Conference archive
The First ‘Intergalactic’ Conference on Resistance Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst, and online — 18–21 June 2026. This page is the record: what the conference asked for, who spoke, who came, and the programme as it ran.
The conference in numbers
Four days, hybrid throughout: every session ran in Amherst and on Zoom at the same time, which is why two thirds of the people who took part never had to travel.
314
people registered — 219 online and 95 in person
241
papers accepted, from 299 submitted
59
organisations took part
22
time zones, from UTC−8 to UTC+12
Where people joined from
The hybrid format was a deliberate answer to who could safely travel. The call put it plainly: “We understand that it will be difficult for many scholars and activists in this field to travel to the United States. We acknowledge that this presents a barrier, and even a possible risk. We encourage everyone to consider any risks given the current situation in the USA and internationally, and consider their safety first.”
- 80 USA
- 33 Latin America
- 32 Middle East & North Africa
- 31 India
- 29 Europe
- 15 United Kingdom
- 14 Oceania
- 12 Canada
- 10 East Asia
- 10 Bangladesh
- 10 East Africa
- 9 Southeast Asia
- 8 South Asia
- 8 Pakistan
- 8 Italy
- 8 Africa
- 7 Germany
- 6 Spain
- 5 Scandinavia
- 3 Philippines
- 3 Indonesia
- 2 Ireland
- 2 Benelux
- 2 Australia
- 2 West Africa
- 2 Southern Africa
- 1 Thailand
- 1 Central Africa
Participants chose their own region when they registered, and could choose more than one — so these are counts of choices, not of people, and the list mixes continents with single countries because the form offered both.
The programme
The full four-day programme, panel by panel, with session times in every zone it ran in. It was never published on the site while the conference was on — this is the first time it has been available here.
Keynote speakers
Five plenary sessions, in formats from a single keynote to a roundtable. Every speaker came to resistance through both thinking and doing.
Resistance; Rebellion, Revolution
John Holloway
Thursday 18 June, 3.30–4.50 pm
The Occupied People’s Forum: Resisting All Colonialism, Building Justice for All
Sami Awad, Sumaya Said Selma, Esreen Ghadri and Luis Rosa Pérez. Facilitated by Matt Meyer and Siena Mann
Thursday 18 June, 5.30–7.00 pm
The Health of Mother Earth and Ancestral Wisdom
Vivian Tatiana Camacho Hinojosa
Friday 19 June, 10.30 am – 12 pm
Organize! Organize! Organize! Building the Bridge between Protest and Movement-Building
Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons and Jihad Abdulmumit
—
The Future of Resistance
Stellan Vinthagen
—
What the call for papers said
The conference invited papers under fifty themes. This is the case it made for itself, written before any of it happened.
Building a global Resistance Studies community in times of repression
Our primary goal is to launch a Resistance Studies community, connecting scholars and activists around the globe. This conference is not just a single event, but the foundation for fostering new long-term relationships and collaborative work that will continue far beyond these four days.
At this critical moment in history, research-based resistance has never been more vital. We face a time of escalating violence, the rise of white nationalism, authoritarian regimes, genocide and state-led violence around the world. We want to make it clear that despite the current repressive environment, we will continue to openly work on and grow Resistance Studies and the practice of resistance. We also aim to create a safe platform and space for all dissenting voices around the world to continue their essential work, particularly during these challenging times. It will be essential to connect and avoid isolation, and develop strategies and connections as a way to foster resilience.
We hope to both encourage those who feel intimidated and silenced, and find practical ways to support the study and practice of resistance in safe and constructive ways.
This conference is an act of resistance itself — a declaration that scholarly inquiry and activist practice for human liberation will continue despite attempts at suppression.
Why ‘Intergalactic’
The name was taken from the Zapatistas. The call described joining together in the attempt to go beyond all our boundaries, and to open up our minds and hearts to methods of nonviolent resistance that can be the motor force of change.
It invited a deliberately broad room: “seasoned faculty, emerging professors, graduate students, community organizers, activist intellectuals, fantasy authors, closet philosophers, and all others who see themselves as ‘Zapatistas of the Knowledge Makers and Shakers, the Troublemakers United’.” No academic background was required to present.
Research and activism areas
Resistance Studies draws from rich intellectual traditions including anarchist literature, Foucauldian analysis, feminist scholarship, anthropological work, Afro-American studies, Subaltern Studies, James Scott’s work on everyday resistance, queer theory, and many other critical frameworks.
The fifty themes interrogated resistance from all angles and in all contexts of violence and oppression: patriarchy, colonialism, militarism, class exploitation via capitalism, imperialism and (neo)colonialism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, religious conservatism, fascism, neoliberal market fundamentalism, ecocide and environmental destruction, individualist fragmentation of communities, and technocracy. Resistance to Western epistemological dominance, and to exploitative organisations including academia, also emerged as key themes. Case studies came from every region, with a particular cluster on Palestine and pro-Palestine activism.
Who organised it
The conference was organised by the Resistance Studies Initiative, a research centre at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
It marked ten years since the appointment of the world’s first Endowed Chair in the Study of Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Resistance, Professor Stellan Vinthagen. That endowment made it possible to launch the Journal of Resistance Studies and the Resistance Studies research programme, and it funded the conference. Four days spent asking where the field had got to in those ten years, and where it should go next.
The community carries on
The conference launched the Resistance Studies Network, and that is where the conversation continues between conferences.