Description

International PhD Symposium of the IDenti-T Network

What happens to political agency when the categories we act through are no longer stable? How do researchers, political/social movements, and institutions navigate the tension between deconstructing identity and making rights claims, building solidarity, or participating in democratic life? These are the central questions of this symposium — and we invite PhD researchers to bring their own work into this conversation.

The IDenti-T network invites applications for its international PhD symposium Facing Deconstruction: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Identity, Transformations, and Agency, to be held at the University of Göttingen on November 12–13, 2026. The symposium brings together early-career researchers whose work engages with questions of identity, transformation, and agency in an interdisciplinary forum for presenting ongoing research, receiving structured feedback, and building connections across institutional and disciplinary boundaries.

The programme combines short research presentations with roundtable discussions, mentoring sessions, and other dialogical formats. A concise framing programme accompanies the research sessions, including an invited talk on academic freedom in times of transformation and a reflective career conversation on the non-linear realities of academic life.

Possible Topics

We welcome work from across the humanities, social sciences, and related disciplines. Relevant themes include, but are not limited to:

• identity after deconstruction: agency, essentialism, and political mobilisation
• democratic transformation, backsliding, and illiberal politics
• belonging, rights claims, and representation
• anti-diversity and anti-gender backlash
• intersectionality, participation, and political inclusion
• technology, digitalisation, and identity-making
• environmental change, climate politics, and identity
• psychological perspectives on identity and transformation
• interdisciplinary and methodological approaches to contested identities
• identity-based inequalities and discrimination

Who Should Apply

We welcome applications from PhD researchers whose work speaks to the symposium theme. In selected cases, advanced Master’s students with a strong thematic fit will also be considered. Researchers from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to applicants affiliated with ENLIGHT universities (see https://enlight-eu.org/university-about-us/members for a full list).

Application Materials

Please submit the following as a single PDF:

• Abstract (max. 300 words): describe your research question, approach, and its relevance to the symposium theme
• Short bio (max. 150 words)
• CV (max. 2 pages)
• Statement of motivation (max. 200 words): explain why you wish to participate and what you hope to gain from the exchange

Practical Information

• Format: In person, University of Göttingen
• Application deadline: 31 May 2026
• Notification of decisions: 15 June 2026
• Submission: Please send your application as a single PDF to florian.grawan@uni-goettingen.de (Subject line: PhD-Symp-Goe-2026)
• Enquiries: Florian Grawan, University of Göttingen, florian.grawan@uni-goettingen.de

In case of acceptance, support will be provided to apply for an Erasmus+ mobility grant to attend the symposium.

About the IDenti-T network

IDenti-T is an interdisciplinary Thematic Network within ENLIGHT and comprises researchers from the Universities of the Basque Country, Bordeaux, Galway and Göttingen. IDenti-T stands for “Interdisciplinary Dialoge on evolving identities in Times of Democratic Transformations”.

Read more on our website: https://www.ehu.eus/en/web/enlight/identity

Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.