2026 International Postgraduate Comparative Literature Conference
2026 International Postgraduate Comparative Literature Conference Successfully Held at HKU
Date:
May 26, 2026 (Tuesday)
Time:
9:00:AM-6:00PM
Venue:
CPD Level-3, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
The 2026 International Postgraduate Comparative Literature Conference was held on 26 May 2026 at the University of Hong Kong. Centred on the theme of “Care,” the conference brought together postgraduate researchers from Hong Kong and overseas institutions to exchange ideas and present their latest work in comparative literature and related fields.
The conference opened with remarks by Professor Nicole Huang, Chair of the MALCS Programme. The keynote address, “Teknalgia: On Caring About and For Children in a Digital World,” was delivered by Professor Amanda Third of Western Sydney University. The keynote explored the complex relationships between children, care, and digital technologies, offering a stimulating starting point for the discussions that followed.
A total of 40 papers were presented across 12 panels covering a wide range of topics, including transcultural empathy, colonial mediation, ecological care, urban lives and memory, trauma and collective remembrance, migration and diaspora, visual media, embodied subjectivities, and the ethical dilemmas of modernity. Across the panels, presenters examined how care can be understood, represented, and practised in different literary, cultural, historical, and media contexts.
The conference provided a valuable platform for emerging scholars to share their research, receive feedback, and engage in conversations across disciplinary and geographical boundaries. The lively discussions throughout the day reflected the diversity of the papers and the continued relevance of care as a critical framework for comparative literary and cultural studies.
During the closing session, the conference recognised outstanding postgraduate research through the Best Paper Award. Following the review of the shortlisted papers, the award was presented by Professor Amanda Third to Fangyuan Qu from the University of Münster for the paper, “Circulating Care: Käthe Kollwitz’s Prints and the Transnational Aesthetics of Revolutionary Empathy in Interwar Shanghai.” The conference concluded with closing remarks by Dr Winnie Yee, Programme Coordinator of the MALCS Programme.
The organising committee would like to express its sincere gratitude to Professor Amanda Third, the panel chairs, presenters, Board Members, helpers, and all guests for their generous participation and support. Their contributions made the conference a meaningful and engaging occasion for academic exchange.
See below for photos of the event!
