Character and Vocation
Oriel and Magdalen Colleges, University of Oxford
Wednesday 6th January – Friday 8th January 2027
Open Call for Papers
Although ordinary people sometimes claim to have a ‘vocation’ in life, typically connected to moral or professional aspirations, the concept of ‘vocation’ is an under-developed one both in the literature on character education and professional ethics. The aim of this conference is to begin to ameliorate that shortcoming. What does it really mean to have a ‘vocation’ in life and how does that connect to standard characterological constructs such as moral or professional identity or moral purpose? What happens when one’s professional vocation comes into conflict with one’s personal vocation as a person of good character? What is the connection between vocation and meaningful work, or between vocation and good leadership? Moreover, could it be that what sets moral exemplars and role models apart is their sense of vocation – and if so, what are the implications of that insight for the recent literatures on role-model education? Finally, has our sense of ‘vocation’ changed in the digital age – and then how?
The main aim of this conference is to bring discourses about those questions closer together by exploring how current agendas in virtue ethics, moral psychology, professional ethics and character education offer resources, theoretical as well as empirical, to move these discourses forward and offer a better developed and more nuanced conceptualisation of vocation as a characterological construct.
The 2027 Jubilee Centre annual conference hopes to bring together experts from a range of disciplines to explore those questions and many more. Can theorists from philosophy, moral and developmental psychology, education, professional ethics, sociology, theology and history learn from each other’s work? How can insights from theory and practice be integrated?
We hereby send out an open call for presentations falling under the broad theme of the conference. While our focus this time is on issues regarding character and vocation, we will also look favourably upon proposals that explore other more general character-related issues from an educational, social scientific, philosophical, religious, or practice-oriented perspective. There will be parallel sessions devoted to general topics in the area of character, virtue, and character education. We welcome proposals from teachers, professionals, and other practitioners.
How to submit a proposal
We ask interested parties to send us an abstract of about 500 words using the below portal.
Please click the button below to view the portal and submit your proposal.
If you experience any issues, please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Submission deadline: Friday 5th June 2026
Symposiums and Presenters
This year, we are particularly keen to encourage submissions of symposium proposals. A symposium typically brings together 2–5 presenters who engage collaboratively around a shared theme or research question.
The aim is to explore a selected topic in greater depth than is usually possible in a single paper presentation, enabling sustained dialogue, the integration of multiple perspectives, and meaningful critical engagement. We especially welcome proposals that demonstrate clear thematic coherence, articulate the contribution of each presenter, and outline how discussion will be facilitated both among participants and with the audience in order to foster a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the theme.
We welcome proposals from teachers, professionals, and other practitioners.
Further information
We will send out notifications of acceptance before the end of July.
The conference fee is £475 and covers full board at Oriel and Magdalen Colleges in Oxford University (2 nights), including the formal conference dinner. Details of how to pay the registration fee will be provided in due course to the selected proposals.
FAQS
The conference fee is £475.
This includes full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at Oriel or Magdalen College from lunchtime Wednesday 6th January 2027 to lunchtime Friday 8th January 2027.
Details of how to pay the registration fee will be provided in due course to those invited.
If you were not invited and wish to be placed on the waiting list, please complete the waiting list form (see waiting list option in FAQs).
Please click here to submit a proposal.
We ask interested parties to send us an abstract of about 500 words.
Before registering, you will need to submit a proposal. Once your proposal is accepted, you will be provided details to register. To submit a paper, please see the “How to submit a proposal” FAQ.
Successful proposals will receive a link via email to register in due course. If you have issues using this link, please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
If you did not receive an invitation but are still interested in attending, a waiting list will become available (see FAQ for “waiting list” to see if currently available).
If you wish to attend but did not provide a proposal, you can ask to be placed on a waiting list. We will then offer places as and when they become available.
Please note these places are extremely limited as the majority of places are reserved for speaking participants.
Please see the “Waiting list” option in the FAQ’s to join the waiting list. We will also notify anyone who registers here about the next call for papers for the 2028 conference.
Oriel college only allocates single accommodation rooms for the conference. Each registration will only cover a single bedroom for that named guest.
If you submitted a paper proposal before the 5th June 2026, you will found out whether your proposal was successful before the end of July 2026.
If you have not received any correspondence by the end of July, please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
You are welcome to submit a paper alongside a colleague/co-speaker and we encourage submissions of symposium proposals.
For symposiums, we recommend 2-5 presenters. For single paper proposals, due to limited availability of places, it may be that we can only invite one speaker to attend so please clarify who would be your primary speaker.
Please also let us know on any submissions with co-authors, whether they are also interested in attending or are just to be credited in the programme.
Our focus is on any ongoing and future global challenges to healthy character development. We welcome proposals discussing AI, mental health, and environmental and political issues and will also look favourably upon proposals that explore different character-related challenges from an educational, social scientific, philosophical, religious or practice-oriented perspective. There will be parallel sessions devoted to general topics in the area of character, virtue and character education. We particularly welcome proposals from teachers, professionals, and other practitioners.
If you wish to attend but would not be interested in presenting, you can ask to be placed on a waiting list. We will then offer places as and when they become available.
Please note these places are extremely limited as the majority of places are reserved for speaking participants.
Please see the “Waiting list” option in the FAQ’s to join the waiting list.
Please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Please click here for the waiting list.
Please note that spaces are extremely limited and we cannot guarantee that spaces will become available.