14th International Undergraduate Symposium 

“JOURNEY” 

Ege University, Faculty of Letters, Izmir, Türkiye 

April 16-17, 2026

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

"Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost.”

                                                                               ― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

 

Dante Alighieri’s opening line presents the journey as a moment of disruption that leads to change. The loss of the familiar path here does not signal an end; instead, it marks the beginning of movement towards something unknown. The dark forest becomes a space where the traveller is forced to adapt, to reconsider their direction, and to continue the journey despite all the uncertainties. As the journey continues, it unfolds through pauses and gradual shifts rather than clear advancement, revealing change as a slow and uneven process. Yet within this instability lies hope: the belief that endurance can lead to rebirth, that movement itself can lead to understanding. Journey, therefore, becomes a site of transformation, shaped by endurance and expectation, where each step forward carries the possibility of orientation and adaptation. In continuing through doubt, ambiguity, and darkness, the traveller affirms the capacity for change, discovering that the act of continuing itself is a form of becoming.

 

The Departments of English Language and Literature and American Culture and Literature are pleased to announce the 14th International Undergraduate Symposium (IUS), themed “Journey”, an exploration into the multi-layered nature of this concept across literature, culture, arts, and beyond. The 14th IUS will focus on the journey as a process of movement, change, and transformation, encompassing departure, transition, endurance, arrival, and return. Physical, emotional, intellectual, and symbolic journeys alike shape experiences of identity. This symposium seeks to create an engaging platform for undergraduate students to share their research and supports early academic participation through an exploration of journeys across literature, culture, the arts, and beyond. We welcome contributions that examine the theme of journey across literature, language, media, visual arts, philosophy, psychology, and cultural studies. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

 

Transformative Change

Growth

Continuity and Rupture

Survival

Temporal Movement

Time and Cycles

Passage and Liminality

Thresholds

Departure, Arrival, and Return

Movement

Migration

Exile and Displacement

Orientation and Disorientation

Encounter

Exploration

Virtual Mobility

Transmedia Journeys

 

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 14th International Undergraduate Symposium (IUS) with the theme “Journey”. We encourage you to submit an abstract (250-300 words) to contribute your research on the concept of "Journey" across literature, culture, arts, and beyond. To submit your proposal, please email your abstract along with a brief biography (50-100 words) written in the third-person narrative to: “egeius2026@gmail.com.” The deadline for the abstract submission is 01/02/2026. Please note that the official language of the symposium is English, and presentations will be limited to 15 minutes. The symposium will be hosted at the Conference Halls of the Faculty of Letters, Ege University, with the possibility of an online format depending on prevailing circumstances. Undergraduate students studying abroad are welcome to participate through online sessions, provided that sufficient participation is confirmed to form a session. Undergraduate students currently studying in Türkiye are expected to attend the symposium in person.

Contact: egeius2026@gmail.com

Website: https://englishlit.ege.edu.tr

Organisers: Ege University, The Departments of English Language and Literature and American Culture and Literature