Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network

Invitation

We invite proposals for 2027 Imagining Social Worlds, an annual online symposium in the Common Ground Imagining Futures Series, taking place 17–18 March 2027.

The symposium brings together scholars, researchers, educators, policy thinkers, practitioners, community leaders, organizers, and public-facing professionals working across social, political, civic, organizational, and global fields. We welcome proposals that explore how social worlds are formed, governed, connected, contested, sustained, and transformed.

For 2027, The Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network serves as the host Network, helping shape the symposium’s emphasis within the wider theme of Imagining Social Worlds.

Hosted by the Common Ground Media Lab @ Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA, the symposium is also part of Common Ground’s ongoing research into the knowledge experience: exploring how online environments can support focused dialogue, continuous exchange, publication pathways, and new forms of scholarly communication.

Proposals are welcome in English or Spanish, and participants may present in either language.

Submit Media Lab

Annual Themes

Imagining Social Worlds is organized around four annual themes that reflect the wider ecology of social inquiry and practice across Common Ground.

We welcome proposals that examine society as something shaped through institutions, communities, policies, economies, cultures, technologies, movements, and everyday practices. Contributions may be theoretical, empirical, policy-oriented, practice-based, pedagogical, or community-engaged.

Together, the themes invite participants to consider how social worlds are structured, how power and inequality are produced and contested, how communities respond to change, and how new forms of public life and collective responsibility might be imagined.

  • Theme 1: Institutions, Governance, and Public Life
  • Theme 2: Inequality, Justice, and Social Change
  • Theme 3: Organizations, Work, and Social Transformation
  • Theme 4: Organizations, Work, and Social Transformation
Read More About Themes

Ways to Participate

Imagining Social Worlds is designed as an online symposium that combines live exchange, asynchronous engagement, and support sessions for developing work.

The format is intentionally focused and flexible. Rather than replicating the scale of a full conference, the symposium creates a concentrated space for sharing work, testing ideas, building connections, and continuing conversations beyond a single live session.

Participants may engage through live presentations, themed discussions, workshops, digital media, posters, asynchronous presentation pages, and training or support sessions. These formats support different ways of participating: real-time dialogue, reflective viewing, written exchange, mentoring, and follow-up discussion.

A central aim of the symposium is to support emerging scholars and emerging work. Dedicated support sessions will help participants strengthen their proposals, develop presentations, think through publication pathways, and connect their work to wider field conversations.

Live sessions create opportunities for direct conversation and shared thematic exchange, while asynchronous formats allow work to remain visible and accessible before, during, and after the symposium.

All live sessions are held online via Zoom and scheduled in US Central Time.

Read more about the format

Publication Pathways

Imagining Social Worlds connects presentation with publication, giving participants opportunities to develop their work beyond the symposium.

Accepted and registered presentations will be included in the symposium proceedings, creating a formal record of the work shared. Participants may also develop their papers for possible publication in journals associated with the participating Research Networks, depending on the scope, quality, and fit of the work.

Selected contributions may be invited for inclusion in a curated best of the symposium book volume.

The symposium also supports wider field-level reflection through plenary dialogue, Talking Circles, publication advice sessions, and a dedicated working group contributing to a collective state of the field statement.

Together, these pathways support both individual scholarly development and the wider work of defining emerging questions, voices, and directions in social research and public life.

publication pathways

Proposal and Registration Periods

Proposal submission and registration are organized into Early, Regular, and Late periods. Proposals are accepted until 17 February 2027, one month before the symposium begins, and are reviewed within two to four weeks of submission.

Registration remains open through the start of the symposium, though presenters are encouraged to register early so they have time to prepare and upload the required digital media before the deadline.

Proposal Periods

Proposals will be reviewed within two to four weeks of submission.

Early Launch to 17 November 2026
Regular 18 November 2026–17 January 2027
Late 18 January–17 February 2027

Registration Deadlines

Digital media should be uploaded by 10 March 2027.

Early Launch to 17 December 2026
Regular 18 December 2026–17 January 2027
Late 18 January–17 March 2027

Registration Options FAQ | Proposal Review

Submit Proposal

Ready to share your work? Submit a proposal to join 2027 Imagining Social Worlds and contribute to a focused online exchange on society, governance, justice, globalization, institutions, communities, and collective futures.

We welcome proposals from scholars, researchers, educators, policy thinkers, practitioners, students, early career researchers, organizers, and community leaders working across social fields.

Proposals may be submitted in English or Spanish. Accepted presenters will be invited to take part in the symposium’s live and asynchronous formats, with opportunities for discussion, feedback, support sessions, and publication pathways.

Submit Proposal

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