The Division of Arts and Letters is excited to present the 2026 Arts and Letters Symposium. 

The symposium will be held Saturday, March 28, 2026.

The symposium theme is "Discovery through Humility."

Please use this website to get ideas for possible presentation topics, get updates on the schedule, and read more information about the keynote speaker and FAQ.

The Division of Arts & Letters, part of CBU's College of Arts & Sciences, is hosting a symposium for student research on Saturday, March 28, 2026.  The symposium theme is "Discovery through Humility" Submissions might consider how your discipline or research invites humility, cultivates reflection, guides us in what is right, or teaches us the LORD's ways (Psalm 25:9). You might also propose a group panel/project/presentation that reflects your commitment to creating humility-animated scholarly or creative projects with others.  How can creative and scholarly work foster humility? What factors cultivate or inhibit humility?  How does your field of study pursue and promote humility and pursuit of the ways of the LORD?? 

The symposium will highlight CBU student research and creative expression related to the fields/departments housed within the Division of Arts & Letters: Communication Studies, Creative Writing, Criminal Justice, English, History, International Studies, Journalism and New Media, Liberal Arts, Modern Languages, Political Science, Public Administration, Public Relations, and Spanish.

The symposium showcases work from CBU students and is open to various topics and styles of presentation—from traditional research papers to creative readings, multimedia presentations, 5-minute lightning talks, and so on. While we are particularly interested in presentations related to the symposium theme, we also will consider submissions on other topics and approaches.

Sample Topics of Interest

Communication Studies

Research in various communication subject areas

Creative presentations such as oral interpretation or persuasive speech

History & Government

Scholarly research papers

Case studies

Journalism and New Media, Public Relations

Research on targeted audience preferences

Creative publication work representing magazine, yearbook and newspaper spreads, stories, and covers

Broadcast episode examples

Community Help programs

Liberal Arts

Interdisciplinary projects and research

Modern Languages & Literature

Literary analysis papers

Readings of original creative work—poetry, fiction, non-fiction

Interpretive translations

Linguistics papers

Digital humanities projects

Pedagogical research related to literature or languages

Presentations in languages other than English

Public Relations

Campaigns for good will on campus

Public Relations research and plans (RPIE)

Media Kits

Social Media Plans and campaigns

Branding projects

We invite submissions that may look at the symposium theme of "Discovery through Humility" through a wide variety of approaches and lenses:  searching for trust; writing craft (and peer groups) as efforts at trust-building; trust and politics;  trust (and betrayal) in literature; the history of communal efforts to build trust among people or within process or policy; building trust with clients across cultures, and so on. Submissions not on the symposium theme will also be considered.

Guidelines for Submissions

All CBU students, both graduate and undergraduate, are welcome to submit proposals for the symposium. Students need not be currently enrolled in a course housed in the Division of Arts & Letters or majoring in a related field. However, if students are currently enrolled in or have recently completed such a class, work submitted to such a course for class credit may also be submitted to the symposium. We encourage students to discuss their presentation ideas with their professors as they compose their abstracts for presenting their research.

Submission deadline is March 10, 2026.

Potential presenters should submit a 100-150 word abstract describing their project’s content and format. What is interesting, original, important, controversial, thought-provoking, etc. about the proposed presentation? Why does it matter? Why should audience members care about it? What form (group presentation? individual presentation? discussion? performance? roundtable? digital project? poster board? etc.) will your presentation take? Which format is most effective and engaging for presenting the ideas in the proposal to an audience? You may propose an individual presentation (in which case the organizers will likely assign you to a panel) or a group/panel presentation (in which case you should include the names of your fellow presenters, their email addresses, as well as their abstracts).

To submit your proposal, please email your 100-150 word abstract (a description of your 5-15 minute presentation) as an attached Word or PDF document to artsandletterssymposium@calbaptist.edu. Include your name, contact info, and the title of your presentation on the abstract. In the subject line of your email, note the academic discipline of your presentation (History & Government, Modern Languages & Literature,  or Communication Arts). For example, “Symposium Proposal: Modern Languages & Literature.” 

For any inquiries regarding the submission process or the symposium itself, please contact Dr. Laura Veltman: lveltman@calbaptist.edu.