CFP: Chapters on Conspiracies and Visual Culture

Conspiracies and Visual Culture

Editor Information: Stephanie Beene (sbeene@unm.edu) and Katie Greer (greer@oakland.edu)

Abstract

Conspiracy ideation in America is on the rise and has infected popular culture and social media. This phenomenon is deeply concerning, not least because it moves beyond fringe groups to influence mainstream discourse and belief systems. Despite extensive academic work on the psychological underpinnings of conspiracy belief and the linguistic/rhetorical analysis of related texts, a crucial gap remains. Specifically, there is an underdeveloped area of study concerning the sophisticated and widespread influence of the visual, not only in disseminating conspiracy ideation generally but at the juncture where it intersects with evangelical subcultures. 

The information landscape is currently saturated with visual content designed to sow distrust and disseminate disinformation. The tools of digital media creation have become powerful vectors for this spread. Examples abound, from the unsettling realism of DeepFake TikToks and sophisticated AI-generated imagery, which blur the lines between reality and fiction, to seemingly innocuous visuals—photographs, charts, or video clips—that are removed from their original, legitimate contexts and weaponized to promote baseless narratives.  The ease of production and viral distribution of this visual misinformation and disinformation means that educators must become acutely aware of the mechanisms by which visuals, more than just text, are influencing conspiracy ideation in novel and increasingly alarming ways.

To effectively combat this rising tide of visual disinformation, there is an urgent need for scholarly and practical intervention. Incorporating robust frameworks of visual literacy—the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in images—and the broader concept of metaliteracy—the comprehensive understanding of how to produce, evaluate, and share information across various media—can significantly enhance our collective ability to analyze and deconstruct these narratives. This approach would allow us to move beyond simply identifying a conspiracy and delve into how semiotics and imagery—the signs, symbols, and visual language employed—influence and solidify conspiracy beliefs. Addressing the visual dimension of this crisis represents a crucial step toward filling a significant, and currently dangerous, gap in current scholarship and public awareness, especially as it relates to communities where these visual narratives are most readily accepted.

This edited volume aims to bring together leading scholars from both conspiracy studies and visual literacy studies to examine visual messaging in conspiracy theory culture.

The book will be divided into the following sections:

• Part 1: The participatory environment: Visuals and conspiracy engagement
• Part 2: Hidden messages: The semiotics of visuals in conspiracy communities
• Part 3: Critical visual thinking: Educating for conspiracy avoidance
• Part 4: Nefarious Tropes: Historical intersections of visuals and conspiracy theories

Chapter topics could include:

• Visual analysis of conspiracist aesthetics on social media
• Mis/ mal/disinformation as political tools
• Visual Literacy to inoculate against conspiracism
• Generative artificial intelligence and conspiracy visual culture
• Analyses of the attention economy, platform capitalism, or recommendation algorithms driving conspiracist content
• “Do your own research” communities or movements
• Historical analyses of the use of visuals to promote conspiracy theories
• Cultural influences of conspiracy theories
• Gender and sexuality studies and the “manosphere” or “trad” communities
• Information overload & culture
• Cognitive visual processing and conspiracy imagery

Logistics and Timeline

Proposals between 250 and 500 words, CVs, and brief author bios (50-80 words) should be

submitted to Stephanie Beene (sbeene@unm.edu) and Katie Greer

(greer@oakland.edu) by COB July 31, 2026.

The editors will review all submitted proposals and notify applicants by COB August 31, 2026.

Chapters should be approximately between 7,000-8,000 words, and first drafts of completed

manuscripts will be due COB March 31, 2027. The expected publication date will be in 2028. 

CFP: AIRUS at ALA Annual 2026 - In-person & Online Hybrid Event - 6/29/26 - Artificial Intelligence in Reference & User Services (AIRUS) Interest Group

Call for Presenters: AIRUS at ALA Annual 2026

Join the Artificial Intelligence in Reference & User Services (AIRUS) Interest Group for our session at ALA Annual in Chicago!

We are seeking four dynamic presenters to share practical insights and innovative strategies on integrating AI into library services. This will be a hybrid session taking place on Monday, June 29, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM CST. #ALAAC26

What We Are Looking For:

We invite proposals that provide actionable value for reference and instruction librarians. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• AI & DEIA Practices: Integrating AI considerations into Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility practices in library services.
• AI at the Reference Desk: Real-world applications for traditional and virtual reference.
• AI in the Classroom: Using AI tools and concepts to enhance library instruction, including one-shots and developing workshops, courses, and micro credential badges.
• AI Professional Development: Training and professional development initiatives for librarians and staff to build competency and expertise in AI applications.
• AI Tools: Demonstrations of AI-enhanced discovery and productivity tools.
• Critical AI Literacy: Pedagogical frameworks for teaching students about AI ethics, bias, and privacy.

Session Logistics:

• Format: 4 presenters total (2 in-person and 2 presenting virtually via Zoom).
• Time Commitment: Monday, June 29, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CST.
• Goal: Brief, high-impact presentations followed by community discussion.

How to Apply:

Are you ready to share how AI is reshaping your workflows or instruction? 

• CFP Form: https://forms.gle/LoZjAyu99My4dyfv9
• This CFP closes on 6/1/26, and presenters will be notified by 6/8/26.

Any Questions? 

Contact Melissa Del Castillo, meldelcast@gmail.com, or through ALA Connect

_______

Find out more about AIRUS: 

• FAQs: https://bit.ly/airus-faq
• ALA Community: https://bit.ly/airus-connect

CFP: Charleston Conference 2026 (November 2-6, 2026) - Charleston, South Carolina

CFP URL: https://www.charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/call-for-papers/

Call for Papers

The 2026 Call for Papers proposal form is now open.
Submission deadline is Tuesday, June 30, at 5:00 pm Eastern.

Call for Preconferences: There is a separate proposal form for preconference workshops and seminars. Proposal deadline is May 15 so that sessions can be included when registration opens in June.

2026 Theme: “When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills.”

---

Requirements:

Charleston Conference presenters will be required to:

• register for and attend the conference; and
• grant permission for video recording of their presentation.

It is strongly encouraged, but not required, that you submit a paper for the conference proceedings. Additional details about the proceedings will be sent to accepted presenters.

Selection Criteria:

The Charleston Conference Planning Committee will evaluate the content of your proposal for relevance to the conference theme and threads, originality, and timeliness. Special attention will be given to proposals that:

• are oriented toward providing practical, concrete information for practicing professionals;
• demonstrate innovative or entrepreneurial thinking;
• that include a diverse representation from the different viewpoints and stakeholders in the scholarly communications process;
• generate ideas or report research that contribute to ongoing discussion about the future of the library and information industry;
• present strategies for effectively implementing new ideas and technology; and
• encourage active learning among conference attendees.

CFP URL: https://www.charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/call-for-papers/

2026 Charleston Conference

EVENT DATE: November 2-6

Locations: Charleston Gaillard Center, the Francis Marion Hotel, and the Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Historic District
Downtown Charleston, SC, USA

About the Conference

Registration and Conference Hotel Room Blocks will open in June.

---

Timeline:

• April 15 – Call for Papers Opens
• June 9 – Vendor Showcase Registration Opens
• June 11 – Conference Registration Opens, Hotel Guest Blocks Open, Scholarship Applications Open
• June 30 – Call for Papers Submission Final Deadline
• Week of August 3 – Decision emails go out
• August 7 – Charleston Premiers Application Deadline
• Week of September 7 – Preliminary Full Agenda Posted

Registration Deadlines:

• Extra Early Bird: June11 – July 10
• Early Bird: July 11 – September 18
• Regular Registration: September 19 – October 23
• In Person registration closed October 24 – November 1, Virtual registration remains open
• On Site/Late In-Person Registration: November 2 – 6
• Student Rate: No deadline

In-Person Conference Dates:

• November 2: Vendor Showcase booth set-up, Registration check-in opens
• November 3: Charleston Vendor Showcase (One Day Only!) and Preconference seminars/workshops
• November 4 – 6: Main Conference Sessions

Virtual Conference:

• Changes are in progress for virtual conference participation. Details coming soon.

CFP: 2026 UPRLC (Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation) Annual Conference - Marquette, Michigan - SEPTEMBER 21 – 22, 2026

UPRLC Annual Conference 2026

Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation

The 2026 UPRLC Annual Conference will take place SEPTEMBER 21 – 22, 2026 in the Northern Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. This year’s theme is The Next Chapter! 

The Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation would like to invite you to submit a proposal for a breakout session to be presented at the UPRLC Annual Conference taking place at NMU’s Northern Center in Marquette, Michigan on September 21 and 22, 2026.  The conference theme is “The Next Chapter.”  Each breakout session is approximately 50 minutes long.  The deadline for proposal submission is May 29, 2026.

Proposals can be submitted at the following link:

https://form.jotform.com/261115417914150

CFP: OpenFest 2026 - September 15-18, 2026 - University of Sheffield (UK)

Combining the efforts of University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University - this year’s OpenFest will take place online 15th-18th September 2026, and the theme for 2026 is “Open Research: People and Place”.

This is our fifth event and we hope you'll join us in celebrating this milestone!

Co-delivered by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, OpenFest is our flagship celebration and exploration of open research. 2026 marks the fifth OpenFest event, and as ever we are committed to showcasing, interrogating, and advancing open research practices. The event will explore how open research is shaped by communities, geographic contexts, and organisational practices, highlighting innovative methodologies, inclusive dissemination, and the social and political dimensions of openness.  

We invite proposals for 20 minute papers, 10 minute lightning talks, panel discussions, online workshops, and creative proposals outside the usual paper/panel formats (e.g. videos, animations, zines and accompanying talks/discussions, creative outputs).

We welcome proposals from PGR and MRes students as well as research professionals, those based outside academia, and experienced researchers.  

Contributions may address, but are not restricted to, the following themes:

• Methodology and Participation
• Dissemination and Accessibility
• Politics and Power
• Community Engagement
• Organisations, Skills, and Resources

Find out more and submit your proposal through the form linked on our webpage: https://sheffield.ac.uk/openresearch/events/openfest-2026 

Deadline: midnight on 30th May 2026.

We look forward to seeing your proposals.

All the very best,

Alice. 

Dr Alice Howarth (she/her)

Open Research Manager

Office for Open Research & Scholarship

The University Library              

University of Sheffield

CFP (Chapters): Experiential Learning in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Student Engagement #ACRLPublication

Working Title: Experiential Learning in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Student Engagement

Edited by: Brittany Kester, Education Librarian, University of Florida, and Lisa Campbell, Learning and Engagement Librarian, University of Florida

Please send questions to ACRLexperientiallearning@ufl.edu 

We are excited to invite chapter proposals for our forthcoming ACRL book, Experiential Learning in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Student Engagement. This edited volume aims to prepare educators to design and deliver meaningful experiential learning opportunities within their unique academic library contexts. Experiential learning emphasizes learning through direct experience and engaging students in hands-on, real-world activities to deepen understanding and foster critical thinking. Our goal is to provide practical, adaptable strategies that empower academic librarians to engage students in transformative learning experiences. 

We welcome proposals that showcase a range of approaches, including case studies highlighting successful initiatives, best practices for integrating experiential learning, pedagogical frameworks that inform teaching and learning, and innovative program models that inspire new possibilities inside and beyond the library classroom. 

The book is tentatively divided into the following sections: 

• Project-Based Learning Experiences: Capstone projects, client-based assignments, innovation projects, exhibitions, etc. 
• Community Service-Based Learning Experiences: Community service projects, civic engagement, volunteering, alternative spring break, living-learning communities, etc. 
• Student Research Experiences: Student research projects such as honors theses, independent study, research assistantships or fellowships, etc. 
• Professional Learning Experiences: Internships, co-ops, fieldwork, practicums, job shadowing, student-led workshops, peer coaching programs, etc. 
• Global Learning Experiences: Study abroad programs, virtual exchanges, international fellowships, etc. 

We strongly encourage chapters to incorporate Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, which includes four stages: 

• Experiencing: the initial experience 
• Reflecting: analyzing and making sense of that experience 
• Thinking: forming theories, planning, and connecting ideas 
• Acting: applying insights and testing new approaches 

Proposals should explore how academic librarians support students through these stages. Chapters included should also highlight culturally competent, accessible, and learner-centered instruction strategies. We encourage ideas beyond the examples listed above. 

To submit a proposal, please complete the proposal form by June 1, 2026, at 11:59pm ET.  

The form will require:  

• Author names, job titles, emails, and institutional affiliations  
• A working chapter title  
• An abstract up to 500 words  
• Link to a current CV or list of publications  

Timeline: 

• June 2026: Chapter proposals due  
• August 2026: Authors notified of acceptance of chapter proposals  
• January 2027: Chapter drafts due  
• April 2027: Chapter drafts returned to authors for revisions  
• July 2027: Final chapter drafts due 

Questions? Email us at ACRLexperientiallearning@ufl.edu 

Best regards, 

Brittany Kester, PhD, Education Librarian, University of Florida

Lisa Campbell, Learning and Engagement Librarian, University of Florida

CFP: Code4Lib Special Issue: Static websites for scholarly editions and other publications in the Humanities

Code4Lib Call for Papers

Special issue: Static websites for scholarly editions and other publications in the Humanities

CFP URL: https://journal.code4lib.org/call-for-submissions

Static websites are increasingly recognized as a sustainable solution for digital editions and other scholarly publications in the Humanities. They are broadly defined as applications that do not rely, or rely only minimally, on server-side processing; some definitions restrict static websites to applications that are free of JavaScript; others embrace its use for complex client-side generation. While static websites offer durability and ease of maintenance, they may present limitations in functionality and scalability. We frame the question of static publications within the discussion about minimal computing in digital humanities and sustainability of research outputs as a research data management practice.

This special issue will consist of short reports (1,000–2,000 words) on practical experiences and lessons learned when developing, maintaining, or refactoring digital editions and other types of research outputs as static publications. Contributions may address project-specific solutions, generic workflows, automation strategies, institutional approaches, and more. Contributions from any practitioner working on digital publication are welcome, regardless of the stage or sophistication of the publication’s development. This includes boutique, shoestring publications created by PhD students or early-career researchers who may lack financial or technical support and resources, as well as large-scale projects that rely on institutional backing, development teams, practices, and infrastructure. We encourage authors to make their code and data related to their submission, or a sample of them, available in FAIR compliant repositories (e.g., Zenodo) and link to it from their article. While the emphasis is on hands-on reporting, reflective position papers discussing the definitions, sustainability, and technical or conceptual boundaries of “the static” are also welcome. Reports may describe unpublished work as well as work that has been published or presented elsewhere.

Paper submission

First, authors will submit a 500-word abstract through this form: https://forms.gle/Kg5Fp1dfBfTn6jsi9. Five weeks later, they will submit a first complete draft (1,000-2,000 words), followed by the final draft four weeks after that. The papers will be published as a thematic special issue in the Code4Lib journal approximately six months after the abstract is submitted. All submissions will undergo peer review by the guest editors and the editors of the journal to ensure that all contributions align with the focus of the special issue and meet the journal’s quality criteria.

For the complete guide on how to format the articles, please see: https://journal.code4lib.org/article-guidelines.

Important dates

• Abstract submission (500 words): 17.04.2026
• First draft (1,000–2,000 words): 22.05.2026
• Final draft (1,000–2,000 words): 19.06.2026
• Publication: autumn 2026

Guest editors

• Peter Dängeli (University of Bern)
• Chiara Martignano (University of Padua)
• Matteo Romanello (University of Zurich)
• Elena Spadini (University of Bern)
• Joris van Zundert (Huygens Institute)

CFP: Collection Development in Africa (CDiA 2026) - Cape Town, South Africa (September 9th & 10th, 2026)

The Collection Development in Africa Series (CDiA 2026) invites librarians, scholars, researchers, publishers, and technology providers to submit papers for presentation at this landmark event. The proposal deadline is 31 May 2026.

Theme: "Collections Evolved: User-Centred Collections, Equity & Resilience in the Scholarly Landscape”  

Location: Protea Hotel Cape Town Waterfront Breakwater Lodge

The conference offers a premier forum to explore the transformation of library collections in the digital age, with particular attention to sustainability, inclusivity, collaboration, and user-centred innovation.

 Submission Deadline: 31 May 2026
 Send abstracts to cdia@itoca.org

2026 Sub-themes - proposals are welcomed on the topics of:

1) User-Centred Collection Strategies

• Understanding and mapping user behaviour in the digital era.
• Designing inclusive and accessible collections.
• Co-creation and participatory collection development.

2) Equity and Knowledge Justice

• Decolonising collections and amplifying African scholarship.
• Promoting open access and fair representation of local content.
• Addressing systemic barriers in global scholarly publishing.

3) Resilient Libraries in a Changing World

• Sustainable collection models amidst financial and infrastructural constraints.
• Libraries’ role in crisis recovery and continuity (e.g., post-pandemic innovation).
• Building adaptable policies and frameworks for uncertain futures.

4) Data, AI, and Digital Transformation

• Leveraging artificial intelligence and data analytics for smarter curation.
• Managing ethical risks and algorithmic bias in collection development.
• Balancing automation with human-centred decision-making

5) Collaborative and Community-Driven Models

• Regional consortia and shared collections in Africa.
• International partnerships for resource sharing and joint digitisation.
• Policy alignment for collective resilience.

Contact cdia@itoca.org with any questions.