CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: (Up)Rooted: Autoethnographies of Belonging and Place

Edited by Curtis Ladrillo Chamblee, Robin M. Boylorn, & Emma Frances Bloomfield

The edited volume, (Up)Rooted: Autoethnographies of Belonging and Place, seeks to explore the lived experiences of belonging, uprootedness, boundaries, and borders through autoethnographic storytelling. We invite contributions that reflect on how individuals wrestle with identity, justification for occupying space, and the fluidity of place within political, cultural, and environmental climates. To feel (up)rooted manifests as physical (such as immigration, relocation, or occupation of certain spaces), financial (such as job loss, insecurity, or economic stress), and/or psychological (such as trauma, discrimination, social injustices, and upheaval of social norms).

In particular, we are interested in how built, natural, and cultural environments shape our sense of self and community. This volume will serve as a reflection on this critical moment, inviting scholars to examine how uprootedness, migration, institutional belonging, and the forces of exclusion and inclusion define our realities. This volume asks: How do we define belonging when everything feels at stake? How do place, space, and identity intersect in ways that root us—or uproot us—within institutions, communities, families, and geographies?

Potential Topics Include (But Are Not Limited To):

• Experiences of being rooted, becoming rooted or unrooted, or feeling uprooted
• Stories of transitions, pivotal moments or events, and the flux between rooted and uprootedness 
• The influence of institutions (e.g., churches, academia, workplaces), families and communities, geographic location, and environments on belonging and identity
• How material and symbolic barriers constrain access and belonging
• The role of surveillance, technology, legislation, and public discourse in controlling bodies across symbolic and physical borders
• How people may navigate or challenge material and symbolic borders and construct spaces as welcoming and inclusive

Submission Guidelines & Timeline

If you are interested in contributing, please submit a brief bio and abstract (no more than 300 words) summarizing your proposed chapter to Curtis Ladrillo Chamblee (curtischamblee@gmail.com) by June 16, 2025. Our tentative timeline is to let abstract contributors know by the end of July 2025 if they are invited to submit a full chapter for consideration in the volume.

For inquiries, contact: Curtis Ladrillo Chamblee at curtischamblee@gmail.com.