Delta Symposium XXXI: Monsters, Cryptids, and the Monstrous
Call for Presentations
The Department of English, Philosophy, and World Languages at Arkansas State University opens a call for papers and presentations for the 31st annual Delta Symposium April 8-11, 2026. The Delta Symposium features a wide variety of scholarship and creative work that focuses on the Delta’s history and culture. Individual and panel presentations on topics relevant to the history and culture of the Arkansas and Mississippi Deltas and surrounding regions are welcome. The symposium is an in-person event held at the university; however, online options are available for presenters who cannot attend in person.
Special consideration will be given to proposals that specifically address this year's theme of “Monsters, Cryptids, and the Monstrous." Writers, historians, musicians, artists, and other creative individuals engage with monsters -- both real and imagined -- in different ways in their work. The idea of liminal, mysterious, and dangerous figures is connected to the history and culture of the Delta in a variety of ways, and writers, musicians, artists, and others have engaged with these creatures throughout the region's history. How do the monsters of the Delta reflect the regional culture and heritage? How are ideas about monsters represented in new technology?
What happens when society welcomes monstrosity as a method to achieve a greater good?
The coordinating committee invites presentations from a wide range of interests. The Delta Symposium has featured presentations from fields such as literary criticism, cultural studies, history, anthropology, folklore, ethnomusicology, sociology, speech communication, arts and art history, and heritage studies.
Although proposals that have direct connections to Arkansas and the Delta are especially welcome, more general proposals that address the theme within Southern history, culture, and heritage will be considered. The 2026 event will conclude on Saturday with the Arkansas Roots Music Festival through continued support from KASU 91.9 FM and A-State’s Heritage Sites.
The deadline for entries is December 19, 2025. Each entry should consist of the following: presenter’s name and affiliation and a 150-word abstract of the presentation as well as a current Vita (2 pages max). Please include your address, phone number, e-mail address, and the technical needs for your presentation.
Delta Symposium Committee
c/o Dr. Gregory Hansen, Dr. Kristen Ruccio, and Leslie Reed, Tri-Coordinators
ghansen@AState.edu
kruccio@AState.edu
lreed@AState.edu
