The British Academy Conferences

2026/27

Bringing together scholars from around the world to consider and evaluate new research in the humanities and social sciences

British Academy Conferences bring together scholars from around the world to present, discuss and consolidate new research in the humanities and social sciences. Held at the British Academy’s own premises in London, at venues across the UK, or online, these landmark occasions offer students, scholars and specialists a chance to expand their networks and learn about the latest developments in their field. The scheme includes a strand of British Academy / Wellcome Conferences, designed to foster discussion and debate on health and wellbeing-related themes.

Funded by

Proposing a conference

Find out how to propose a British Academy Conference.

Past conferences and proceedings

See information on past British Academy Conferences.

Edited collections of articles developed from conferences are typically published as volumes in the 'Proceedings of the British Academy' series.

Upcoming conferences

24 - 25 Mar 2025 - London

Domestic Atmospheres: How the Immaterial Shapes the Home

This conference will explore the immaterial and atmospheric qualities of the home to investigate the pressing crises that face our homes today.

26 - 27 Mar 2025 - London

Mind the Gap: Language Development is Key for Inclusive Education and Wellbeing

This conference will set the agenda to increase understanding of language development during late childhood and adolescence across populations.

11 - 12 Jun 2025 - London

Social Practice Theory and Public Health: Microbes, Bodies and Environments

How can building alliances between the social, medical and natural sciences help us to tackle human-microbial relations in a rapidly changing climate?

17 - 19 Jun 2025 - Manchester

Risk Uncertainty and Decision 2025

This conference explores theories of decision-making under uncertain conditions, asking how people make or should make decisions in the face of uncertainty.

18 - 19 Jun 2025 - London

Building a Sustainable Future: Integrating Climate Action, Financial Stability, and Transition Financing

This conference will address the global challenges of integrating climate action and financial stability to build a sustainable future.

3 - 4 Jul 2025 - Oxford

Achebe Redivivus

In this two-day conference, world-leading scholars and rising stars in the fields of anthropology, literary modernism, African politics, African literature, African history, and African art will offer fresh, meticulously researched insights into some of the well-trodden contexts of Chinua Achebe’s work.

10 Jul 2025 - London

Mental Health in Context: Research, Policy and Practice

Bringing together researchers, policymakers and practitioners from diverse sectors and disciplines, this conference will address how mental health should be responded to through the life course.

10 - 11 Jul 2025 - York

The Global Baroque: European Material Culture between Conquest, Trade and Mission, 1600–1750

The period of Western art history known as “the Baroque” has traditionally been interpreted as a stylistic phenomenon. This conference will demonstrate how objects can offer intimate insights into global histories often characterised by vast, impersonal economic forces.

2 - 3 Sep 2025 - Reading

Deconstructing the Inca: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Empire in the Andes

Taking an Andes-wide approach, this conference will highlight and explore two very different ways of building empire, first by the Inca and then the Spanish.

11 - 12 Sep 2025 - Oxford

Comparative Literature and Decoloniality

How might decolonisation change comparative literature? This conference brings together scholars from around the world to revisit the intersection of comparative literature and colonialism to engage with the emerging worldwide 'decolonial turn' in the humanities and social sciences.

11 - 12 Sep 2025 - Cheltenham

Sound, Nature and Wellbeing in Ageing

The state of our wellbeing has a profound impact on our quality of life. This conference will focus on how sound and nature can inspire wellbeing in both older people and those receiving care.

22 - 24 Nov 2025 - Liverpool

Conceptualising Environment(s): Continuity and Change

This conference explores the multiplicity of meanings behind the widely used term ‘environment’ and how they are used in architecture and related subjects, in both contemporary and historical practice.