Abstract Submission Now Open • Deadline: 20 December 2026 (proposed)
We live at a moment when the categories that have long organised literary and cultural study (the human, the natural, the written, the creative) are being fundamentally rethought. Artificial intelligence, ecological crisis, and digital culture are not peripheral concerns; they are reshaping what literature means, who makes it, and how it is read.
RCELL International Conference 2027 brings together scholars, researchers, and teachers of literature to examine these transformations across three connected intellectual frameworks: posthumanism, digital humanities, and ecological thought. This is a humanities and English Studies event, focused on culture, meaning, and the literary imagination, not on technical computing.
The conference explicitly welcomes South Asian perspectives, including Indian-language literatures, Dalit and Adivasi ecological narratives, regional literary archives, and postcolonial engagements with climate, technology, and modernity. This is a distinctive intellectual location, not a restriction.
Questions of intelligence, creativity, authorship, and interpretation are being asked anew in the age of generative AI, and literary studies has much to contribute to those conversations.
Posthumanism challenges human exceptionalism and asks how literature has always staged the boundaries between the human and the non-human.
Ecological thought demands that questions of justice, extraction, and survival be brought back to literary criticism and the humanistic imagination.
This conference welcomes participants from across the humanities and English Studies. Whether you are presenting a paper, attending as a delegate, or joining to hear the keynote lectures, you are part of the conversation.
Researchers at all stages working in English literature, cultural studies, comparative literature, digital humanities, or ecocriticism, including those preparing or completing doctoral dissertations.
Faculty members from universities and colleges who wish to present research, engage with emerging scholarship, or explore the conference themes in relation to their teaching and writing.
Early-career researchers developing work in posthumanism, digital humanities, ecocriticism, postcolonial studies, or adjacent fields who seek a peer-reviewed international forum.
Researchers working outside formal institutional structures who are engaged with the conference themes and whose work meets the scholarly standards of peer-reviewed academic presentation.
Participants who wish to attend the conference without presenting a paper are welcome to register as listeners or delegates. Listener registration is a separate, simpler process and is open to all.
The conference is fully online and welcomes participants from all geographies. South Asian perspectives, including Indian-language literatures and postcolonial frameworks, are particularly encouraged.
Abstracts are reviewed for thematic fit, scholarly clarity, and originality. The conference provides a rigorous, indexed academic record of your participation through an e-certificate issued to all confirmed attendees.
Selected full papers presented at the conference may be invited to a special issue of The Criterion: An International Journal in English (ISSN 0976-8165), subject to independent peer review and editorial acceptance. Papers accepted for the special issue will receive DOI registration.
The conference will feature eight keynote lectures (two per thematic stream), each comprising a 30-minute address followed by a 15-minute question and discussion period. Keynote speakers will be announced after written confirmation is received.
Delivered entirely via Zoom Pro, the conference removes barriers of travel and cost while maintaining the quality of live scholarly exchange. All registered participants receive full access to all sessions across both days.
The conference is organised by RCELL and is explicitly designed to hold South Asian scholarly voices alongside international scholarship, creating an intellectually productive encounter between different critical traditions.
Posthumanism, digital humanities, and ecological futures are among the most pressing areas of contemporary humanistic inquiry. This conference places literary scholarship at the centre of those conversations rather than at their margin.
The conference title names three intellectual fields that are reshaping how we read, write, teach, and think. They are not separate tracks; they converge in questions about what it means to be human in a world altered by technology, ecological precarity, and new ways of knowing.
I
A critical reconsideration of the human as the natural centre of culture, ethics, and meaning. Posthumanism asks how literature has always staged the boundaries between the human, the animal, the technological, and the more-than-human. In the age of AI, these questions are no longer abstract: they structure daily life and daily reading.
II
The intersection of computational methods, digital archives, and literary scholarship. Digital humanities asks how we read at scale, how we preserve and interpret textual heritage, and how AI is reshaping the tools and practices of literary criticism, pedagogy, and creative work.
III
Ecocriticism, climate fiction, and environmental humanities ask what literature has to say about the Anthropocene: about extinction, extraction, planetary limits, and the unequal distribution of ecological harm. Literary culture is not a bystander to climate crisis; it is one of the places where we imagine alternatives.
"This conference is a humanities and English Studies event. It is not a technical computing conference. Its central questions concern what literature means (who makes it, how it is read, whose voices it carries, and what imaginative work it can still do) in a world undergoing transformation at a scale we are only beginning to understand."
Papers are invited across four thematic streams. Select the stream that best fits your work when submitting your abstract. The sub-themes listed under each stream are indicative rather than exhaustive: work that engages the stream's central concerns is welcome even if it does not map exactly to a listed sub-theme.
This stream examines what AI, digital technology, and posthumanist theory mean for conceptions of the human, exploring how literature has imagined, critiqued, and theorised the boundaries between the human and the non-human, the organic and the technological. The sub-themes listed below are indicative rather than exhaustive.
This stream explores how digital methods and AI are reshaping literary scholarship, pedagogy, and creative practice, from computational reading to questions of authorship, creativity, and the ethics of AI-assisted research. The sub-themes listed below are indicative rather than exhaustive.
This stream addresses ecocriticism, climate fiction, and environmental humanities, exploring how literature imagines ecological crisis, non-human agency, and the futures that remain possible within the Anthropocene. The sub-themes listed below are indicative rather than exhaustive.
This stream foregrounds postcolonial, decolonial, and Indigenous frameworks, addressing how colonialism, technology, and ecological thought intersect, with particular attention to South Asian, Dalit, and Adivasi perspectives. The sub-themes listed below are indicative rather than exhaustive.
Read the CFP and select your thematic stream (I to IV)
Prepare your abstract (250 to 300 words), keywords, biography, and AI-use disclosure
Submit via the official Google Form below
Receive automated acknowledgement; await decision by 5 January 2027 (proposed)
We invite abstracts from researchers, scholars, doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and academic faculty working across English Studies, comparative literature, cultural studies, digital humanities, ecocriticism, and related fields. Interdisciplinary work is welcome.
Each paper presentation is approximately 10 minutes, followed by a collective question and discussion period shared across the session panel. Presentations will be delivered live on Zoom Pro. Presenters are asked to submit their slides before the event for technical preparation. Sessions will be recorded only with the written consent of all speakers.
You must disclose if you have used any generative AI tool (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, or similar) in preparing your abstract, even for language editing or grammatical checking. This disclosure does not disqualify your submission, but transparency is required. Full AI disclosure expectations will apply to the conference presentation and to any future full-paper submission.
Abstracts are assessed for thematic fit, scholarly clarity, originality, and feasibility for oral presentation. The review process is conducted by the RCELL academic team. Submission does not guarantee acceptance, and abstract acceptance does not guarantee publication.
The conference explicitly encourages submissions engaging with Indian-language literatures, Dalit and Adivasi ecological narratives, regional literary archives, postcolonial climate thought, AI and Indian languages, and South Asian digital humanities.
The conference will feature eight keynote speakers across the four thematic streams, with two keynote addresses per stream. Each keynote comprises a 30-minute lecture followed by a 15-minute discussion. Speakers will be announced after written confirmation is received.
To Be Announced
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Follow the official WhatsApp group for the earliest keynote announcements.
The full programme will be published after abstract acceptance and presenter confirmation. The structure below indicates the planned architecture for both days.
13 February 2027 (provisional)
Welcome address, opening remarks, and virtual lamp-lighting ceremony
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
Stream I (AI, Posthumanism and the Future of the Human) and Stream II (Digital Humanities, AI and New Literary Practices). Approximately 10 minutes per paper.
Social networking channel open for participants
14 February 2027 (provisional)
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
30-minute address + 15-minute Q&A. Speaker: To Be Announced
Stream III (Literature, Ecology and Climate Futures) and Stream IV (Postcolonial, Decolonial and Indigenous Futures). Approximately 10 minutes per paper.
The future of literary studies: reflections and directions
Closing remarks, certificate announcement, and vote of thanks
Abstract submission is currently open and free. Registration and payment open after abstract acceptance, and are separate from the submission process. Two participation pathways are available: Presenter and Listener/Delegate.
Submit an abstract, receive acceptance, complete registration and payment, and present your paper at the conference. Eligible for full-paper publication consideration in The Criterion after the conference.
Attend the full conference, hear all keynotes and paper presentations, and participate in Q&A sessions. No abstract submission required. A separate, simpler registration process will be announced in due course.
| Category | Fee | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Participants: Paper Presenter | ||
| Early-Bird Registration | ₹1,000 | 10 January 2027 |
| Regular Registration | ₹1,200 | 25 January 2027 |
| Indian Participants: Listener / Delegate | ||
| Early-Bird Registration | ₹500 | 10 January 2027 |
| Regular Registration | ₹600 | 8 February 2027 |
| International Participants: Paper Presenter | ||
| Early-Bird Registration | USD 25 | 10 January 2027 |
| Regular Registration | USD 30 | 25 January 2027 |
| International Participants: Listener / Delegate | ||
| Early-Bird Registration | USD 15 | 10 January 2027 |
| Regular Registration | USD 20 | 8 February 2027 |
Early-bird deadlines are proposed. Registration opens after abstract acceptance notifications. See the Cancellation and Refund Policy before paying.
Important: Do not pay registration fees until you have received an official acceptance email from RCELL. Payment prior to abstract acceptance is not part of the conference workflow.
A special issue of The Criterion: An International Journal in English (ISSN 0976-8165) is planned in connection with this conference. Selected full papers from the conference may be invited for submission to the special issue, subject to the journal's independent editorial assessment and peer-review process.
ISSN: 0976-8165 • Founded 2010 • English literature, literary theory, critical studies • www.the-criterion.com
All submitted abstracts and full papers must be the original work of the named author or authors. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and undisclosed AI generation are grounds for rejection at any stage. Authors must disclose all AI assistance used in preparing their work.
All dates are proposed unless otherwise marked. Dates will be confirmed and updated as the conference progresses.
Dr. Madhuri Bite
Chief Convener, RCELL International Conference 2027
Director, RCELL • Managing Editor, The Criterion
Abstract submission is open. Join the conference WhatsApp group for the latest announcements, keynote reveals, and deadline reminders.
✦ Submit Abstract ▶ Join WhatsApp GroupFor queries, please write to conference@rcell.co.in or use the WhatsApp group. Please do not send abstracts by email; use the official Google Form only.