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Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies

WCAAS 2026

WCAAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026

(WCAAS 2026)

October 9-10, 2026

University of Oklahoma

Norman, Oklahoma

Call For Papers, Panels, and Posters

The Department of Political Science, which has an internationally recognized emphasis on Bhutanese affairs at the University of Oklahoma, is pleased to host the 2026 Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, an annual interdisciplinary conference. This year, the theme is Interconnected Asia: Diversity, Cooperation, and Competition. In 2026, political, economic, and cultural uncertainty affects Asia. Many nations in Asia have focused on stability by not necessarily aligning with either the U.S. or China, amid growing isolationism and nationalism. Additionally, scholars have also examined how traditional cultural practices across Asia are adapting to rapid digitization and modernization.

Since “interconnection” is the main theme of the conference, our focus is not merely on interconnections between nations and cultures. Indeed, social, cultural, and imaginative people-to-people modes of communication persist in Asia, providing alternatives to the growing isolationism and nationalism. The WCAAS conference thus focuses not only on the ways in which nations are taking shape in the present, but also on the persistence of historically existing forms of cooperation and communication in Asia, with an eye towards thinking about how other worlds are possible on the continent in the future.
We invite and encourage discussions on this year’s theme from across academic disciplines. Additionally, we welcome proposals on a broad range of topics not related to this year’s theme. Submissions from graduate students are welcome. In addition to individual paper proposals, we will consider other panel formats (such as workshops, author-meets-critic sessions, book projects, and the like).

We look forward to your scholarly contributions and to promoting meaningful and significant scholarly dialogue at the 2026 conference!

To submit a proposal, please visit the proposal portal.

Submission Deadline: August 1, 2026