SYMPOSIUM Puerto Rico in Transition: Sovereignty In times of Peril
(In the Shadow of the Semiquincentennial)

Power 4 Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican Cultural Center in collaboration with CENTRO are organizing a joint symposium to be held in Fall 2026. This Call for Abstracts is the framework for discussion and will provide an opportunity for the presentation of selected abstracts to the participating audience.

According to the official website of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission:  “On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The journey toward this historic milestone is an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.”

But will this celebration narrate and commemorate the complete history of the United States as it pertains to its imperial legacy? A new era of Manifest Destiny seems to be upon us, in light of recent military actions in the Caribbean and Latin America. What does Puerto Rico’s future look like in light of this historic moment? Are we at a crossroads which allows for a true choice or do we find ourselves within a vortex where we are being dragged by the anti-democratic political currents influenced and controlled by the U.S. with no ability to determine our future via a participatory and transparent process that includes self-determination of the Puerto Rican peoples?

Today, Puerto Rico remains the oldest colony in the world and it is the only Spanish-speaking country in the entire Western Hemisphere that is not sovereign. Puerto Ricans’ long-denied and -ignored right to self-determination — the freedom to choose how we define the status of Puerto Rico — and its future is what we seek to address in this call for abstract submissions. 

Power 4 Puerto Rico, CENTRO, Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Alianza for Progress + (island based groups) are looking at the U.S. as it commemorates its 250th Anniversary as an opportunity to envision what sovereignty for Puerto Rico looks like and offer researchers, practitioners, students from diverse disciplines, organizations, artists, and Boricuas from the Puerto Rico and across the diaspora to discuss their vision and consider how it can contribute to a better future. It is our hope that submissions will come from a host of disciplines — anthropology, sociology, economics, business, planning, health & wellness, law, arts & culture, etc. 

Some questions for guidance & inspiration:

• What would  a sovereign Puerto Rico look like?
• What models of country-wide and local governance are optimal and practical?
• Does the U.S. path towards authoritarianism present Puerto Rico with a unique opportunity to achieve self-determination and sovereignty?
• What role does culture play in the success of a sovereign Puerto Rico?
• What economic solutions to Puerto Rico’s current economic insecurity can contribute to the century old stalemate regarding the status of the island?
  • What models of economic sustenance or growth exist in the contexts of the Caribbean’s regional economy and US dominant position?

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Participants interested in submitting an individual paper proposal, please include:

Name, email and affiliation
a paper title
250 word abstract
audio/visual requirements

Please clearly indicate how the proposed presentation connects to the symposium’s theme. We ask that proposals also indicate what if any measures prospective presenters will take to make their session accessible (e.g.,i.e. Pre- circulating papers; providing paper and/or digital copies to be distributed to attendees).

KEY DATES
The deadline for submissions is March 26, 2026. Decisions on submissions will be sent by April 15, 2026.

SUBMISSION PROCESS
Please submit your proposal with all the required information to the linked submission form. We accept abstracts in English and Spanish. Further submission details can be found on the submission form.