Korea 2026

The WHA will be hosting the 35th WHA Annual Meeting in Incheon, Korea, from 25- 27 June, 2026, co-sponsored by George Mason University Korea, in affiliation with The Academy of Korean Studies.

Conference Theme

Closed Borders and Global Connections: Being Global after Globalization

The world is changing, and the discipline of World History must respond to those changes.

In the 2005 article “Myths, Wagers, and Some Moral Implications of World History,” one of the founders of the World History Association, Jerry Bentley, noted that the world has been moving towards a state of globalization as long as the field has existed, noting that the general narrative is that “the intensity and range of cross-cultural interactions has generally increased over time.” Yet he also praised modern historical scholarship for its “openness to examination and criticism from all angles.” The world history he called for, he writes, “does not pretend to know the end of history.”

Indeed, we find ourselves today in a world that many world historians did not predict: one that remains intensely interconnected through trade, migration, culture, and shared planetary futures, while globalization as a narrative and as a political project has faltered. Nationalism, protectionism, deportations, and regional conflict have all surged in ways that challenge the logic of global integration. In teaching and scholarly work alike, this reality asks us to rethink what it means to teach and study the global past in a world that no longer embraces globalization as an ideal or inevitability.

The Program Committee of the 35th Annual Meeting of the World History Association, to be held in Incheon, Korea in 2026, invites proposals that explore this new terrain. We ask: how can we write, teach, and think about world history in a moment characterized both by global entanglement and anti-globalist politics ? What historical precedents —such as empires, invasions, epidemics, diasporas, trade routes, or cross-cultural encounters—might help us imagine a world that is connected but not necessarily globalized in the modern sense? What models of both interconnection and interdiction have emerged or persisted outside the framework of globalization? And how might the changing present force us to rethink historiographical frameworks about the past?

Call For Proposals

You can submit your proposal(s) on our PreTalx submission site.

We especially welcome proposals that engage with Korea and Asia more broadly—not only as historical sites of cross-border connection, but also as important contemporary vantage points from which to rethink the global. Topics may include the history of Asian trade and exchange, transimperial and migration history, religion and cultural exchange, ecological frameworks, and communication infrastructures. We are particularly interested in papers that center Asian experiences and perspectives on global connectivity. We also encourage presentations that focus on models and lessons for the world from Korea, including in the realms of democracy, energy, and climate change.

We encourage submissions from scholars at all career stages and from all regions of the world. The WHA remains committed to fostering inclusive and accessible scholarly exchange, and we recognize that geopolitical and institutional barriers—including those involving visas, funding, and travel—affect scholars differently.

Proposals may take the form of:

• Organized Panels (three to four panelists, one chair, and optionally, one discussant) - each paper should be a maximum of 20 minutes in length for three panelists; papers should be a maximum of 15 minutes in length for four panelists
• Individual Papers (not part of an Organized Panel) - each paper should be a maximum of 20 minutes in length
• Roundtable Sessions (between four to six participants) – five-minute opening statements from each participant followed by conversational dialogue with the audience
• Workshop Sessions (between one to four participants) – these are hands on sessions on specific teaching techniques or practices that often include handouts, breakout sessions and/or assignment creation/reflection
• Meet the Author Sessions - an excellent opportunity for exchanges between authors and audiences, including explanations of methods and suggestions for use
• Innovative Sessions - innovative teaching, research, or other formats not outlined above Proposals from the fields of anthropology, geography, political science, literature, art history and criticism, digital humanities, other humanities and social sciences, as well as natural or physical sciences that address global historical change are also encouraged.
• Lightning Round - These are five minute presentation slots intended to give brief summaries or introductions to relevant topics.

Each organized session should include a 250-word panel proposal and a 250-word proposal for each paper along with a short biographical statement for introduction by the session Chair. Individual papers and all other sessions should include a 250- word abstract and a short biographical statement for introduction by the session Chair.

PLEASE NOTE: Prearranged (organized) panels/roundtables/workshops are given priority in the program and receive earlier notification of acceptance. Individual papers will also be considered and, if accepted, are arranged into suitable panels by the Program Committee. Individual papers may receive later notice of acceptance, pending appropriate placement on panels.

Contact Email: info@thewha.org

Submission Deadlines

To accommodate people's department funding application deadlines and schedules, we have decided to implement rolling acceptances for our 2026 conference.

Submit Proposals Here