send a complete paper (max 4000 words) to [email protected] by 1 March 2026. Papers, prepared for anonymous review, should be sent as attachments to an email with ‘Karen Burke Prize’ in the subject line and the accompanying email should contextualise the author’s status as a postgraduate or early career researcher.
About the Luce Irigaray Circle
The Luce Irigaray Circle is an interdisciplinary society dedicated to stimulating and supporting scholarly and creative endeavours that are inspired by or informed by the philosophy of Luce Irigaray. The Circle was established at Stony Brook University in 2006 by the philosophers Sabrina L. Hom, Serene J. Khader, and Mary C. Rawlinson with support from the Office of the President. Scholars and artists from all disciplines who are interested in the Circle’s activities and research are invited to join the Circle. For more information, see the Luce Irigaray Circle website: http://www.irigaray.org.
Please contact the local host Stephen D. Seely ([email protected]) with any queries about the meeting.
