A Decade Looking Toward East Asia: Continuities, Transformations, and New Approaches

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 25, 26 and 27 January 2027

In 2026, the Spanish Association for East Asian Studies (AEEAO) marks its tenth anniversary—a decade during which East Asian Studies have gained increasing prominence amid a global context shaped by profound political, economic, social, cultural, and technological transformations.

To commemorate this milestone, the 5th AEEAO Conference is conceived as a forum for scholarly exchange and collective reflection, aimed at reassessing how East Asia is studied today: from which theoretical and methodological standpoints, with what analytical tools, and in response to which research challenges—both present and future.

Since its foundation, AEEAO has fostered interdisciplinary approaches that bring together the humanities, the social sciences, linguistic and cultural studies, economics, international relations, translation, and intercultural mediation. The Conference invites participants to critically revisit the trajectories of these fields, identify emerging lines of inquiry, and debate the role of East Asia in the contemporary world, with due attention to the diversity and complexity of its societies.

The Conference also seeks to strengthen existing academic networks, generate new synergies, promote inter-institutional dialogue, and enhance knowledge transfer by encouraging stronger connections between academia and society. The meeting aspires to consolidate itself as an open, plural, and critical space in which to think collectively about the present and future of East Asian Studies.

Under this broad framework, the Conference proposes the following thematic areas:

  • Urban Studies and the Environment
  • Sciences and Engineering
  • Law and International Relations
  • Philosophy and Thought
  • Art History and Visual Culture
  • History and Archaeology
  • Language and Culture
  • Literature
  • Politics and Economics
  • Sociology and Anthropology
  • Translation, Interpreting, and Mediation

Key dates

  • Panel proposal submission period: 1–21 March 2026
  • Panel acceptance notification: 15 April 2026
  • Abstract submission period: 15 April–15 May 2026
  • Abstract acceptance notification: 7 September 2026
  • Registration period: 15 September–15 November 2026
  • Grant application period (see scholarship information): 7–17 September 2026
  • Grant decision notification: 1 October 2026

Types of proposals

For this edition of the conference, the organisers have opted for an open-panel format as a way of fostering networking and synergies among researchers. In this regard, proposals with an interdisciplinary and/or multiregional focus will be especially welcomed. First, a call will open for panel proposals, which should include a title and a brief description of the panel’s content, without associated individual papers. The proposer(s) will chair (moderate) the panel.

Subsequently, the call for abstracts to participate in the conference will open, with two options:

  • Posters will be displayed in a dedicated space, and a session will be set aside for authors to present their work and exchange ideas with interested attendees.
  • Papers will have a maximum duration of 15 minutes and may optionally be submitted under one of the panels previously approved by the organising committee.