Character and Vocation
Oriel and Magdalen Colleges, University of Oxford
Wednesday 6th January – Friday 8th January 2027
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?
Call for papers
The 2027 call for papers is now closed.
Still interested in attending? Add your name to the conference waiting list. Places will be offered if we receive cancellations.
If you experience any issues, please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
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.
Additional Information for invited speakers only.
In advance of the conference, we request that you provide both a 100-word abstract and a full paper. Please use the links below to submit this information or contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk if you have any queries or experience an issue submitting the information.
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).
The 2027 call for papers is now closed.
Still interested in attending? Add your name to the conference waiting list. Places will be offered if we receive cancellations.
If you experience any issues, please contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
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
The call for papers is now closed.
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.
The call for papers is now closed.
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 bring any slides on a USB device.
We request that all print outs be brought with you to the conference as the Jubilee Team does not have access to a printer whilst on site.
The conference is taking place at Oriel and Magdalen Colleges, University of Oxford between Wednesday 6th January – Friday 8th January 2027.
The primary venue for the conference is Magdalen College. Evening events will take place at Oriel College.
Please click here for the waiting list.
Please note that spaces are extremely limited and we cannot guarantee that spaces will become available.
Speaker information
A programme on the conference will be released closer to the date.
The basic structure for the conference is as follow:
- 4 keynote sessions held in the main lecture theatre
- 22 papers and 9 symposiums held across 4 breakout rooms
- 4 concurrent seminar sessions at a time – papers and symposiums
- Time allowed to move between rooms between sessions (all seminars follow a tea/coffee break)
- Delegates choose which seminar sessions to attend
Paper sessions
There are 3 papers per 90-minute seminar session.
We recommend a 15-minute presentation,15-minute question/discussion.
Chairs will introduce speaker, manage the time, and facilitate the questions/discussions.
Symposium Sessions
Symposium sessions are a collection of papers on a single theme.
Session chaired by symposium lead who is responsible for ensuring time for presentation, Q&A, and Discussion
All sessions
Slides can be shown in all rooms – please bring slides on a USB-A drive.
A member of the Jubilee Centre team will be available to assist with IT and other issues
A short abstract is required to be submitted before the 10th October for the programme.
For papers this is a 100 word abstract
For symposiums this is a 300 word abstract.
Please use this form to submit your abstract or contact jubileecentrepapers@contacts.bham.ac.uk
We ask that all speakers provide a copy of a full paper before 1st December 2026.
Click here to submit this paper.
This will be uploaded to the Jubilee Centre website so delegates can read in advance.
There is no word limit for the full paper submission, but a length of 3000-6000 words is recommended
Additional requirements for symposiums
In addition to the abstract and full paper, following the conference we ask for a post-script that summarises the symposium discussion to be added to the paper.
- Papers: Prepare a 15-minute presentation focusing on the highlights of your paper
- Symposium Leads – manage the arrangements for the symposium with co-authors ensuring time is left for discussion and questions.
- Load presentation on USB-A drive to bring with you.
- Ensure you have submitted an abstract and a full paper by the dates listed.
NB: Please note we are unable to print your papers / notes during the conference. Please bring any print outs with you
On arrival find out the room you are presenting in – this will be in the programme
All presenters arrive at the seminar room at least 5 minutes in advance to set up – introduce yourself to the session chair
And please keep to time!