Contact: ascaworkshop2025@gmail.com

In a period of increased global division, political polarization, and inequality, while the planet faces the common threat of a worsening ecological emergency, it is important to reconsider and investigate anew the potential for human commonalities. In order to adequately understand and address the alarming rise of far right parties across Europe, the widening appeal of populist leaders, and the surge in anti-immigration sentiment across the world, all while the planet is increasingly under threat by inadequate attention to global warming, it seems crucial to arrive at a universal understanding of concepts like “nation,” “racism,” “colonization,”  or “climate emergency.” However, the premise of universalism has been challenged by decolonial critiques as the edifying project of imperialism that privileges a singular version of reality over others (Braidotti, Escobar, Mignolo, Santos, Walsh), while the concept of the “pluriverse” conceives of a reality where humans are part of a multitude of diverse worlds that are also more-than-human.

Universality is thus often rejected by contemporary critics and theorists who see it as an extension of or another term for universalism that imposes one singular reality constructed on European Enlightenment ideals of reason, democracy and human rights. In fact, much of the history of colonization and imperialism has been justified in the name of such a version of reality which imposed a Eurocentric epistemology on the rest of the world (Mignolo). The imposition of universalism led to the suppression of non-Western ways of knowing, the marginalization of Indigenous cultures, and the establishment of global inequalities that persist today. In contrast, pluriversality challenges this hegemonic production of knowledge and reality by advocating for the coexistence of multiple ways of knowing and being (Esteva), which some scholars also see resonating with posthumanist discourse on decentering anthropocentric and Eurocentric perspectives (Ghosh, Braidotti, Escobar). Emerging from decolonial thought, this approach seeks to dismantle the legacy of universalism by recognizing the validity of diverse epistemologies, particularly those marginalized by colonial histories.

This workshop asks if it is possible to establish a new vision of universality through pluriversality. Can diverse epistemologies be recognized and honored while also potentially revealing glimpses of universality that can contribute to a sense of shared space and time necessary to address the needs of the globalized present? In his introduction to the recently published Literature and the Work of Universality, “The Fire This Time: Working with Universality” Stefan Helgesson asks, “how can we even know that there is something seriously wrong with our contemporary moment unless there is a world - a reality - that humans at some level can share?” (5). In other words, is it possible to address the concerns of the planet without finding a constructive way to talk about human commonalities that do not equate to universalism as oppression? Is it possible to distinguish universality from imperial and hegemonic notions of universalism and, if so, how? This workshop will bring together cultural analysts, theorists, artists, and researchers to investigate if universality can be approached through pluriversality. The aim is to do the urgent work of looking at universality, as opposed to imperial universalism, from new perspectives and find constructive ways to conceptualize a shared but diverse world.

The 2025 ASCA workshop will engage with both theoretical and empirical dimensions of universality and pluriversality from an interdisciplinary perspective, investigating their historical, cultural and geopolitical contexts through themes that include. Submissions might include:

Cultural and artistic expressions that stage the tension between the particular and the universal: How can art, fiction and media contribute to an understanding of pluriversal worlds in their shared universals? (we encourage including case studies or close readings)

The ways that certain theoretical approaches that radically oppose any sense of universality could potentially prevent much-needed solidarity and social renewal (or the inverse, promote much-needed solidarity)

Epistemic injustice and knowledge hierarchies: How have Western knowledge systems, representing all that is universal, been privileged over non-Western knowledges, while also denying/ignoring all acts against what is universal, such as violation of human rights, climate crisis and genocidal acts in colonized territories? What role have academic institutions played in sustaining these epistemic hierarchies, and how can we act, as scholars, to unveil and dismantle such hierarchies while rethinking the concept of universality in its pluralistic dimension?

Decolonial theory and practice: How do decolonial thought and pluriversality challenge universalism in their theoretical and practical frameworks? And how can they reach a level of universality, this time, through the very particular and singular of the decolonial experience? In other words, can decolonial and pluriversal perspectives genuinely integrate into academic institutions on a global level, through a fundamental rethinking of educational programmes, research methodologies and recruitment and collaboration practices?

Reimagining universality through posthumanist discourses: How does posthumanism challenge traditional notions of universality that are centered on the (Western) human subject as the measure of the universe? In what ways can posthumanist discourse intersect with decolonial and pluriversal perspectives to reshape universality in global discourses about nation, colonialism, racism, gender? And how does the decentering of the human affect the articulation of shared universals, particularly in areas like environmental justice, advanced technologies and global decision-making?

ASCA Workshop 2025 is a three-day in-person event taking place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Please note that we cannot accommodate virtual presentations.

We welcome individual applications in the form of academic and artistic research. Please submit a 300-word abstract and a 100-word bio. Presentations should be up to 15 minutes in length. If you are considering a different presentation format, please get in touch with us and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

Events such as workshops, roundtables or seminars are also welcome. Please submit a proposal that includes a title, a short description (300 words) and a list of participants.

Applications should be submitted by February 28, 2025 to ascaworkshop2025@gmail.com. We will notify the applicants about the selection by March 28, 2025.