Call For Papers: Tipping Point: Creation in Chaos – The 29th Annual Work-in-Progress (WiP) Conference, UQ School of Communication and Arts
Has the world gone a little… crazy?
Tariffs, AI, strongmen, land grabs, rampant ethnic warfare, climate-fuelled environmental disasters: has the world reached—or surpassed—a tipping point? A point of inflection where the status quo undergoes a radical shift, and things could either spontaneously combust – or burst forth into new life?
Gather your charges, summon your bold, creative and audacious wits and get ready to showcase your research, experiment with form, share your passion, your creative energy and scholarly analysis, and investigate this crucial moment, its past or possible futures.
Conference Dates: Thursday 13 November – Friday 14 November
Venue: UQ St Lucia
Hosted by: School of Communication and Arts
Registration: Will open closer to the date, including payment of conference fees.
Enquiries: scawip2025@gmail.com
Call For Papers Now Open
We invite abstracts in both traditional academic and creative formats across the spectrum of interdisciplinary Communication and Arts research and, above all, welcome works-in-progress in all formats including paper presentations, film screenings, creative readings and more.
Submit your Abstract or Expression of Interest (max 200 words) with a short bio (50 words) to scawip2025@gmail.com by 5pm, Monday 25th August, 2025
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Global change: social, political, environmental
- Impact of technology and artificial intelligence
- Novel theories, practices and processes
- Temporalities, the lens of history, memory, predictions and imagined futures
- Knowledge, emotion and identity in a new age
- Narratives of creation, chaos, crisis, change
- Truth, power and activism
- Myths, legends, conspiracies
Submit your 200-word Abstract with a short bio to: scawip2025@gmail.com by 5pm, 25 August 2025.
Dr John McCulloch Memorial Prize
$1000 prize for the most outstanding paper delivered by a UQ School of Communication and Arts HDR student
Established in 2011 and maintained by an annual gift from Mr Gary Portley in memory of Dr John McCulloch OAM (1938-2010). John was a senior parliamentary research officer at the State Parliamentary Library (1984-1995) with a special interest in the advancement of gender equity. John had a long connection to The University of Queensland: roles included activity as a student, as a tutor, and as an elected Sub-Dean of the Arts Faculty. This prize was formalized by Senate in 2015.
Eligibility
Students who:
- are undertaking a higher degree by research program in the School of Communication and Arts, UQ;
- have submitted their paper per the below guidelines by the closing time/date of Friday, 24 October 2025, by 5pm.
- have then had their abstract accepted by the 2025 WiP committee to present at the conference, and;
- have not previously been awarded the Prize.
Basis for award
Most outstanding applicant based on:
- A written and fully referenced paper of no more than 2,000 words (excluding bibliography).
- The paper must be presented at the conference for the student to be eligible for the Prize.
- Quality of scholarship and written expression and relevance to the annual conference theme.
Nature of prize
$1000
Submission guidelines
Entry is free. The closing time and date is 5pm, 24 October 2025 and your 2000-word paper per the above guidelines should be emailed to: scawip2025@gmail.com
The draft speaker schedule will be sent out in October, after the Call for Papers closes.
Enquiries can be directed to the 2025 WiP Committee: scawip2025@gmail.com