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Home > The 2nd Shapeshifters Symposium
19
November
2026
19/11/2026
09:00
Utrecht

Expanding the Horizons of Plasticity Collaborations

19th – 21st November 2026, Utrecht

  • Thursday 19th : Museum Speelklok
  • Friday 20th & Saturday 21st (half-day): University Museum Utrecht

The 2nd Shapeshifters Symposium: Plasticity – Here, There, and Everywhere aims to bring together people interested in plasticity from a broad range of perspectives, from the exact and natural sciences on the one hand to the social sciences, humanities, and art on the other. In this respect, this symposium is a unique opportunity to move out of our disciplinary comfort zone and meet and discuss with scholars we usually do not interact with.

Who is the ‘Plasticity Group’? We are a group of interdisciplinary researchers working on the concept of plasticity, sponsored by the Dutch Centre for Unusual Collaborations.

Keynote Speakers

Arts & Humanities

Suparna Choudhury, The 2nd Shapeshifters Symposium
Suparna Choudhury – Department of Applied Human Sciences, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Zakiyyah Iman Jackson – Department of Literature, Duke University, North Carolina, USA

Sciences

Heleen Slagter – Department of Applied and Experimental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Maurizio Meloni – School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia

Program

Day 1

  • 9:00–9:30 Registration
  • 9:30–9:45 Opening
  • 9:45–10:45 First Keynote Talk
  • 10:45–11:00 Coffee Break
  • 11:00–12:30 Session 1
  • 12:30–13:30 Lunch Break and Personal Discussions
  • 13:30–14:30 Second Keynote Talk
  • 14:30–14:45 Coffee Break
  • 14:45–15:45 Session 2
  • 15:45–16:00 Coffee Break
  • 16:00–16:45 Session 3
  • 16:30-17:00 Closing Day 1
  • 18:00–20:00 Dinner

Day 2

  • 9:30–9:45 Opening Day 2
  • 9:45–10:45 Third Keynote Talk
  • 10:45–11:00 Coffee Break
  • 11:00–12:30 Session 4
  • 12:30–13:30 Lunch Break and Personal Discussions
  • 13:30–14:30 Fourth Keynote Talk
  • 14:30–14:45 Coffee Break
  • 14:45–15:45 Session 5
  • 15:45–16:00 Coffee Break
  • 16:00–16:45 Session 6
  • 16:45-17:00 Closing Day 2

Panels for Day 1 and Day 2 are transdisciplinary in nature.
Panels will be organized according to the submitted talks and the range of topics. Each panel will conclude with a short discussion by all attendees.

Day 3

  • 10:00–13:00 Joint discussion: What do we want to leave behind for the concept of plasticity? In the peer discussion session, we will brainstorm in discussion groups to think together about what we want plasticity to become in the future.

Submission

Deadline: October 12th, 2026

For Submission of an abstract for a talk, please fill out the form – https://tally.so/r/ODMy7R

We welcome applications for talks from you, symposium contributors, on topics related to plasticity as you conceive it, spanning, but not limited to:

  • Complexity
  • Identity
  • Boundaries
  • Circular Causality
  • Time
  • Mind
  • Meaning Making
  • Directionality
  • Gendered and Racialized Plasticity
  • Power and Plasticity
  • Plasticity and Nature
  • Political Plasticity.

Registration

For Registration, please fill out the form – https://tally.so/r/QKlyxk

Note: We do not charge any registration fees! We organize this symposium for the sake of knowledge. However, space is limited. So please register as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with our project manager, Sorcha plasticitygroup@proton.me


See details about the First Shapeshifters Symposium: Plasticity – Here, There, and Everywhere, which took place in Amsterdam.

To watch previous talks, check out our Youtube channel.

Agenda