Call for Proposals

Mountain communities across the world are undergoing rapid transformation. Once defined by rural landscapes and agricultural traditions—small-scale farming, pastoralism, and communal land ownership—these areas are increasingly being reshaped by large-scale extractive industries. In the twenty-first century, mining, industrial forestry, hydropower production, and other related projects often dominate mountain economies and ecologies. These changes have altered both the environment and the social fabric of rural populations. Traditional livelihoods are giving way to hybrid identities: rural proletarians employed in wage labor, seasonal workers who move between agriculture and industry, and part-time farmers who complement subsistence plots with external incomes. Such layered histories reflect the interplay of state-led development agendas and corporate-driven interventions, which together alter land use practices, labor regimes, and community infrastructures. In sum, mountain landscapes are reshaped by a wide array of forces: demographic decline and aging populations, the entanglement of urban and rural economies, conservation and rewilding projects, green-transition initiatives, tourism expansion, climate change, and heritage-promotion regimes. Across the Andes, Alps, Himalayas, Carpathians, Appalachians, and many other mountain regions, these transformations raise pressing questions of
environmental justice: Who benefits from environmental change? Who bears its costs? Whose interests—grassroots, state, or corporate—will prevail?
In an attempt to answer such questions, we invite participation in an international conference being supported by the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (LBUS), the LBUS Department of History, Heritage and Protestant Theology, the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University, the Center for Global Studies at Penn State, and distinguished Appalachian Studies scholars and NGO representatives. The program committee is accepting a select number of proposals for plenary and concurrent sessions on topics ranging from environmental justice, cultural preservation and folklore, critical representations of mountain cultures in literature and arts, creative writing, literary readings, eco-criticism, creative place-making, sustainable agriculture and forestry, ecological tourism, economic diversification, as well general reflections on Appalachian and/or Carpathian culture.
Presentation Formats include:
* Individual scholarly research papers or sessions
* Films, documentaries, videos, and musical performances
* Roundtable conversations on contemporary issues
* Literary readings, plays, and poetry recitations

* Photographic exhibitions or art installations
All U.S. presenters must register for the conference and pay a registration fee of €220 (€180 for students and NGO participants), which will include a group luncheon and an evening banquet. European participants will be required to pay a €60 registration fee, although LBUS students
may attend all plenary and concurrent sessions free of charge. While conference organizers cannot directly assist with air travel expenses, some grant monies may be made available through U.S. governmental agencies or non-profit foundations. Conference organizers will offer
hotel discounts for participants (who use recommended guesthouses) and will provide affordable meal and lodging options during the field trip to Hosman, a former Saxon village in the nearby Hârtibaciu Valley. In addition, the below individuals will be attending the conference and delivering keynote addresses during the plenary sessions:
Irina Velicu, Ph.D., is a political scientist working on socio-environmental conflicts in Europe, particularly in post-communist contexts. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii (USA) and an MA in International Studies from the University of Warwick
(UK). She is a researcher at the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra (2014–2023), where she coordinated the FCT-funded JustFood project (2018–2022) on environmental and food justice in Europe. She currently leads the ECOJUST – Doing Environmental InJustice: A
Theory in Praxis project, funded through Romania’s PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Her work is published in leading journals in political ecology and environmental politics.
Geoffrey L. Buckley, Ph.D., is associate dean and director of experiential education in the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. In that capacity he has developed field‑based learning experiences that immerse students in the physical and cultural landscapes of
Appalachia. Buckley’s students explore social and environmental justice as well as the
long‑term impacts of extractive industries on the region. He is also the author of Extracting Appalachia: Images of the Consolidation Coal Company, 1910–1945 and co-editor of Mountains of Injustice: Environmental and Social Justice in Appalachia.
Maria Mihaela Antofie, Ph.D., Professor at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection, Romania. Her academic and policy work focuses on biodiversity conservation, plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture, and biosafety governance. She serves as Romania’s Focal Point for the CBD SBSTTA and is an active member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication. Professor Antofie has contributed to international environmental policy and capacity-building initiatives as a TAIEX expert and as a member of global platforms such as CGIAR’s Agro-biodiversity Research Platform and the International Platform for Biotechnology (Ghent). She holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Bucharest and obtained her habilitation in agricultural
sciences from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca.

The program committee is also considering proposals for non-presenters; i.e., individuals who might be interested in participating in the conference events without officially submitting a paper or session proposal. All proposals (for both presenters and non-presenters) must be emailed prior to May 15, 2026, to: AppalachiansCarpathians2026@gmail.com.

Submit your proposal abstract (300 words) within the text of your email AND as a single-spaced Word attachment. Incomplete submissions will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified by June 1, 2026, of the committee’s final decision. An expanded and Final CFP will be announced in early March. If you are a non-presenter, please explain your primary reason for attending the conference using the “Abstract” format.
Please include the following in the written proposal:
Proposal category: Individual presentation or group session (enter category in the email subject heading). Type of Presentation: Paper/Panel/Roundtable, Reading, Musical/Play/Dance Performance, or non-presenter.
Contact information: Name(s), email address(es), and affiliation(s) of ALL participants. Title of your individual paper/presentation OR session. Individual papers/presentations will be limited to 20 minutes. If you are proposing a session, include the title of each paper/presentation in the session abstract.
Abstract: A single-spaced abstract of 300 words describing your individual paper/presentation or session in the body of your email AND attachment as a Word file. For group sessions, please submit an abstract from each presenter describing the entire session. All abstracts will be
published in the conference program.
Media: Please list any equipment needs (laptop computer, projector, DVD player, etc.).

For additional information, please contact:
Donald Edward Davis, Ph.D.
Program Committee Co-chair
Vienna, Virginia, 22180, U.S.A.
Email: donaldedwarddavis@gmail.com
Anamaria Tudorie, Ph.D.
Lecturer | Director, Department of History, Heritage and Protestant Theology
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
Bd. Victoriei Nr. 5-7, Sibiu 550024, Romania
Email: anamaria.tudorie@ulbsibiu.ro
Valer Simion Cosma, Ph.D.
Program Committee Co-chair
Director, Lucian Blaga University Library
10 Victoriei Blvd, Sibiu, Romania 550024
Email: simion.cosma@ulbsibiu.ro

Travel Information: International conference participants will fly into the Sibiu International Airport in Sibiu, Romania https://www.sibiuairport.ro/en/, which is 3.5 miles, or roughly 15 minutes, from the center of town. Transportation by bus from Sibiu to Hosman will be provided, at no charge, by the conference organizers. The return trip to Sibiu will also be gratis, although may include brief stop for lunch or dinner along the way.
Scientific Committee
Donald Edward Davis, Ph.D.
Scientific Committee Co-chair
Vienna, Virginia, 22180, U.S.A.
Email: donaldedwarddavis@gmail.com
Sorin Radu, Ph.D.
Scientific Committee Co-chair
Prof. Dr., Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
10 Victoriei Blvd., Sibiu, Romania 550024
Email: sorin.radu@ulbsibiu.ro
Valer Simion Cosma, Ph.D.
Director, Lucian Blaga University Library
10 Victoriei Blvd., Sibiu, Romania 550024
Email: simion.cosma@ulbsibiu.ro
Anamaria Tudorie, Ph.D.
Lecturer | Director, Department of History, Heritage and Protestant Theology
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
Bd. Victoriei Nr. 5-7, Sibiu, Romania 550024
Email: anamaria.tudorie@ulbsibiu.ro
Horia M. Dijmǎrescu, Ph.D.
Teaching Assistant Professor | Academic Advisor
Department of Political Science
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260
Email: dijmarescu@pitt.edu
Lee Bidgood, Ph.D.
Professor | Director, Institute for Appalachian Music and Culture
Department of Appalachian Studies
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614
Email: BIDGOOD@mail.etsu.edu