Introduction

For millennia, human civilization has been in a relentless pursuit of comprehending the relationship between the forces of the natural world and the human condition. This endeavour has produced a bewildering number of disciplines amounting to an impressive array of epistemological insights into the nature of human existence. Scholarly approaches in/(to) Human Sciences, e.g., philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, literature, language, linguistics, evolutionary biology, culture, religion, and anthropology initiate an inquiry into our ever-evolving sociocultural foundations, and in doing so, redress our sense of place in relation to the scheme of things. 

In this age of rapid changes in the socio-cultural fabric, individuals, as well as communities, are faced with apprehension with regard to their long-held sense of subjectivity and identity. At this crossroads of tradition and technology, man and machine, it is in the domain of Human Sciences that we must launch a critique of the contemporary world. For a wholesome understanding of the crises and triumphs of modernity, they must be viewed through the lens of an interdisciplinary approach that lends our critical inquiry a much-needed equilibrium and reinforces the relevance of the humanities in a radically transforming world. In addition to instilling empathy in the much-hardened modern psyche, an intersection of the humanities and the other sciences adds to the gravity of the liberal arts on the utilitarian scale in academia.

We are pleased to invite proposals that initiate an interdisciplinary exploration of questions like:

• How did we, humans, come to be the way we are now?

• What is it to be human from biological, social, and cultural perspectives?

• How do literary and linguistic studies prove to be effective tools for creating cultural awareness of the changing world?

• How do technological advances contribute to shifting socio-cultural topography?

• How are the lasting effects of colonialism and globalisation being counteracted and appropriated in (re)defining identities?

• How do human beings reciprocate with the new normal?

• How do we integrate with the confluence of science, religion, culture, and society, if at all and/or any?

Topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Psychology/Psychoanalysis

• Ecology/Ecocriticism

• Anthropology

• Migration and diaspora

• Postcolonial politics

• Subaltern Studies

• Nation and narration

• Literature and the scriptures

• Literature and film  

• Critical Race Theory

• Biopolitics

• Technology in literary studies

• Religion

• Thanatology

• Digital Humanities

• Medical Humanities

• Public/Community/Mental Health

• (Child) Behaviour

• Madness

• Gender and Sexuality

• Trauma Studies

• Gerontology

• Social Work/Welfare

• Consumerism and Happiness

• (Shadow) Economy and Society

• Business and Society

• Science, Religion, and Culture

• Posthumanism

• Language, agency, and power

• Linguistic Racism

• Critical Pedagogy

• Education and the market

• Educational theories: then and now

• Ideological polarisation and the media

• Post-pandemic reality

• Soft power and Hollywood

• Globalisation, hybridity, and post-identity

• Social media and mental health

• Media representations of cultural stereotypes

• History, narrative, and hegemony

• Metaverse, simulacrum, and the future of human reality

• Neo-orientalism and cultural aggression

• Toxic masculinity/femininity: fact or fiction?

• Political correctness: boon or bane?

• Video games and identity

• Identity and the revival of folk traditions

• TikTok and psychology

• Spectatorship

• Superhero culture

• Musicology 

• Meme culture

• Black Lives Matter

• #MeToo

Submission Guidelines (Now Closed): The conference welcomes scholars and researchers in any discipline within the broad theme of human sciences. We are expecting different modes of interdisciplinary scholarly engagement such as 20-minute paper read-outs, PowerPoint presentations, and focused panels (three-in-one). For an individual paper, the abstract should be no more than 250 words and for other formats, the word limit is 500. It should be accompanied by a 100-word short biography of each contributor. Please contact osmosiseduconference@gmail.com for any query.  

Points to Ponder: Osmosis is an in-person conference to take place at East Delta University, Chattogram, Bangladesh. The official language of the conference is English. The conference does not cover travel or accommodation expenses.

Publication: All selected abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. After the conference, participants will have the option of submitting their complete papers for possible publication in Palimpsest: East Delta University Journal of English Studies (p-ISSN: 2307-4094, e-ISSN: 2709-2771) , a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, in its 3rd volume in 2023.