Call for Papers
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for VANDA 2027, open until 12 October 2026.
We are opening 34 open panels, 4 open roundtables, a Young Scholars’ Forum, and two special exhibition formats. We warmly welcome contributions from researchers at all career stages. Students working on or having completed their MA are especially encouraged to submit papers to the Young Scholars’ Forum and exhibitions. Presenters are very welcome to join us in Vienna; registration will also include options to participate online.
Download the Sessions Overview PDF here:
Special Formats
The Young Scholars’ Forum is dedicated to MA research projects and offers a space for networking, peer exchange, and constructive feedback among emerging scholars. We also invite contributions to the exhibition “Exhibiting Ethnography: Student Ethnographies as Collaborative Anthropological Knowledge” and to the Young Scholar Multimodal Forum.
For more information, scroll down to the SPECIAL FORMATS section below.
The Call for Student Films is still open until Sept 10th. More information is available here.
In addition, a range of labs will be announced soon on the website vanda.univie.ac.at. These labs will create space for experimental formats, creative approaches, and exchange beyond academic presentations.
Participation and Registration
Presenters are encouraged to attend the conference in person; online participation options will also be available for most events.
All accepted presenters must register for the conference; information on fees and registration will follow in the coming weeks. Support with visa letters can be provided upon request, and accessibility requests are also welcome via the conference contact address.
We look forward to your contributions and to welcoming you to VANDA 2027!
Special Formats
Exhibiting Ethnography: Student Ethnographies as Collaborative Anthropological Knowledge
This exhibition brings ethnographic research developed by students in the context of university courses and research projects into the conference space. Selected projects will be presented as a curated exhibition throughout VANDA, accompanied by guided tours and informal “Meet the Researchers” sessions.
Rather than treating the exhibition simply as a way of displaying research findings, the format invites participants to explore exhibition-making itself as a mode of ethnographic knowledge production, exchange and collaboration. We particularly welcome projects that experiment with how ethnographic research can be reworked, translated or extended through exhibition practice and shared beyond conventional academic formats. This may include visual, sonic, audiovisual, material, spatial, multisensory or participatory approaches. Projects may be finished or work-in-progress, and experimental and provisional formats are explicitly welcome. (BA, MA, PhD Level)
How to submit:
Please submit a single document of no more than two pages, including:
- Project title
- Brief description of the ethnographic project, including its topic, fieldwork context and main focus (max. ½ page)
- Description of what you would like to exhibit, e.g. posters, photographs, maps, drawings, sound recordings, audio/video, objects, installations or other materials and formats
- Proposed exhibition format and technical/spatial requirements, e.g. number and size of posters or other elements, table/display space, screen, headphones, speakers, electricity, etc.
- 1–3 images or other visual examples of the proposed exhibition material (work-in-progress material is welcome). For sonic, audiovisual or other non-visual contributions, links or other suitable examples may be submitted instead.
Please send your submission to christa.markom@univie.ac.at and sabrina.kopf@univie.ac.at
Young Scholar Multimodal Forum
The Young Scholar Multimodal Forum is open to ethnographically informed multimodal works without a specific thematic restriction. Contributions may include graphic vignettes, paintings, crochet, clay sculptures, collages, sound installations, or other multimodal media. Selected works will be exhibited throughout VANDA, with a dedicated events for presenting the works and exchanging feedback with visitors.
How to submit:
Please submit one document of a maximum of three pages including:
- the title of your contribution;
- • a description of what you are submitting and the specific requirements for the exhibition (max. one page)
- • pictures of the proposed work.
Please send your submission to greca.nathascia.meloni@univie.ac.at and sophie.wagner@univie.ac.at
For questions regarding submission and scientific programme, please contact:
Vienna Anthropology Days
For questions regarding registration, please contact:
Congress Service
Conference and Event Management University of Vienna
T: +43-1-4277-17677
