Request for Proposals
University of Oregon
May 7–9, 2026
The Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages invites proposals for its second
annual international conference, Global Futures of Higher Education: Autonomy in the
Crosshairs, to be held May 7–9, 2026, at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
This conference examines the future of higher education in an increasingly authoritarian
global environment marked by democratic backsliding, political polarization, and
intensifying state efforts to control knowledge production. Across regions, universities face
intersecting pressures: geopolitical instability, new technologies, shifting patterns of
mobility, growing demands for measurable “impact,” and deepening contests over truth,
history, and public trust.
A central concern of this convening is systemic autonomy in higher education: the capacity
of teaching and research to be guided by scholarly standards rather than direct political
instruction. Universities are never separate from politics, law, the economy, or media. The
question is which institutional arrangements allow these relationships to support, rather
than undermine, free inquiry.
Global Focus
This conference foregrounds a global and comparative perspective. Around the world,
illiberal movements seek to steer curricula, constrain research agendas, surveil campus
life, and intimidate scholars and students. These pressures increasingly operate across
borders through visa regimes, transnational repression, funding leverage, and coordinated
disinformation.
We welcome proposals that analyze these dynamics comparatively, trace how constraints
travel across regions, and develop practical strategies for resilience: protections for at-risk
scholars, institutional toolkits for academic freedom, ethical global partnerships, and
renewed commitments to language learning and area studies.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
- Autonomy Under Pressure: Academic Freedom, Governance, and Scholar Safety
Across Regions - Structural Couplings: Universities, Politics, Law, Economy, and Media in Global
Perspective - Curriculum Wars Worldwide: When Knowledge Is Re-coded as Loyalty or Security
- Beyond Borders, Under Watch: Transnational Repression and the Risks of Global
- Academic Work
- Fieldwork Under Constraint: Methods, Ethics, and Care in Restricted Environments
- Languages as Capacity: The Infrastructure of Global Understanding in an Age of
Cuts and Polarization - Truth, Trust, and Disinformation: Universities as Targets—and as Defenders of
Public Knowledge - AI and the Global Classroom: Innovation, Surveillance, Governance, and Equity
Submission Guidelines
We invite proposals from faculty, graduate students, and independent scholars across
disciplines. Submissions may take the form of individual paper proposals as well as
creative or experimental presentation formats. Deadline: March 1, 2026.
Please submit your paper proposal here:
Submission Form
Each proposal should include:
- Title
- Abstract (250–300 words)
- Names and affiliations of participants
- Brief bios (2–3 sentences each)
Participant Support
All selected participants will receive a $500 honorarium to help offset travel and lodging
costs.
About the Schnitzer School and Eugene
The Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages is located at the University of
Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, in the scenic Willamette Valley on the ancestral lands of the
Kalapuya people (Kalapuya Ilihi). The campus sits between the Pacific Coast and the
Cascade Mountains and is part of an AAU research institution and Big Ten university.
Eugene offers a vibrant cultural environment, with strong arts and music communities, a
renowned local foo