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A diverse group of graduate students, faculty and staff pose in a semi-circle around a fountain in a university courtyard.
Summer 2023 Royster Global Conference participants

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed doctoral students from partner institutions King’s College London and Universität Tübingen for the 2023 Royster Global Conference, held May 30 – June 2, 2023. The theme of the 2023 conference was “Power and Justice.”

In a world attempting to recover from a global pandemic and grappling with the rise of fascism, discussions about power proliferate: Who has it? Who doesn’t? How are monumental shifts in state and private power challenging how we conceptualize the role of justice in mediating or controlling power? What role does globalization and the digital society play in amplifying and reworking existing power relations?

From the sciences to the physical and online hallways of art and literature, questions about power and justice have always been present. But in recent years, these have been particularly salient as citizens worldwide deal with discrimination related to migration, climate change, access to education, access to vaccines and healthcare, platform governance, censorship, voting access and elections, reproductive rights, and the consequences of slavery. The challenges are simultaneously local and international.

Royster Global ’23 explored this theme with the goal of understanding more about researching power and justice worldwide – how power and justice struggles exist across and within borders, structures, institutions, and disciplines, and what may be changing in these discussions.

To immortalize the intellectual fervor that characterized the 2023 Royster Global conference, we proudly present a collection of seven visual abstracts. These abstracts artfully translate the presentations, thoughts, and dialogues that took center stage during the event. With contributions from 11 participants, these visual abstracts provide a snapshot of the conference’s rich tapestry of ideas and discoveries.

View the 2023 Royster Global visual abstract collection (PDF).

Information for 2023 Royster Global Conference Participants:

2023 Conference Schedule

2023 Conference Participants