The theme of the conference is “Encountering the Everyday in Chinese Contexts”.
The conference committee is welcoming proposals for papers which engage with this theme from a broad range of disciplines such as history, language, film and media, arts, politics, anthropology, sociology and economics within the field of Chinese Studies. We particularly welcome pre-formed panels where the everyday is encountered in specific contexts, for example, the urban, domestic and diasporic migrant communities, poetry, etc.
This year’s conference is accepting proposals for both individual papers and pre-constituted panels.
To submit an individual paper
The individual proposal shall include the following information, all in the same document:
- A title
- 5-6 key words
- An abstract (maximum 300 words) for a maximum 15-20 minute presentation.
- Speaker’s short biography (maximum 150 words), including affiliation.
- Speaker’s email address.
To submit a pre-constituted panel
The panel proposal shall include the following information:
- A panel title and format. We encourage submission that embraces a range of scholarship. In addition to the conventional presentations of research papers, the panel may adopt a different format, such as roundtable discussion, pedagogic forum, curated Q&A, open-floor dialogue, or work-in-progress workshop. Panel organisers please state clearly which format your panel adopts.
- 5-6 key words
- A panel statement (maximum 300 words).
- If it is a conventional panel of research papers, please also include all individual abstracts (maximum 300 words each).
- All speakers or participants’ short biographies (maximum 150 words each), including their affiliation and email address.
The official language of the conference is English. Due to budget constraints, we are unable to provide an interpreting service. Therefore, all presenters are expected to deliver their papers in English.
Please email your proposal as an attachment (Word file preferred) to bacs2026@lancaster.ac.uk by 30 March 2026. Please clearly state in the email subject line either “bacs2026 individual proposal” or “bacs2026 panel proposal”.
If you have any queries regarding the conference, please send them to the same email address.
Responses to FAQ
The conference team has put together responses to FAQs:
- All attendees will need to pay their registration fee, and so would a panel chair and discussant have to pay a fee?
The panel may take different formats. It is not essential to have a chair and/or discussant. The panel organiser can decide whether it is in the panel’s best interest to have one. Having a chair and/or a discussant or not does not affect the review outcome. All attendees will need to pay their registration fee, and so will the panel chair and discussant.
If the panel wishes to have a chair and/or discussant, we expect the panel organiser to make the arrangements. In many cases, the panel organiser or one of the panel members may act as the chair.
- I am interested in the conference but cannot travel. Will the conference offer remote access to presentations or hybrid attendance?
Due to the restriction of IT facilities and tight schedule, we strongly encourage in-person attendance. There might be limited places for remote presentations via Teams, but we cannot provide hybrid attendance for non-presenters.
The remote presenters will also be expected to pay the same amount of conference registration fee. However, they will not have access to the full programme. They will only be able to attend the panel that they present at. If this is the only option you will take, please state it clearly in your proposal.
The proposal will go through the same reviewing process. Please be aware that the conference team will also consider the facility’s capacity when making the acceptance decision.
- Does the conference offer any ECR/PGR bursary?
The conference registration fee will be mainly used to cover catering and room booking costs and support services. Due to limited funding, we are unable to provide any bursary.
- When can I expect to hear the result?
We aim to inform you of the outcome by the middle of May. Please be aware this is an indicative timeframe. The actual time will depend on the reviewing process.