Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) Annual Conference 2026
November 12-15, 2026
Seattle, WA

Call for Paper:
Our Ruling Classes: Class, Power, Conflict

Submission Deadline: May 25, 2026

Subject: Asian Literatures and Cultures
Contact: Wentao Ma (University of California - San Diego)
w4ma@ucsd.edu

The Asian Literatures and Cultures session welcomes paper proposals (individual papers or organized panels) on a wide variety of topics pertaining to “Asia” and “literature and culture,” broadly conceived. Papers may deal with a range of historical periods (premodern, modern, etc.) and regions (East, Southeast, South, West, Central, etc.). “Literature and culture” can include literature, but also media such as film, theater, and art.

We welcome proposals both related to the conference theme, "Our Ruling Classes," and those not related. Papers may analyze issues of power and ideology from multiple theoretical perspectives, among other perspectives.

Other topics include, but are not limited to:
• Representations of political authority, elites, and ruling classes
• Class hierarchies, social mobility, and labor in cultural production
• Cultural responses to colonialism, imperialism, and Cold War geopolitics
• Nationalism, ideology, and state power
• Censorship, propaganda, and cultural policy in media and artistic production
• Gender, sexuality, and power in literary and cultural texts
• Transnational and diasporic Asian cultural formations
• Environmental crisis, ecological thought, and environmental humanities
• Digital media, platform cultures, and technological transformations of cultural production
• Countercultural movements, dissent, and alternative cultural publics
To submit a proposal, log into pamla.ballastacademic.com (you will need to create an account if you have not done so previously), click “Propose Session,” and follow the instructions provided.
PAMLA encourages special session proposals with alternative formats, including roundtables, workshops, creative or experimental sessions, and other innovative scholarly conversations.