14th Annual ESPRit Conference: “Periodicals and the World”
9-11 September, 2026, Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), Brussels
The 14th ESPRit conference, held at the Royal Library in Belgium (KBR), explored questions prompted by the concept of ‘world.’ Periodicals occupy a place in the world and construct their own specific world views. Across history, they have played a significant role in shaping and framing, as well as challenging and questioning, various conceptions of the world. Magazines and newspapers have always also been worlds unto themselves, governed by specific laws, traditions and visions. These internal dynamics evolved over time, influenced by forces both local and global. And while we group periodicals together—by topic, place or politics, among others—each publication’s internal world is also quite unique (CfP).
Panel Magazines as Worlds and the Worlding of Magazines, 11 September
While periodicals are often classified according to their rootedness in place and space – from the local city magazine, newspapers with regional or national agendas to explicitly global publishing ventures –, many of them tend to branch out of their alleged spheres and align themselves with dynamic forces from elsewhere. These border-crossing activities, which might involve human and institutional actors, are particularly relevant for a periodical’s editorial policy, ultimately shaping the magazine or newspaper’s visibility and impact on the world. This panel brings together three contributions which showcase internal magazine dynamics and their enmeshments with specific worldmaking strategies, touching upon categories like ethnicity, nationality, language, or time and temporality, and illustrating the necessity for translocal, transregional, as well as transnational considerations.
Jutta Ernst: The World at Home in Toronto: Exile Magazine’s Editorial Culture
Sabina Fazli / Scott Hames: Independent Magazines and Alternative Worlding
Oliver Scheiding: Traditions and Visions: The World-Making of Indigenous Zines
