# \[EXTENDED\] CALL FOR PAPERS: Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference, May 15-17, 2025 August 26, 2024 Harvard Divinity School’s (HDS) Center for the Study of World Religions is excited to announce the upcoming conference, *Thinking with Plants and Fungi: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature*. This three-day academic conference will be held from May 15-17, 2025 at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. To learn more about the Thinking with Plants and Fungi (TWPF) Initiative, please visit the [TWPF website](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/thinking-plants-fungi). Confirmed speakers include Merlin Sheldrake, Giuliana Furci, Emanuele Coccia, Banu Subramanian, Jessica J. Lee, and Michael Marder. This conference convenes scholars from across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences together with artists, culture keepers, and practitioners to explore how plants and fungi help us rethink the nature of mind and matter, and humans’ relationship to the ‘more-than-human' world. Cutting-edge scientific research is shedding light on the sophisticated ways in which plants and fungi sense, make sense of, and interact with their surroundings – research that in many cases resonates with wisdom that has been safeguarded by Indigenous, folk, and pagan traditions throughout the world. The popular success of books like *The Light Eaters*, *Braiding Sweetgrass, Entangled Life,* and *Finding the Mother Tree* speak to a growing public desire to understand and be inspired by nature, in spite of – or perhaps because of – accelerating rates of biodiversity and climate change. Informed by both contemporary science and relational, land-based wisdom, the conference asks: how do plants and fungi challenge prevailing notions of intelligence, agency, and sentience? How have philosophical and theological traditions, past and present, grappled with vegetal and fungal life? How does close attention to plants and fungi enhance or complicate our understanding of humans’ place relative to other beings? How might plants and fungi invite us to reimagine cooperation, flourishing, and co-existence amidst ongoing ecological and social crises? ## Conference themes and submission guidelines We are calling for papers from scholars and/or practitioners whose work speaks to one or more of the five interrelated conference themes. The questions below are intended to be illustrative but not exhaustive: 1. **Science and Research**: What are the promises, pitfalls, and possible future directions of research into plants and fungi? What remains unexplored? How does this work challenge scientific definitions and methods? How can scientists navigate the risks and opportunities of this research? 2. **Philosophy, History, and Theology**: How have philosophical and theological traditions, past and present, grappled with the unique lives of plants and fungi? What is at stake in extending mind, intelligence, or sentience to plants and fungi? How does the study of plants and fungi illuminate questions of metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics? 3. **Arts and Literature:** How do the arts express, embody, and invite others into relationship with plants and fungi? How does one responsibly represent or speak on behalf of the more-than-human world? 4. **Decolonial, Indigenous, and Folk Studies:** How do Indigenous, animist, and pagan traditions understand and interact with plants and fungi? Are the study and cultivation of plants and fungi tied to colonial projects and, if so, how? What are the enduring effects of these projects? How can scholars center decolonial approaches in scholarship and practice? 5. **Practice and Community**: how are communities and organizations enacting new practices of cooperation and care with plants and fungi? What new forms of technology, governance, design, storytelling, or pedagogy do vegetal and fungal life inspire? How might plants and fungi help address ongoing ecological crises in practice? To support our mission of interdisciplinary and intersectional dialogue, we welcome abstracts from scholars of diverse fields, backgrounds, and career stages. We especially encourage scholars representing religious studies, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, history, or other fields in the humanities and social sciences. Scholars whose work engages peoples and traditions underrepresented in critical plant studies are also encouraged to submit. In limited cases, translation services may be available, though we request that abstracts be submitted in English. Submissions from scholars in any discipline, as well as those outside of academia, are more than welcome, but we request that all abstracts adhere to academic standards of argumentation and support. All paper presentations will be 20 minutes. **Paper proposals should be submitted via the** [**Call for Papers Submission Form**](https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5t2F6MWGqFa7hT8) **and must include the following:** - Title of the presentation - Presenter(s) name, affiliation, and contact information - Brief biography (50-100 words) - Abstract: between 250-500 words, including a concise summary of the research question, methodology, and finding(s) - Focus area(s): - Science and Research - Philosophy, History, and Theology - Arts and Literature - Decolonial, Indigenous, and Folk Studies - Practice and Community - Optional: full draft of conference paper. We will favor submissions that include a full draft, but this is not mandatory. Papers should be up to 2500 words. ## Important Dates: - Submission Deadline: Extended to November 11th, 2024 - Notification of Acceptance: no later than December 1, 2024 - Bios, Talk Titles, and Abstracts Due: February 1, 2024 - Draft Conference Papers Due (For the Edited Volume): May 1, 2025 - Presentation Slides Due: May 12, 2025 - Conference Date: May 15-17, 2025 ## Guidelines for Conference Papers and Edited Volume We will be pursuing publication of an edited volume based on this conference. We request that submissions do not include work that has already been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this conference, we welcome papers in one of two formats: 1. Research papers that include clear methods, research questions, findings, and citational practices; or 2. Reflective or literary essays that engage lived questions of art, literature, and practice. Regardless of the format, papers should be no more than 2,500 words. Note: we welcome papers with multiple authors. However, please note that speaking time and honoraria are allocated per paper, and thus would need to be divided among authors at their discretion. When submitting the application, please include the other authors' information in the section designated for outstanding considerations. ## Funding An honorarium of $1000 will be provided to each selected speaker (one speaker per paper). Payments will be processed after the successful completion of the conference talk and paper submission. ## Submit your proposal The call for papers is now open. Submit your proposal by November 4, 2024. [ Submit proposal arrow\_circle\_right ](https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5t2F6MWGqFa7hT8) See also:- [ Thinking with Plants and Fungi ](/programming-threads/thinking-plants-and-fungi) - [ TWPF Programming ](/programming-threads/twpf-programming)