CIES 2027
Reimagining Life: Education for Planetary Justice

We are pleased to announce the 2027 Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) will be held in Madison, Wisconsin from April 3-7, 2027. The theme of the conference is “Reimagining Life: Education for Planetary Justice.” This theme invites inquiries, critiques and experiments in remaking education to meet the challenges of democratic life and planetary survival. We encourage a broad range of submissions that reflect diverse perspectives, and that aim to foster meaningful dialogue and critical reflection.

Through these contributions, we seek to generate alternative imaginaries and new collective capacities to address the intersecting crises of ecological collapse, authoritarian resurgence, economic precarity and the extreme concentration of wealth. As such, it is not a single crisis, but the planet as a whole faces a polycrisis. The conference seeks to engage questions such as: What does it mean to reimagine education not as preparation for the world as it is, but as participation in the work of making the world anew? How might international and comparative education contribute to the construction of new meanings, purpose and organization of life? How might our research and praxis propose a path out of the polycrisis and offer alternatives to it? How might our field be part of cultivating solidarities, institutions, and imaginaries where justice, care and solidarity can flourish? What forms of learning repair and regenerate relationships—to land and labor, to histories of harm and displacement, and to the more-than-human world? What counter-hegemonic knowledges can illuminate just futures? How can international and comparative education contribute to global solidarity and the collective struggle for a just world? We welcome proposals from across disciplines, regions, and methodologies, particularly those that address the polycrisis and alternatives to it, as well as those that engage with the broader dimensions of Comparative and International Education.

In addition to individual and group paper presentations, interactive workshops/performances, book launches and posters, the CIES 2027 conference also welcomes submissions in three new types of sessions: Symposia, Multi-SIG Working Group sessions, and Off-Site Visits. Detailed information about all the submission categories and session types are available in the CIES 2027 Conference Information and Guidelines found on the website (URL).

The deadline for all submission types is September 3, 2026, at 11:59pm ET. Please carefully review the CIES submission information and guidelines for details on presentation formats, submission requirements, and review criteria.  If you already have a CIES username and password, please use these to log in to the All Academic submission system. If you are unsure whether you have an account or have forgotten your username, please contact membership@cies.us. The CIES 2027 Annual Conference will include both onsite and virtual sessions. When submitting your proposal, you will be asked to indicate your preferred presentation format (onsite or virtual). If you have any questions, please contact the CIES Conference Organizing Committee at conference@cies.us.

We look forward to your participation in the CIES 2027 conference at Madison, Wisconsin!

With warmest regards,
Sangeeta Kamat

President-Elect, CIES