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UNC Royster Global Conference 2025 Call for Papers

Interdisciplinary Research in Action: Approaches, Practices, Outcomes. 

UNC Chapel Hill
October 22 – 24, 2025

 

Call for Project and Research Presentations, Panels, and Workshops

The call for submissions is now closed.

The 2025 Royster Global Conference invites proposals for panels, workshops, and individual research presentations that address the theme: Interdisciplinary Research in Action: Approaches, Practices, Outcomes.
The conference foregrounds interdisciplinarity as both a guiding ethos and a generative conceptual framework, rather than a singular research method. We understand interdisciplinary research as the integration of knowledge and skills from distinct academic disciplines to collaboratively address complex questions—an approach increasingly vital at this critical juncture in global history.

The conference is envisioned as an incubator for ideas and collaborations, creating space for scholars to engage across fields, institutions, and geographies. It offers a unique opportunity to consider how cross-border, cross-disciplinary partnerships can generate new insights and foster meaningful impact.

By convening under the theme Interdisciplinary Research in Action, we also affirm our commitment to recognizing, sharing, and celebrating the value of collective intellectual work, and to foregrounding the university’s role as a vital site of innovation and resilience in a rapidly changing global landscape.

We welcome submissions that respond to any of the guiding questions and thematic areas outlined below*:

  1. What are the impacts of anthropogenic and natural shifts in our social, political, and environmental ecosystems?
    This theme invites submissions that explore the consequences of both human-driven and natural changes across global and local systems.
    Contributions may address a broad spectrum of topics across the natural and physical sciences—such as the environment, water, food, and energy—as well as the social sciences and humanities, including mediated environments, technological transformations, and other cultural conditions central to contemporary life. We particularly welcome research, either ongoing or completed, that theorizes these phenomena and critically examines their broader social, political, or ecological implications.

    • Keywords: natural resources, environment, health, data and datafication, mediated environments, migration, culture, global issues
  2. What methodological and conceptual frameworks emerge in response to the current moment? How can methodologies serve as tools of resilience and knowledge production?
    This theme focuses on innovative approaches to research design, methodology, and conceptualization. We encourage submissions that explore methodological practices with an emphasis on community impact, experimental research designs, and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Panels, papers, and workshops that reflect on the role of methodology in shaping resilient and socially responsive research are especially welcome.

    • Keywords: methods, findings, grounded theory, modeling, research design, community engagement
  3. How can we approach translational research? Where do pedagogy and research intersect? What innovative teaching practices are emerging in response to present challenges?
    Submissions under this theme consider pedagogy broadly—as both a method and a mode of research dissemination. We invite contributions that examine how teaching and research intersect across disciplines and audiences, from university classrooms to broader public contexts. Proposals focusing on pedagogical innovation, curriculum design, inclusive teaching practices, and community-engaged learning are particularly encouraged.

    • Keywords: language, critical pedagogy, interdisciplinary teaching, inclusive teaching practices, curricular innovation
  4. What interventions are possible through artistic and creative practices? How do the arts complement and extend conventional research approaches?
    This area invites submissions that explore the role of artistic and creative practices in knowledge production. We are especially interested in theoretical and practice-based approaches that engage the arts as a form of inquiry, critique, or intervention. In addition to academic presentations, we welcome creative works that contribute to the conference’s broader interdisciplinary conversations.

    • Keywords: creative arts, studio practices, artistic interventions, arts-based research, performance and design

*If you feel your research does not fall within the aforementioned thematic areas but speaks to the overall conference theme of “Interdisciplinary Research in Action: Approaches, Practices and Outcomes,” please submit a proposal for review.

We encourage submissions that address the above questions and thematic areas. Submissions can be for research ranging from early research to completed projects, formal research presentations, and panels, and workshops.

Submit Presentation Proposal

 

If you would like to share your work at the 2025 Royster Global Conference, we ask that you provide a 250-500-word abstract. In addition to describing the work you wish to present, you will be asked to provide the format of your presentation. If submitting a panel please include all names and affiliations of panelist.

We may have a limited number of $150 conference expense vouchers and on-campus housing accommodations available at no cost for graduate student presenters. If you are interested in being considered for housing and/or a voucher, please indicate your need in the question below.