Please save the date for UCI's 2026 Comparative Literature Undergraduate Conference in Critical Theory on April 18, 2026!

Join us April 18th, 2026!

The Comparative Literature department at UC Irvine invites students to share academic and creative work that engages with comparative and critical theories, including psychoanalysis, critical theory, gender studies, philosophy, postcolonial studies, and rhetoric. We seek presentations that engage with a particular theorist or theoretical paradigm to read literature or other forms of artistic or cultural 
production.

The second edition of this annual conference will be held in person at UC Irvine on April 18, 2026. We welcome applications from undergraduate students currently enrolled at any four-year college or university. Last year, we received applications from Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona College, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and Irvine Valley College, among other institutions.

Conference presentations will be a maximum of twelve minutes and may consist of reading a paper (approximately 1,200-1,500 words) or presenting with slides.

How can I apply to present?

To apply, send a title and brief abstract for your presentation (150-250 words) to the Undergraduate Coordinator, Nicki Giles, nagiles@uci.edu, by March 1, 2026. Please write "Undergraduate Conference Application" in the subject line.