Call for Papers

The University of Zurich is organising a conference entitled “Culture in Translation – History, Literature, and the Transcultural Movement of Ideas”, which is going to take place in Zurich from Thursday, 1st October until Sunday, 4th October 2026. This international congress will serve as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on the subject of the transmissions, translations, adaptations, transformations, and selections of particularly influential cultural, religious, and literary traditions, in line with the more specific research questions provided in the conference description. It aims to bring into conversation a wide variety of voices across disciplinary boundaries which study antiquity as well as its reception and impact. Besides a number of invited sessions with speakers from the disciplines of Ancient History, Biblical Studies, Classics, the History of Judaism and Christianity, Egyptology, Ancient Near Eastern studies, and further areas of research on ancient cultures and their legacy, the organisers invite offered papers for contributions of about 25 minutes.

This call for papers is open to both junior and senior scholars from all disciplines within the study of ancient texts, languages, cultures and thought, while there is some focus on the Eastern Mediterranean as well as ancient Greece and Rome, as well as areas of reception history in Judaism and Christianity. All scholars interested in this conference are invited to send abstracts for proposed papers to the organisers by email to the following address: culture@theol.uzh.ch. Abstracts should be of an approximate length of 300–400 words, and be supplemented by a small paragraph describing the scholar’s academic background.

All proposals for the conference are due on 31st March 2026, 23.59 hrs (Central European Time). 

Proposals by women as well as by researchers of marginalised backgrounds and fields of study are particularly encouraged. There is some funding available to support junior scholars’ expenses towards travel and accommodation in Zurich. This is to ensure the accessibility of the conference. Details will be communicated to participants upon the acceptance of their short paper. In case of further questions, please feel free to contact the organisers directly at the same email address.

Faculty of Theology and the Study of Religion, University of Zurich