Call for Proposals for the 23rd Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) & Special Journal Issue “The Chinese Internet in an Era of Uncertainty”

CIRC 2026


The China Institute and the CIRC organizing committee encourage scholars worldwide to come to Edmonton to present research with the following characteristics, methods and tendencies:

  • scholarship emphasizing lived experience as a criterion of knowledge and as a resource for theory building in contexts where existing theories may face declining explanatory power due to growing uncertainty;
  • studies on vivid storytelling or viral moments that highlight individual agency, voice and mobilization during times of transformation and uncertainty;
  • research on interaction among individual or group narratives in Chinese communication in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, as well as global diaspora communities during an era of uncertainty;
  • methodological papers related to the study of unforeseen but pivotal real-world events;
  • projects that disaggregate research of “the internet” or decolonize Sinophone internet spaces and communication studies within the broader Global South framework in an emerging multipolar world and the uncertainty that comes with it; and
  • visions of technological and social futures that emerge from the Chinese digital ecosystem.

 

General Conference Topics

In addition to the above themed topics, the organizers welcome a wide range of research on other subjects (as is traditional for CIRCs in years past) including but not limited to the following:

  • histories of the Chinese Internet; 
  • studies of social media platforms, platformization, platform migration, cross-platform interaction, privacy, surveillance, misinformation;
  • challenges resulting from AI use and platforms (e.g., trust, distrust, deepfake); AI impact on the environment, robots and automation, algorithms, autonomous decision-making;
  • studies of digital labor, platform resistance, platform politics and nationalism; 
  • research on digital influencers, creators, fandom cultures, communities and identities (race, class, gender);
  • research on the development of new platforms (e.g., smart cities), ownership structures, media concentration (e.g., antitrust policies) and user patterns (e.g., rural vs. urban);
  • studies of Chinese Internet governance, industrial policy, AI policy, platform regulations, global (dis)integration and geopolitics. 

 

Themed Special Journal Issue

We plan to publish a special journal issue “The Chinese Internet in an Era of Uncertainty” based on outputs from the CIRC conference as well as general circulation of our special issue CfP. We target top-tier communication journals focused on mediated communication as well as Asia- and China-focused communication journals. Dr. Ashley Esarey (University of Alberta) and Dr. Min Jiang (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) will be co-editors of the special issue.



Graduate Student Paper Contest

Two top papers by graduate students will receive cash prizes and recognition at the conference. To be eligible, papers must have the same format as normal conference submissions but be entirely authored or co-authored by graduate students (no faculty or postdoctoral co-authorship) and not yet accepted for publication by a scholarly journal at the time of submission to this conference. Contest winners will be notified on the final day of the conference (June 23, 2026). Should you wish to participate in the student paper contest, please submit your conference paper to circ2026@ualberta.ca with the subject heading “Student Paper Contest” by June 8, 2026.


Proposal Submission Guidelines


March 20, 2026 

Paper proposals, or full panel proposals, should be submitted by this date. Submissions must be written in English and sent to editors at circ2026@ualberta.ca  

Abstract: Individual or co-authored abstracts should be 500 or less words, excluding the title page and references. A title page should include the title of the paper, the name of the author/co-authors, academic/professional affiliation(s) and email address(es). The abstract should mention main arguments, research methods and summary of findings (or projected findings). 

Panel proposal: Panel proposals are limited to 1,000 words, excluding the title page, references and appendices. They should propose a coherent panel consisting of 3-4 paper abstracts and one or more discussants. If you want further suggestions for organizing a panel, please email the conference host at circ2026@ualberta.ca

 

March 31, 2026

Notifications of successful proposals will be sent by this date. Notification of acceptance after the March 31, 2026 deadline is possible based on space availability due to withdrawals resulting from funding, health, visa and other travel contingencies.


June 8, 2026

Full versions of the accepted papers (8,000 words including references, figures and tables) should be submitted via email to circ2026@ualberta.ca or uploaded to the conference platform per conference instructions by this date.


July 31, 2026

Full papers (8,000 words including references, figures and tables) submitted for special journal issue peer review.


December 31, 2026

Peer review and revisions for special journal issue complete.