WRDTP 15th Annual Conference: New Forms of Power and Resistance

Where? The Wave, University of Sheffield.

When? Wednesday 17th June 2026 (10:00-16:30, with arrival from 09:30).

Format? In person only.

Who can attend? Social science PGR students and academics from the WRDTP partner institutions (Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and York), as well as WRDTP alumni.

Who can present? Social science PGR students from the WRDTP partner institutions (Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and York).

PGRs do not need to be funded by the WRDTP to present and/or attend; all are welcome.

Synopsis

We live in a time of uncertainty and change. In politics, leaders both locally and globally have upended previously established political norms. Social inequalities persist, leaving disadvantaged groups struggling in terms of employment, health, education outcomes, and political agency. Meanwhile, new technologies have reshaped the way that we interact, produce knowledge, and engage with one another, resulting in new spaces where misogyny, racism, ableism and other forms of hate can spread. At the same time, these changes have created new avenues for resistance, to challenge the social and political problems that exist in the world and produce a more hopeful, more tolerant world.

This conference will explore these issues broadly, through a variety of different social science lenses, to consider what societal challenges exist in the world, and what society can do to resist unfairness and unjust power. As such, we invite abstracts that speak to questions of inequalities and power dynamics, and ways of challenging and resisting those. Abstracts may link to this or to the broad themes of our seven interdisciplinary pathways. We welcome empirical, theoretical, methodological, policy, practice and activist contributions, be they historical or contemporary in focus.

Abstract Submission

A key priority of this event is to showcase the work of PGRs, so we welcome all PGR submissions, and will seek to accommodate all abstracts received. Abstracts of a maximum of 200 words should be submitted via the abstract submission form by the deadline of Friday 15th May at 12:00 noon: Submit an abstract.

As well as completing the abstract submission form, please note that you will need to register to attend the conference via Eventbrite.

Poster Submission

There will be a PGR poster exhibition on display throughout the conference, with one £50 voucher prize available to win. Posters should be registered via the poster submission form by the deadline of Friday 15th May at 12:00 noon: Submit a poster.

As well as completing the poster submission form, please note that you will need to register to attend the conference via Eventbrite.

Conference Registration

The conference is free to attend, and the deadline to register is Monday 8th June at 09:00. Please register to attend via Eventbrite, providing your university email address and ensuring that you complete all fields of the form.

If you register for the conference and subsequently find that you can no longer attend, please email training@wrdtp.ac.uk and/or cancel your booking on Eventbrite. This will help to ensure the smooth running of the event and avoid unnecessary wastage.

Keynote Speakers

We are delighted to host two internationally renowned keynote speakers, whose work speaks to questions of unjust power and resistance to it:

• Prof. Indrajit Roy is Professor of Global Development at the University of York. His research and teaching contribute to critical approaches to studying the politics of global development, with a focus on ‘new development futures’ that promise to reframe the discipline.
• Dr Suay Özkula is a Post-Doc at the Centre for Information, Communication Technologies and Society at the University of Salzburg. She is a digital sociologist focusing on digital activism, digital political empowerment, climate communications, digital and visual methods, and visual protest culture in research.

Please note: The WRDTP is committed to sustainability and to reducing the waste from excess catering at events. A key challenge here is non-attendance at events. From October 1st 2025, the WRDTP will be changing the way we manage the non-attendance of PGR students who have booked place/s at WRDTP Training events. Any PGR student who does not inform the WRDTP (via training@wrdtp.ac.uk) that they will not be able to attend a WRDTP event at least 3 working days before the event takes place will have the cost of their place deducted from their RTSG (if a WRDTP-funded student), or have this charged to their department (if not funded by the WRDTP). This will allow us to better plan for events and to avoid catering waste. Thank you in advance for your cooperation on this matter.