The theme for the 25th gathering of the Caribbean Philosophical Association (CPA) is “Shifting the Geography of Reason: Black British Cultural Studies and Beyond” and it is inspired by our meeting in Birmingham, England, home to the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) and a principal site in the development of Black British Cultural Studies. Inspired by the work and ideas of Stuart Hall and the CCCS, and in solidarity with Birmingham’s aspiration to become a world-leading anti-racist city by 2035, this conference invites reflection on the enduring influence of Black British Cultural Studies on how we understand culture, identity, power, and liberation.

Stuart Hall and his contemporaries transformed how scholars think about colonialism, diaspora, migration, race, representation, popular culture, and the politics of everyday life. Crossing disciplinary boundaries, Black British Cultural Studies profoundly informed philosophy, literature, history, media studies, sociology, music, film, and the visual and performing arts. We therefore invite papers that examine this continuing impact and how its concepts and methods illuminate contemporary challenges. How can Cultural Studies reshape our thinking about colonialism and its afterlives? What new conversations emerge through placing its insights in dialogue with Caribbean philosophy, Africana thought, feminist and queer theory, decolonial studies, disability studies, and other critical traditions?

We are especially interested in papers and panels that explore how Birmingham’s distinctive histories of migration, activism, and political struggle have shaped the intellectual development of Black British Cultural Studies and related fields. We also welcome proposals that examine how Black British Cultural Studies, in turn, has reshaped the wider field of cultural studies, generating new concepts, methods, and ways of understanding culture, power, and social change.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, Stuart Hall and Black British Cultural Studies; race, diaspora, and migration; colonialism and decolonization; media, literature, music, film, and the arts; popular culture and everyday life; philosophy and critical theory; archives and memory; urban cultures; education and pedagogy; and contemporary movements for social transformation. We also welcome papers on themes related to the CPA’s central project of shifting the geography of reason.

Participation in the conference is contingent on formal membership in the Caribbean Philosophical Association. To become a member of the association, please register here.

Guidelines: Please submit your individual and panel proposals by January 15th, 2027.

Length of individual presentation: Each presenter reads for 15 minutes.

Languages: Scholars, researchers, activists, artists, and practitioners are invited to submit their work in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese.

Instructions for individual and panel abstracts:

Individual abstracts: Submit proposals through this page. Enter the presenter’s name and institution, rank, (where applicable), email address, title and an abstract of a maximum of 250-words.

Abstracts for panels: Panels are made up of at least three presenters and a maximum of four. On behalf of their fellow panelists, the organizer of the panel submits all abstracts and panelists’ information via this page. Panelists’ abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words. In addition to individual abstracts, the organizer of the panel will also submit a title and brief abstract (maximum of 200 words) for the panel.

Number of proposals per participants: In the spirit of fairness and equity we ask that interested parties submit only one proposal. Everyone is welcome to participate in other roles such as session moderators or roundtable discussants.

Inquiries: All inquiries can be sent to thecaribphilassociation@gmail.com.