SEASIA 2026 in Singapore: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The 6th SEASIA Biennial Conference, “Forging Southeast Asia’s Futures,” will be held on:

8–10 July 2026
School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
(48, Nanyang Ave, Singapore 639818)

“Forging Southeast Asia’s Futures” frames the 6th SEASIA Biennial Conference as an active inquiry into how diverse actors – states, communities, institutions, artists, educators, and technologists – shape the region’s trajectories amid shifting geopolitical, economic, environmental, and digital forces. The theme emphasises agency: the everyday and strategic capacities through which people and organisations navigate, contest, and remake structures of power to produce multiple, competing pathways into the future.

The conference continues the regional legacy of SEASIA biennial conferences — a region‑based forum for Southeast Asian area studies, hosted across Asia since the Consortium’s founding and inaugural meetings in 2013 and in subsequent editions.

Call for Abstracts

Sub-themes

The conference organizers call for papers on the following sub‑themes:

Geopolitics, Governance, and the Agency of the State
Economic Architectures and Pathways to Inclusive Growth
Environmental Justice, Climate Change, and Ecological Agency
The Digital Nexus: Technology, Media, and Cybercultures
The Power of the Past: History, Memory, and Narrative Agency
Aesthetics of Agency: Arts, Literatures, and Cultural Expression
Mobility, Migration, and Transnational Communities
Dynamics of Identity: Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender (Social Stability/Equality)
The Educational Nexus: Pedagogy, Power, and the Practice of Teaching Southeast Asia

To participate

Any questions regarding the call, submission requirements, or conference logistics should be directed to: seasia2026@ntu.edu.sg

Participant Types

The Conference Committee shall consider the following participation types:

Individual presentation

Individual presentation (single-author oral papers presented in parallel sessions)

Submit a Title and an Abstract (max 550 words) detailing the research question, theoretical framework, methodology, sources utilized, and the main findings or arguments of the paper. Clearly state the paper’s contribution to Southeast Asian Studies. The Committee will group individual papers into thematically coherent panels.

Organized panel

Organized panel (thematic sessions comprising multiple related papers presented in the same session)

If your presentation is part of an Organized Panel, select this option in addition to submitting your paper’s Title and Abstract (max 550 words). To ensure correct grouping, you must indicate the full Panel Title and the full name of the Panel Chair/Discussant in the relevant fields.

Roundtable

Roundtable (informal, discussion-focused gatherings where experts and participants dialogue on a specific issue)

If your presentation is part of an organized Roundtable, select this option in addition to submitting your paper’s Title and Abstract (max 550 words). To ensure correct grouping, you must indicate the full Roundtable Title and the full name of the Roundtable Chair/Discussant in the relevant fields.

Posters

Posters (visual displays of research or project findings shown in a poster-hall for brief, one-on-one conversations)

Submit a Title and an Abstract (max 550 words) outlining the research background, methodology, key data or visual materials to be presented, and the conclusions expected. Poster presentations should be designed for a portrait format

Important information for all participants to note

All proposals must be submitted via the conference management platform EasyChair.

Prospective participants must create a free EasyChair account to submit an abstract.

*Click here to open an account.
*Click here for the detailed instructions on how to submit.