February – April | Leiden University / University of Amsterdam
In this workshop, we will investigate how literature is able to reflect, talk back, deconstruct and challenge different narratives of Europe that circulate in the European public sphere. Narratives, for example, that teleologically construct Europe as having a clear historical origin; that rewrite European history to serve a specific political agenda; that function as bordering spaces of in- and exclusion; that imagine Europeans as a homogeneous group; or that conceive of Europe as a social constitution of overlapping and potentially conflicting identities.

November 2025 – January 2026 | University of Amsterdam
This seminar explores literature across different cultures, times, and spaces, emphasising Sedgwick’s concept of ‘across-ness’. It introduces foundational texts and theories related to gender and sexuality and provides new and critical perspectives on queer scholarship and activism. We aim to shed light on diverse and complex perspectives, particularly of the Global South. The seminar seeks to promote more inclusive and equitable approaches to queer theory.

10 April 2026 | Utrecht University
The twenty-first century continues to unfold as an era marked by intersecting crises—climate catastrophes, political and economic instability, public health emergencies, wars, and mass displacement. In the context of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), these challenges are deeply felt, not only in material terms but also in the political, emotional, ethical, and relational fabrics of everyday life. We invite contributions to a symposium that approaches the SWANA region not through familiar tropes of crisis but through the quieter, more enduring work of care, vulnerability, and solidarity.

April – June 2026 | University of Amsterdam
This course focuses on contemporary debates in life writing as a newly emerging field across disciplines. Life writing is an umbrella term for a wide range of writings about one’s own or someone else’s life, such as biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, bio-fiction and travel writing. In the course we will explore various life stories of men and women in the 20th and 21st centuries, who each had their own unique set of life experiences, beliefs and perceptions.

The call for the 2025 OSL Awards is now open!
Just like last year, the awards consist of five categories: ‘published scholarly book’, ‘published article’, ‘PhD dissertation’, ‘ReMA thesis’ and ‘valorization‘. The Awards are intended to acknowledge original and innovative contributions to the field of literary studies and to highlight the work of talented OSL students and scholars. Each OSL Award comes with prize money of € 500,-.