We are pleased to share this Call for Papers for the Conference on Judeo-Spanish Studies, which will hold its 22nd edition at the Salti Institute for Ladino Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 14–16 July 2026. Submission deadline is February 22.
The conference is an international scholarly forum devoted to the study of the Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, literature, history, and culture, that was first held in Leeds in 1979.
Organizers invite academic scholars, including graduate students (MA and PhD), to submit abstracts for original and unpublished 20-minute papers addressing the language, literature, history, and culture of the Sephardim after the Expulsion of 1492, from different disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The official languages of the conference are English, Spanish and Ladino.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts (maximum 250 words), a short biographical note (maximum 200 words) and 3–5 keywords should be submitted in a single Word file to [email protected] by 22 February 2026. Please indicate “Congreso / Conference” and the author’s surname in the email subject line.
Abstracts should include the title of the paper, author’s name, academic affiliation, academic status, language of presentation, and contact information. Graduate students should indicate the name of their supervisor. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 15 March 2026.
Registration and Travel Subsidies:
The conference registration fee is USD 100, payable upon notification of acceptance. Partial travel support of USD 200 will be available for up to five graduate students. Graduate students without other funding sources may request this support by including a brief explanatory statement in their submission email. Information on hotel options near the university will be provided in due course.
Venue:
Bar-Ilan University (BIU), Israel’s second-largest research university, is located in Ramat Gan, approximately 10 km from Tel Aviv, with convenient access from Ben-Gurion International Airport. The conference will be hosted by the Salti Institute for Ladino Studies, which houses a unique Ladino research library with over 3,000 volumes devoted to Judeo-Spanish language and culture, as well as an important collection of rare Ladino printed books, manuscripts and periodicals. Participants wishing to organize a research visit before or after the conference are welcome to contact us.
Conference Committee: Prof. Ora Schwarzwald; Prof. Shmuel Refael; Dr. Dov Cohen; Dr. Ilil Baum
Conference Coordinator: Dr. Ilil Baum [email protected]