Call for Abstracts
Famine Studies Conference 2026, 2nd - 4th December 2026
Theme: The Politics of Famine
We are glad to announce a 2026 Famine Studies Conference that will be hosted online by the University of Bath and Wageningen University in December 2026. We invite submission that explore the broad conference theme of the ‘The Politics of Famine’.
Famines, past and present, are caused and shaped by politics. They are deeply entangled with issues of (in)equality, marginalization, patterns of violence and other power dynamics, as well as being contexts in which agency, activism and everyday resistance become visible. We are eager for conference submissions to explore a range of topics from how famine is and has been remembered, narrated, normalized, and contested within communities that have experienced it, to how it shapes or is forgotten in national and international discourses.
We welcome papers that include but also move beyond institution-driven analyses to highlight everyday forms of agency, moral economy, and political meaning-making, as well as past and current national and international activist efforts to shift the politics of famine. How and if famines are remembered and memorialized are also often deeply political, with famine histories politicized even centuries later. We invite a broad range of papers on past and present famines that will deepen our understanding of the politics of famine.
Themes and Scope:
We welcome proposals that engage with the politics of famine in the broadest sense. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Political causes of famine
- Use of hunger and starvation as a political or military tool
- Neglect and denial during and after famines
- Norms of restraint and patterns of violence that result in famine
- Activism against famine at local, national and international levels, including everyday acts of resistance
- Media and social-media narratives, including contestation and blame
- The politics of humanitarianism, diaspora giving, moral economies, and community support networks
- Rituals, death practices, and grief during or after famine
- Oral histories, storytelling, artistic expression, and cultural memory
- Comparative or cross-regional perspectives on famine-affected communities
- Methodological and ethical reflections on researching famine, memory, or humanitarian politics
- Politicization of famine memory
Language:
We are eager for the conference to be as inclusive as possible. While most of the conference will be in English, we welcome papers in languages spoken in contexts that are currently or have recently experienced famine. This includes Arabic and Somali.
Format and Venue:
The conference will take place online (via a Zoom platform) and will be hosted at the University of Bath, UK. Details regarding online access will be shared with accepted participants nearer the event.
Submission Guidelines:
Please submit an abstract of 200–250 words outlining your core argument, methodological approach, and contribution to the conference themes as well as a short bio (ca. 100 words). Submissions must include: name, affiliation, contact details, and presentation format preference.
The deadline for submissions is the 8th May 2026.
Send your abstract to XXXX
In addition to traditional papers, we are also open to creative, multimedia, or practice-based approaches and we encourage producers to contact the conference organizers.
Participation and Costs:
A £60 participation fee applies to all participants to help meet organizational and technical costs. Limited free or subsidized spaces are available upon request based on financial needs. Priority for these spaces will be given to scholars from contexts where famine is or has recently occurred.
The conference is organized in collaboration with the ERC-funded Everyday Politics of Famine Project (University of Bath, UK) and Wageningen University (Netherlands).