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photographies x Photography Ethics Centre

CALL FOR PAPERS

This symposium seeks to engage photographers, curators, archivists, and researchers in a critical discussion about the ethical dimensions of photography.

Photography ethics is a topic which has gained momentum in recent years. From questions of consent, representation, and manipulation to the impacts of social media, artificial intelligence, and fake news, image-makers and image-users are facing complex challenges emerging from technological, environmental, and political change.  

This renewed attention to ethics has contributed to a growing polarisation within the photography industry. Firm lines are being drawn between those who are experimenting with AI, and those who shun it; those who engage in collaborative practice, and those who place higher value on the artist’s perspective; those who prioritize creative freedom, and those who prioritize social responsibility.

Rather than seeking to delineate any universal ethical truths, we are instead interested in exploring the messiness of ethical decision-making. How are photographers and other image-based practitioners are negotiating the ethical decisions they encounter? Who is implicated or involved in these decisions, and who or what is at stake?

We are interested hearing from speakers who can shed light on the situatedness and complexity of ethical decisions in photography from both theoretical and practice-based perspectives.

SUBJECT FIELDS

Photographic Practice, Photography Theory, Visual Methods, Visual Studies, Visual Communication, Visual Anthropology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Media Studies.

POTENTIAL AREAS OF FOCUS

We seek conference contributions that explore ways in which these themes intersect in photographic practice and theory. Example topics that could be addressed include, but are not limited to:

Case studies of how photographers navigate ethical decision-making.

Photography ethics in the digital age of social media.

Decolonial approaches to ethical decision-making in photography.

The ethics of practices - artistic or otherwise - using archival photographs.

Ethical decision-making in photography archives.

Authorship and ownership in collaborative projects or in anonymous archives.

The role of the viewer and the ethics of viewership.

The relationship between photography ethics and sustainability.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

We are accepting submissions for presentations normally in the form of a

-            15-minute solo oral presentation

-            Panel on a specific theme or project

-            Poster presentation

To submit a presentation proposal, please send an abstract (max 300 words) as a Word Document or PDF to the email listed below by October 13, 2025 Please also include: the presenter’s name; the presenter’s affiliation (if any); a short bio of the presenter (max 70 words); and up to 5 keywords. Please state whether you wish to be considered for an oral presentation, a poster presentation, or both.

Selected presenters will be notified by December 8, 2025.

The symposium will take place at Queen’s University Belfast on June 3-4, 2026.

Following the symposium, selected presentations will be invited to submit a paper for consideration in a special issue of photographies on the same theme. Acceptance to present at the symposium does not guarantee an invitation to submit a paper for the special issue.

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