CALL FOR PAPERS
12th International and Interdisciplinary Alexander von Humboldt Conference:
Scientific and Poetic Travels between the Mediterranean and Latin America
Naples, Italy
September 7–11, 2026
The Dipartimento di Studi Letterari, Linguistici e Comparati of the Università di Napoli L’Orientale, the Università Suor Orsola Benincasa, and the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici in Naples, together with the California Polytechnic-Humboldt and the University of Bern, Switzerland are pleased to invite the international academic community to participate in the “12th International and Interdisciplinary Alexander von Humboldt Conference: Scientific and Poetic Travels between the Mediterranean and Latin America,” to be held from September 7 to 11, 2026, in Naples.
The main objective of the conference is to promote interdisciplinary academic dialogue and debate on the figure and works of Alexander von Humboldt and travelers between the Mediterranean and Latin America throughout history. The debate includes perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. The conference invites researchers from around the world to engage with Alexander von Humboldt’s rich and valuable legacy through dialogue between disciplines, civilizations, and cultures.
In 2026, the Humboldt conference series will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Since 2001, conferences have been held in the United States, Mexico, China, Germany, France, Morocco, Chile, and Spain, with the participation of researchers from more than 30 countries.
The 12th Humboldt conference is especially aimed at young researchers and offers a forum for international exchange.
Topics
General
Alexander von Humboldt
Travelers between the Mediterranean and Latin America
Genre
Travel literature
The tradition of travel in Italy (“grand tour”)
Theoretical approaches to the genre
Travel letters and chronicles
Travel anthologies
Graphic representation of travel (maps, drawings, paintings, engravings, photographs, cinema)
Identity
Migration, exile, flight
Women travelers, travel and gender
Travel and the construction of the “other”
Colonialism and postcolonialism
Science and the Arts
Travel and archaeology (Pompeii, Herculaneum, monuments of indigenous civilizations in Latin America)
Travel and climatology, ecology
Travel and ethnography
Travel and geography
Travel and philosophy
Travel and aesthetics
Travel and history
Travel and literature
Travel and medicine
Travel and politics
Travel and sociology
Travel and linguistic studies
Types of travel
Scientific travel
Poetic, artistic or aesthetic travel
Journeys of discovery
Journeys of conquest
Political and diplomatic journeys
Missionary journeys
Journalistic journeys
Complementary sessions and program
Exhibitions: travel paintings, travel photographs
Forum for young researchers
Readings of travelers' stories by writers
Guided tours of Naples and Pompeii.
Conference languages
Spanish, English, German.
How to participate
The Conference invites researchers, professionals, and graduate students interested in the topics covered in the Call for Papers to submit an abstract of no more than 250 words, along with the title of the paper and a maximum of five keywords, as well as your name, affiliation, area of specialization, and email address, by February 20, 2026, to: humboldt2026@gmail.com. Papers should not exceed 20 minutes in length.
Schedule
Proposal submission deadline: February 20, 2026
Proposal acceptance deadline: March 15, 2026
Registration fees
Graduate students: 30 Euros
Speakers from Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia: 200 Euros
Speakers from Latin America, Asia, Africa: 150 Euros
Attendees or Companions: 80 Euros
Emeritus Professors: 100 Euros
(Instructions for payment will be sent in a subsequent circular.)
Presidents
Dr. Thomas Nehrlich, University of Bern, Switzerland
Dr. Sergio Corrado, University of Naples L’Orientale, Italy
Organizing Committee
Dr. Lilianet Brintrup Hertling, CalPoly-Humboldt, United States
Dr. Matthew Dean, CalPoly-Humboldt, United States
Dr. Frank Holl, Historian, Munich, Germany
Dr. Oliver Lubrich, University of Bern, Switzerland
Partners
Dr. Paola Paumgardhen, Università Suor Orsola Benincasa, Italia
Dr. Wolfgang Kaltenbacher, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici, Italia
Dr. Maria Carmen Morese, Goethe-Institut Neapel, Italia