Call for Papers
Journal theme: ‘Identity’
Skepsi Postgraduate Journal, Language Centre, University of Kent
Extended Deadline
Identity is a fundamental part of human experience. It shapes how we communicate, how we are represented, how we interpret the world, and how societies construct difference and belonging. Language is a core tool we use to explore and express the different facets of our identities, through everyday conversation, written discourse, exploratory narrative, and personal reflection. Skepsi seeks to spotlight new research on this intersection between language and identity.
In the first returning issue since 2019, Skepsi invites early career researchers and postgraduate students to reflect on the theme of identity in humanities and social science contexts through interdisciplinary approaches, including (but not limited to): perspectives both experimental and non-experimental, including literature, linguistics (all subfields), cultural studies, philosophy, environmental humanities, postcolonial/decolonial studies, applied and experimental psychology, and related fields. We particularly welcome contributions that connect literary analysis and/or linguistic inquiry with adjacent fields.
Topics and themes include but are not limited to:
- Identity and its impact on spoken communication, both in general and in unusual circumstances such as medical, educational, and work settings
- Identity and written media, including fiction, non-fiction, diaries, letters, social media, and archival texts
- Translation, interpreting, and mediated identity
- Data-driven identity research, in corpus, computational, or experimental approach
- Intersectional perspectives on identity in literature and culture, including gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and migration
- Postcolonial, decolonial, and global perspectives on identity in literary and cultural texts
- Representations of personal, social, and collective identity in literature
- The role of literature and cultural production in shaping social and cultural narratives
- Narrative constructions of identity
Timeline and procedure
Please send enquiries and abstracts of up to 250 words to the editors (Louise Wigglesworth, Amy Bergman, Qiujing Fan & Beth Waldock) at skepsijournal@kent.ac.uk with the subject line “Identity 2026” by 15th June 2026.
Full manuscripts of 5,000-8,000 words will be expected by 30th October 2026.
You will hear from us by 5th July 2026 if your application is accepted and we wish to publish your full manuscript.