Two-Day International Conference on Text, Context & Interpretation: Navigating Law & Literature in the Contemporary Global Landscape [Online]

The Centre for Law and Language, established under the School of Law and Humanities at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, is organising a two-day International Conference on Text, Context & Interpretation: Navigating Law & Literature in the Contemporary Global Landscape on 29 and 30 August 2026 in online mode.

The conference invites academicians, scholars, researchers, legal practitioners and students to critically engage with the intersections of law and literature, and to explore how navigating these disciplines together can offer deeper insights into justice, power, humanity and our rapidly changing world.

The conference takes its point of departure from Anne Frank's words in The Diary of a Young Girl, written during the Holocaust, which stand as a testament to human resilience and an enduring faith in human dignity. That such hope could emerge from the depths of history's darkest chapters makes it not merely a personal confession but a powerful moral declaration that continues to resonate across generations.

It is this tension between the worst of human conduct and the best of human belief that lies at the heart of both law and literature. Law seeks to govern human behaviour, establish justice and protect dignity; literature seeks to illuminate the human condition, give voice to the silenced and bear witness to lived experience. Together they form a vital and enduring conversation about justice, identity, and the kind of world we aspire to build.

The 21st century, shaped by technological advancement, shifting socio-political landscapes and evolving conceptions of rights and justice, has lent renewed urgency to the notions of text, context and interpretation. Legal and literary texts alike are not static artefacts; their meanings are continuously constructed, contested and transformed by the contexts in which they are read, applied and challenged. Context has grown increasingly layered through globalisation, postcolonial legacies, identity politics and socio-economic inequalities, as a result of which interpretation has become the critical site where law and literature converge.

• To examine how law and literature mutually inform each other in addressing justice, power and human dignity.
• To examine the evolving relationship between text and context in the contemporary global scenario.
• To analyse how legal and literary texts are continuously constructed, contested and reinterpreted across changing contexts.
• To explore how social, legal, cultural and technological frameworks shape interpretations of human experiences.
• To foster interdisciplinary dialogue on issues related to identity, justice, power and representation.
• To analyse contemporary challenges through literary, legal and socio-cultural perspectives.

I. Law, Justice, and Society

• Legal texts and social realities
• Human rights and constitutional values
• Language vis-a-vis politics
• Gendered readings of texts and contexts
• Queer perspectives and representation
• Intersection of caste, class, and identity

II. Literature, Culture, and Representation

• Literature as a reflection of human conditions
• Identity, marginality, and resistance
• Memory, trauma, and storytelling
• Hermeneutics and critical theory
• Environment and climate change in literature
• War, narratives and memorials

The sub-themes are only suggestive and not exhaustive. Research papers that are not covered under the above sub-themes, yet have relevance to the thrust area of the conference, may also be submitted.

• Academicians, and postgraduate and undergraduate students from law, social sciences, humanities and related disciplines.
• Young researchers and interdisciplinary scholars working on issues related to law, rights, justice, culture, ecology and literature.
• Students interested in presenting research papers.

The conference will host a diverse group of experts and practitioners to guide student participants, provide feedback and enrich discussions, including academics and scholars from law, literature, history, political science, environmental studies and cultural studies; legal practitioners including judges, lawyers and advocates working on constitutional rights, human rights and environmental justice; and international experts working in law, literature and the humanities across various regions.

Abstracts

• Abstracts must be 250 to 300 words, inclusive of 5 keywords.
• The abstract must be accompanied by a brief bio-note of 100 words indicating the author's email ID, contact number, designation and official address.
• All submissions must include the author's full name, institutional affiliation, contact email and short bio.
• Formatting: Times New Roman, font size 12, line spacing 1.5, justified, with 1-inch margins on all four sides. Submissions must be in MS Word format only.
• Name the file as Full Name_abstract, e.g. John Doe_abstract.

Research Papers

• Research papers must be 4000 to 6000 words.
• They must present original research with clear research questions, methodology, analysis and conclusion, and should engage with existing literature and contribute to theoretical or policy debates.
• Citations must follow APA formatting, MLA 9th edition or Bluebook (12th edition), as per the conference format.
• The language of submissions should preferably be English and Hindi.

• Selected research papers may be published in an edited book by HNLU Press with an ISBN.
• Authors willing to have their paper considered for publication must submit a duly filled-in and scanned 'Declaration of Responsibility & Assignment of Copyright Form', to be provided with the communication of acceptance of the paper.
• Submitted papers are checked through a similarity software approved by the University. Any paper exceeding 10% similarity is outrightly rejected.
• The use of Artificial Intelligence tools in generating content is permissible only up to 20% of the total work. Authors must ensure the paper reflects original analysis, interpretation and argumentation.
• Papers go through a rigorous blind peer-review process before selection for publication in an edited book with an ISBN as per University policies.
• Selection for paper presentation does not entitle publication in the book. Only quality papers are selected for publication, and the author must respond to the scrutiny suggested in the paper from time to time.
• The Committee reserves the right to disqualify any submission that does not comply with these guidelines.

• International professionals and academicians: USD 30.
• Academicians and professionals: INR 1000.
• Research scholars: INR 750.
• Students: INR 500.
• There is no fee for the faculty and students of HNLU.

The registration fee is payable only after the acceptance of the abstract. Participants must attach a screenshot of the successful payment to the registration form. Once deposited, the payment is non-refundable. Where a paper has more than one author, each author pays the fee individually.

As the event runs over two days, the slot for the presentation will be made available beforehand. A certificate of presentation or participation is provided to the participants.

Hidayatullah National Law University is a premier institute for legal education and research, moving towards the Silver Jubilee of its establishment. The University's motto translates to 'for the sake of establishing the primacy of laws of eternal values'. In recent years the university has introduced a series of programmes including Lex Osmose, Ex-Arca, HNLU Press, Sui Generis, HEXA, HAAI and R-Has, with a spoke model of research centres.

The Centre for Law and Language is an initiative established under the School for Law and Humanities to explore, understand and establish the intersection of legal scholarship and linguistic curiosity. It aims to provide a platform for rigorous research, thoughtful discussions and collaborative initiatives to expound the role and significance of language in the field of law and legal inquiries.

The conference is convened under the patronage of Prof. V.C. Vivekanandan (Vice-Chancellor), with Dr. Vishnu Konoorayar (Dean, Research) and Dr. Avinash Samal (Director, School of Law & Humanities). Dr. Jeevan Sagar, Head of the Centre for Law and Language, is the Convener, and Mr. Pradeep Barman is the Secretary.