Power and Possession – 2026 AHRC International Conference | Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership

The organising committee is excited to announce that the 11th AHRC International Conference will take place from 14-16 September 2026 at The Queen's College in Oxford. The theme of this year's conference is Power and Possession. We are calling for submissions from doctoral students at the Open University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, as well as our international partner universities, with a submission deadline of 8 May 2026. Please see the Call for Papers below for more details.

This year, the organising committee invites proposals on the theme of Power and Possession. Power relations, rights, and ownership are central to research in the arts and humanities; without these disciplines, we cannot make sense of power. Everyday experiences are shaped by force, institutions, and ideology, and power influences both the production of knowledge and our access to it. Possession, in turn, is fundamental to power. Historic ownership of land and people has shaped the present we inherit, and the future demands that we wrestle with possession in the digital world. Possession and power are themes found on the micro-, meso-, and macroscales, ranging from local conflict between individuals to outright global war. 

We encourage potential participants to interpret these themes broadly and explore them creatively. Proposals should be made for 20-minute presentations but are not limited to academic-style talks. We invite contributions from the visual and performing arts, and alternative formats might include a poster, short film, workshop, or performance (for inquiries, email training@oocdtp.ac.uk). The conference will provide a constructive space for doctoral students, and we especially welcome submissions from speakers with limited conference experience. An online webinar will be held on Tuesday 21 April to provide more information about the submission process and support for those with less experience; details will be circulated later.

Submissions might explore:

War, nationalism, and global conflict as a question of national ownership

Language and literature as an assertion of epistemic possession

Historiography and the right to claim the past as one’s own

Histories of the wielding or breakdown of power and possession

Art and architecture as expressions or critiques of power and possession

Possession in archives, libraries, museums, and collections

Philosophical conceptions of power in political theory and epistemology

Legal rights and their role in shaping power and possession

To apply, please fill out this form by Friday 8 May 2026.

Submissions

The deadline for submissions to this conference is midday, 12:00 GMT, on Friday 8th May 2026. To submit, please fill out this form.

Please note: if you are a student from one of our International Partner universities, we ask that you please submit your proposal via your university, and do not complete the above online form. Thank you.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to OOC DTP doctoral researchers of all subjects from the Open University and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Applicants from the international partner institutions named above are welcome to get in contact with their universities about the internal application process.

Students who are not registered at Oxford will be offered accommodation and support for travel expenses if selected to speak at the conference.

Please direct any questions to training@oocdtp.ac.uk.

Our international partners for the 2026 conference include:

a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School of Cologne University
Australian National University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stockholm University
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

	George Adams George is a first year English PhD student at the University of Cambridge. His research examines the role of particularity as a form of ecological attention towards the biosphere. He considers how Romantic-period writers use particularity, defined in Johnson’s Dictionary (1755) as a form of ‘distinct notice or enumeration’, to parse and fashion ‘many different and often competing natures’ (Alan Bewell).
	Juan Pablo Angarita Bernal Juan Pablo is a first year doctoral student in Digital Humanities, University of Cambridge, based at Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH). His research explores how GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) institutions in Colombia and Brazil have acted as sociotechnical infrastructures for cultural heritage since the 1990s.
	Charles Bland In his first year studying a PhD at the University of Cambridge, Charles is researching the philosophy of mathematics, seeking to understand the nature of the subject and the practice of mathematicians better. In particular he's interested in considering: What do mathematicians mean when they say that a theorem is 'beautiful'? Should mathematics be counted as an art alongside painting, music, and film? Why are some mathematical proofs singled out as 'explanatory', when all (valid) proofs establish the truth of their results? What is the role of mathematics in explaining phenomena in the natural, non-mathematical world?
	Jemma Louise Forster Jemma is a second year PhD student in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Her thesis examines the function of Diana as a signifier of female homoeroticism in Elizabethan and Jacobean texts, interrogating the critical understanding of Diana’s primary association with Elizabeth I and the cult of chastity in early modern English literature.
	Jiayao Jiang Jiayao is a third year PhD student in the Italian Section, Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, University of Cambridge. Her research is titled “Reconstruction of urban heritage in post-war Rome, 1944-1951: Transnational flows and national identity.” The specific focus of the research is on the remarkable and complex transnational flows of individuals and groups, civilian and military, moving through Rome during this period.
	Edward Lamb Edward is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford.
	Lilja Ruismäki Lilja is a doctoral student in her first year in History at King's College, University of Cambridge. Her research examines the history of vagrancy and workhouse internment in late 20th century Finland. In particular her research examines the later period of vagrancy regulation, from 1943 to 1987, considering how changing concepts of citizenship, normalcy and morality were reflected in public discourse, ‘vagrancy care’ and the eventual repeal of the Vagrancy Law.
	Mia Thomas Mia is a first year DPhil student in Theology at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on protestant non-conformist women between 1620 and 1640 in England. In particular she will produce a prosopography to trace female figures; this will extend our understanding of radicalism across class and geographic boundaries. This questions current London-centric accounts and interrogates scholarly perceptions of ‘radicalism’.
	Elena Trowsdale Elena is a second year Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD at the Open University and Oxford University Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) Division). Her research is qualitative analysis methods for public engagement measurement in Oxford University’s GLAM sector. In particular she will be analysing linguistic, and other qualitative data derived from public engagement initiatives or feedback from each of the six GLAM institutions associated with Oxford University, including the Bodleian and Ashmolean.

The first five Cambridge AHRC International Conferences were organised and supported by the Cambridge AHRC DTP. Conference themes included: Trust and Truth (2019), Space and Surface (2018), Tradition and Transformation (2017), Time and Temporality (2016). You can find out more about these past conferences here: https://cambridgeahrcdtpconferences.co.uk/.

The subsequent five conferences: Borders and Boundaries (2025), Across Distance (2021), Hybridity (2022), Entanglements (2023), and Constellations (2024) were organised by a committee of students from the OU, Oxford, and Cambridge, with support from the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP.