The Social Contract in Dispute: Discourse, Legitimacy and Transformation
Contrato Social em Disputa: Discurso, Legitimidade e Transformação
Abstract
The 28th International Meeting of Research and Investigation (EIRI), organised by DLAC-UTAD, CES-UC and CEL-UTAD, will take place on 7 and 8 October 2026 at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in Vila Real, Portugal. Under the theme The Social Contract in Dispute: Discourse, Legitimacy and Transformation, the meeting proposes an interdisciplinary reflection on contemporary challenges to democracy, political legitimacy and social cohesion, at a moment marked by polarisation, disinformation and the erosion of democratic institutions. Individual paper proposals and closed panel proposals from the arts, humanities and social sciences are welcome.
Announcement
28th International Meeting of Research and Investigation (EIRI) — The Social Contract in Dispute: Discourse, Legitimacy and Transformation
Argument
Living in a context of intense political tensions and polarisations that threaten the foundations of social organisation and democratic legitimacy, the 28th International Meeting of Research and Investigation (EIRI) is dedicated to reflecting on the social contract and its contemporary transformations. At a moment when democracy itself, human rights and international law are under threat, EIRI seeks to renew and motivate discussion on the reasons that political authority is legitimised by the interdependent relations between political subjects and governing authorities.
More than a static founding myth, the social contract can be understood as a dynamic, affective arrangement, continually renegotiated, contested and rewritten within political, legal, cultural, linguistic, literary and communicational practices. It is in and through discourse that the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion are produced, that narratives of legitimacy are constructed, and that the forms through which authority, protection and equality are conceived and reconfigured are established.
The meeting, organised by DLAC-UTAD, CES-UC and CEL-UTAD, is interdisciplinary in nature and welcomes individual paper proposals and closed panel proposals from the arts, humanities and social sciences, in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Thematic areas: fictionality and the metaphor of the social contract; exclusions associated with gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class; affects and emotions in political legitimation; democracy, populism and radicalisation; media, disinformation and the digital public sphere; literature, cinema and the arts in the staging of the political bond; democratic constitutionalism and fundamental rights; among others.
Submission guidelines
Key dates
- Abstract submission: 20 June 2026
- Notification of acceptance: 10 July 2026
- Registration: 5 September 2026
Format: In person (ECHS, Polo I, UTAD, Vila Real) and Online. A hybrid format is not envisaged.
Registration fee: €50 (waived for DLAC, CES, CEL members and UTAD/CES students).
Contact: eiri@utad.pt | www.eiri.pt
Scientific Committee
- Carlos Assunção — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Cristiano Gianolla — Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra (CES-UC)
- Daniela Fonseca — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Elisa Gomes da Torre — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Felicidade Morais — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Fernando Moreira — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Gonçalo Fernandes — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Inês Amaral — Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Coimbra
- Isabel Fernandes Alves — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- João Bartolomeu Rodrigues — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Júlia Garraio — Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra (CES-UC)
- Levi Silva — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Lisete Mónico — Universidade de Coimbra
- Luciana Cabral P. Bessa — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Luísa Soares — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Manuel João Cruz — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) / Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra (CES-UC)
- Marisa Mourão — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Mark J. R. Wakefield — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Orquídea Ribeiro — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
- Rosa Monteiro — Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra (CES-UC)
Places
- Escola de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (Pólo I), Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro - Quinta de Prados
Vila Real, Portugal (5000-801)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Keywords
- Contrato Social
Contact(s)
- Manuel João Cruz
courriel : manuelcruz [at] ces [dot] uc [dot] pt
Reference Urls
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« The Social Contract in Dispute: Discourse, Legitimacy and Transformation », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, June 05, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/16ckg
Google Calendar
iCal