The Asian/Pacific Studies Institute at Duke University invites graduate students, scholars, artists, and activists to submit abstracts for the third Environmental Futures in Asia Network (EFAN) conference, scheduled to take place at Duke Kunshan University from June 18–20, 2026.
This two-day workshop will feature a keynote address, thematically organized panels, and a local field excursion.
This year’s workshop theme is “Green Transitions,” exploring how green transitions are designed, implemented, and envisioned across Asia’s varied landscapes. Asia is a critical site for studying energy transitions due to its rapidly evolving political economies, diverse ecologies, and long histories of resource extraction.
The workshop will be conducted in-person to facilitate EFAN’s goals of strengthening networks, enhancing interpersonal connections, and promoting relationship-building among all participants.
We are requesting proposals of unpublished research from academics and practitioners in the humanities and social sciences whose work can help illuminate pathways to low-carbon, equitable futures in Asia.
Possible panel or paper topics include (but are not limited to):
- Tracing the history of green development and technology
- Analyzing green transitions and emerging environmental commons
- Interrogating green capitalism and greenwashing
- Moving beyond carbon capitalism
- Reflecting on issues of energy justice
- Tracking the politics of air, atmosphere, and breathability
- Understanding hydrospheric and oceanic transformations in green transitions
- Considering gender, race, class, and disability within green transitions
- Building post-carbon cities and infrastructures
- Recognizing carbon-corporeal entanglements (e.g., embodied experiences of extraction, toxicity, and exposure)
- Imagining fossil-fuel-free futures
- Engaging communities influenced by green transitions
- Explaining methodological approaches to studying energy transitions (ethnographic, archival, STS, participatory, or artistic methods)
- Supporting artistic, activist, and practice-based engagements with green transitions
- Attending to the ecological and material footprint of digital infrastructures such as AI
- Exploring deep earth ecologies and the politics of rare earth
Submission Guidelines:
- Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and should explain the research project and its contribution to facilitating our understanding of “green transitions” in the Asian context.
- The priority application deadline is January 1, 2026; abstracts received by January 12 2026 will be considered on a rolling basis.
- Upload your file(s) in .pdf (preferred) or .doc/.docx format; make sure to include your name in the file name.
Selected participants will be notified in late January. Questions about the process or any technical issues can be directed to Ms. Renate Kwon at APSI.
Please note: limited funding is available to support invited presenters’ travel to and stay in Kunshan.
Download a copy of the CfP
(US letter format):
Download a copy of the CfP
(A4 format):
Be sure to also read about our 2024 workshop in Jeju and 2025 workshop in Durham. We look forward to receiving your proposals!
