[Air-L] Conference Digital Cultures of the Caucasus: Queer-Feminist Perspectives

[Christian Pentzold]

Dear all,

Happy to share this call for a conference on digital cultures of the Caucasus in 2027.

All best,
Christian 


***

International Conference
Digital Cultures of the Caucasus: Queer-Feminist Perspectives

University of Regensburg, Germany, 3–5, 2027

This conference seeks to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in making queer and feminist interventions in digitally mediated cultures of the Caucasus. In this rich linguistic, cultural, and politically diverse space stretching from Dagestan to northwestern Iran and Türkiye, the digital dimension has been an active arena of negotiating agency in the twenty-first century. Multiple diasporas around the world further enrich the complexity of digital imaginaries, participation, and belonging in the Caucasus. 

We invite contributions from across Cultural Studies, Media and Communication Studies, Literary Studies, Performance Studies, Visual Studies, History, Art History, Gender Studies, and adjacent fields, as well as from outside academia, that critically engage with digital culture, politics, and society in the Caucasus. How do, for instance, regimes of visibility and opacity shape digital cultures across the Caucasus and in the diaspora? How could practices of surveillance, policing, and their contestations inform our analytical approaches to regional digital ecosystems? And how might we conceptualize the “gaze” across geopolitical and cultural terrains? 

The full CfA can be accessed from here: https://tatianaklepikova.com/cfps/digital-cultures-of-the-caucasus/ <https://linklock.titanhq.com/analyse?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftatianaklepikova.com%2Fcfps%2Fdigital-cultures-of-the-caucasus%2F&data=eJxVjUEKgzAQRU9jdglWrdJFFm68QE8wTcY4mKgkE6E9fVMohcJf_f943-i-BYAbDpe-nnthNTB5CgptVhxF0BzuDoewvK7dKJLmssMGavV40LqfUHV1OiKYxROrvJGM6HBLjxydsiiiJu8gqoRPsvtZ6P-DrBfmI1XtWDVTydf_0yuzh1KbuTDNZMkRg5cme84Rk9xnyQtKA9lAyh_kDTeDSlg%>

The conference language is English. Please submit an abstract of about 250 words and a short bio of about 100 words (as one document) by July 15, 2026, to the organizers at all three email addresses: tatiana.klepikova at ur.de <mailto:tatiana.klepikova at ur.de>; christian.pentzold at uni-leipzig.de <mailto:christian.pentzold at uni-leipzig.de>; ilgar.seyidov at atilim.edu.tr <mailto:ilgar.seyidov at atilim.edu.tr>

Notes of acceptance will follow in August. Our discussions at the conference will be based on internally pre-circulated papers (under this format, we include academic contributions as well as essay reflections on artistic practice). Participants will need to submit their papers of 2,000 words by January 31, 2027, to enable enough time for everyone to read each other’s work. Following the conference, we will invite select authors to further develop their contributions for an edited volume in a peer-reviewed book series.

The conference will be held in person in Germany. The organizers have secured limited funding to support travel costs and cover accommodation for participants, with priority given to early-career researchers, scholars based in the region, and practitioners. We recognize that personal and professional situations may vary and are open to considering hybrid participation in exceptional cases. If you are unable to participate in person, please note this information in your submission. 

For any questions, please reach out to Tatiana Klepikova at tatiana.klepikova at ur.de <mailto:tatiana.klepikova at ur.de>

Conference organizers:

Tatiana Klepikova
University of Regensburg | Research group on Queer Literatures and Cultures under Socialism

Christian Pentzold
Leipzig University | Department of Communication and Media Studies

Ilgar Seyidov 
Atılım University | Department of Public Relations and Advertising

***



—
Professor Dr. Christian Pentzold

Geschäftsführender Direktor | Managing Director 

Institut für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft | Department for Communication and Media Studies
Universität Leipzig | Leipzig University

Nikolaistrasse 27-29, D-04109 Leipzig
christian.pentzold at uni-leipzig.de
https://www.sozphil.uni-leipzig.de/institut-fuer-kommunikations-und-medienwissenschaft/professuren/professur-fuer-medien-und-kommunikationswissenschaft/




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