Submit your ISTP 2026 contribution for publication: Call for Papers for [International Review of Theoretical Psychology] ( https://tidsskrift.dk/irtp ) Vol. 4 Theorizing in Dark Times: Art, Narrative, Politics
Nearly a century ago, Bertolt Brecht asked and answered a question for a world eerily similar to the one we live in today: “In the dark times, will there be singing? Yes there will be singing about the dark times.” Theoretical psychology has long sought to understand the human condition, examining the conditions of the production of psychological knowledge alongside the philosophical underpinnings that create these conditions. The International Society for Theoretical Psychology is thus a forum for discussions of new theoretical ideas and conceptual frameworks, as well as the stage on which theoretical psychology can be connected to other disciplines. Yet in moments of global crisis, theory itself becomes a site of political resistance, a space for radical generativity, and an active participant in recording the dark times through which we are living.
Theory thus encapsulates far more than our understandings of human existence; it functions as a political force, shaping narratives of power, ideology, and agency. At the heart of this discussion lies the question: What is the role of theory in dark times? We invite essays that explore theory as generative space, political force, and radical reconstitution, connecting it to a wide range of neighboring disciplines, such as philosophy, sociology, anthropology, literature, the arts, and beyond. We welcome contributions about the relationship between theory and narratives of individual crisis, art-making as understanding the political landscape, non-Western psychologies, embodiment in an increasingly digital world, the rise of generative AI as transformation of individual thought, and the self as political agent. What matters is not that theory can explain this wide range of themes and phenomena, but that it is an active agent in producing our understanding. This issue aims to gather work originally presented at the ISTP 2026 conference about the role of theory in progressing us through the dark times.
Contributions may address, but are not limited to:
- Theorizing as intervention in reshaping traditional Western narratives
- Engagements with theory through the lens of art-making
- The emancipatory potential of theory in times of crisis
- The role of theory in educational environments that are increasingly shaped by generative AI
- Theory as political resistance and newfound agency
- Practice-based approaches on embedding theory into other disciplines
What unites the issue is a desire to understand how theory both creates and dismantles the dark times. Submissions beyond this scope are also welcome, provided they are based on presentations delivered at ISTP 2026.
Abstracts (300–500 words) should be submitted to the guest editors by Sept 1, via email to Olivia Reese () and Martin Dege (). Authors are invited to submit full manuscripts by January 31st, 2027.
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ISTP 2026 Conference
“Theorizing in Dark Times – Art, Narrative, Politics”
June 8 – June 12, 2026 | Brooklyn, NY, USA
https://pratt.edu/ISTP-2026
[https://www.conftool(dot)pro/istp2026/]https://www.conftool(dot)pro/istp2026/