Call for Papers/InvitationTitle
Alternative Archives, Materials, and Media Histories (Nordic Workshop for PhD Students)
Dates and Venue October 12-13, 2026 at Filmhuset in Stockholm, Sweden
Call for Papers
Ever since antiquity, the archive has exercised an authoritative role in the administration of political power, preserving traditionally ‘formal’ records and documents that operate as empirical proof of historical accounts. Thanks to the digitalisation of archival materials today, however, the status of the ‘archive’ has become diversified and pluralised, with ‘new’ discoveries reframing our epistemological frameworks and understandings of particular historical phenomena. This shift has enabled more heterogeneous modes of historical writing, not only about cinema, but also about media more broadly, opening new possibilities for considering their entanglements with the social, political, and cultural dynamics surrounding media environments. Engaging with this development, and in order to better fathom cinema and media history—so closely intertwined with broader social and cultural processes—we invite you to an event addressing Alternative Archives, Materials, and Media Histories. We welcome all PhD students engaging in archival work and historical aspects as part of their own projects from Sweden and adjacent Nordic countries to apply to this workshop, which is intended to provide participants with the opportunity to meet and network. In addition to panels during which PhD students present and discuss their ongoing research projects, the workshop includes three invited keynote speakers including Laura Horak (Carleton University), Casper Tybjerg (University of Copenhagen), and Kerstin Herlt (Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum). The workshop takes place on October 12 and 13, 2026 (Monday and Tuesday) at Filmhuset in Stockholm, Sweden. Please send your proposal via this form (https://forms.office.com/e/spMYiMStz9) by June 1. If the number of submissions exceeds the available places, the selection committee will determine which submissions are accepted. In either case, decisions will be communicated in mid-June.
The proposal must include:
• Name
• Email address
• Institutional affiliation
• Title and short description of your PhD project (max. 150 words)
• Brief biographical statement
Workshop presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes, including any audiovisual materials, and will be followed by discussion. The focus of the presentations should be on your respective research projects, but you are free to decide whether to take a broader approach or to concentrate on specific aspects of your thesis, such as a case study or a methodological and/or theoretical question. In the event that the grant application is approved, Stockholm University will provide lunch and coffee on both days, as well as a workshop dinner on the evening of the 12th. Funding for travel and accommodation will not be provided. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us at archive.phdworkshop2026@ims.su.se.
Workshop Organising Team:Aliisa Qureshi, PhD Student, Cinema Studies Jason Meredith, PhD Student, Cinema StudiesTaichi Niibori, PhD Student, Cinema StudiesSonya Helgesson Ralevic, PhD Student, Cinema StudiesAleks Forsenberg, PhD Student, Cinema Studies