ISUD 2026 Virtual Colloquium:
Philosophical Hope in Dark Times: Dialogue, Identity, and the Future of Multiplicity
The Organizing Committee of the International Society for Universal Dialogue invites members and ISUD friends to participate as presenters in our upcoming 2026 Virtual Colloquium, titled Philosophical Hope in Dark Times: Dialogue, Identity, and the Future of Multiplicity, to be held April-June 2026.
This colloquium seeks to explore urgent philosophical challenges at the intersection of identity, technology, ecology, and political transformation. It is designed to cultivate thoughtful dialogue across disciplines, generations, and regions, and to strengthen our global community through shared reflection and critical imagination.
We are now seeking volunteers from within our membership and friends’ community, who would be interested in offering a 15–20-minute presentation in one of the colloquium’s four themed sessions. Each session will feature two short talks, followed by a brief exchange between presenters and an open dialogue with participants. Presenters will be invited to submit a short (1500- word) essay one week in advance of their session to facilitate discussion. Below you will find a summary of the four sessions, along with guiding questions and thematic directions. If you are interested in contributing a presentation to any of the sessions, please write to us indicating your preferred session and a brief description of your proposed intervention (around 200 words). We welcome proposals that address the core themes from diverse philosophical, cultural, or disciplinary perspectives.
Session Details
- Session 1: Cultural Anxiety — Identity, Multiplicity, and the Return of Political Extremes
- Session 2: The Digital Pharmakon — Control, Multiplicity, and Subjectivity in the Age of the lgorithm
- Session 3: Re-enchanting a Wounded World — Imagination, Ecology, and the Human in the Anthropocene
- Session 4: After the Rupture — Futures, Repair, and the Possibility of Hope
How can we understand the contemporary resurgence of nationalism, fundamentalisms, and identity-based politics in a world that is increasingly plural, mobile, and entangled? How might philosophy and art respond to the tension between the desire for coherence and the demands of multiplicity?
In an era of algorithmic governance, surveillance, and digital saturation, how are our modes of subjectivity and sociality being transformed? Can digitality still be a space of resistance, individuation, or repair—or are we entering an age of soft totalitarianism?
How do we metabolize ecological trauma and reimagine the human within a fragile, interdependent world? What philosophical, artistic, or Indigenous frameworks can help us to think from within crisis, and not merely about it?
In this final roundtable session, we will draw connections across the previous sessions and reflect on the possibilities for grounded hope in dark times. How might practices of repair, imagination, and interdisciplinary alliance help us live and think otherwise?
To Apply
We encourage contributions that resonate with ISUD’s mission of fostering universal dialogue across cultural, philosophical, and linguistic boundaries. Presenters from all career stages and regions are welcome.
Please send your expression of interest by September 15th to Adzijn@outlook.com, using the subject line: VIRTUAL COLLOQUIUM/PRESENTERS. Include the following:
- Your name and institutional affiliation (if any)
- The session you wish to contribute to
- A short abstract or description of your proposed presentation (approx. 200 words)
We look forward to hearing from you and to coming together for an inspiring series of conversations.
Warm regards,
The ISUD 2026 Virtual Colloquium Organizing Committee
Victor Krebs – vjk5555@gmail.com
Lorena Rojas – diotima29@gmail.com
