The tenth issue of Errant Journal looks into the decolonial tool and practice of refusal. As a form of protest, refusal sets itself apart by its ability to hide in the smallest of gestures. By being an absence of an action, refusal foregoes the binary relation or reactionism that is implicit in much of our resistances. A refusal is not against something per se but is rather aimed at opening up space for another way that may yet have to be imagined. Additionally, refusal can be enacted at any time by even the least powerful or most oppressed, emboldening a subversive movement from below. Most importantly, more than an act of withdrawal or disengagement, refusal is generative of change and the creation of true alternatives to the status quo.
Inspired by the many decolonial, Black, and/or Indigenous thinkers that have theorized refusal, this issue of Errant seeks to publish contributions that explore the different ways and contexts in which refusal can be practiced and look into what subjects, histories, and politics these refusals produce. Errant Journal is especially interested in contributions that look into what refusal creates, rather than what it denies. This issue also aims to provide practical examples and methods of how, where, and when refusal can be enacted in order to collectively think and make the world anew.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Specific practices of refusal in local contexts
- Instances of civil or epistemic disobedience
- Practices of archival refusal
- Boycotts and strikes against modern/colonial orders
- How to become ungovernable
Your proposal:
Because it is Errant’s aim to give form to the idea of a pluriversal world, she resolutely rejects the idea of a universal way of knowing emanating from a neutral, general and/or anonymous perspective. Instead, Errant looks for contributions that are concretely situated, personal, specific, etc. and from all possible backgrounds, disciplines and/or embodied knowledges. Errant especially looks for and welcomes contributions that come from a different epistemological knowledge. Most of Errant consists of essays, but we also welcome other (experimental) forms that can be made suitable for the format of a publication. Errant Journal does not publish reviews of exhibitions or books.
This issue is a follow up of Errant Journal no. 5 Learning From Ancestors. Epistemic Restitution and Rematriation and no. 8 Against Visibility (or, the Right to Opacity). The editor’s notes of these issues are freely available here and here.
Submission:
Please use this form to submit your proposal. Proposals consist of a 300-word abstract, a list of (possible) references on which your thinking is based, one piece of previously published material and a short bio. You may also propose an existing text, artwork, or other material, if so please specify. Contributions can also be made by multiple people or collectives, but please be aware that the fee is per contribution, not per contributor. The deadline for proposals is 2 March 2026.
After selection, the deadline for contributions is 29 June 2026. We aim to publish this issue in October 2026.
Questions about this open call can be send to: info@errantjournal.org. But please read the call carefully before you do and do not send proposals to this email address.
Essays are usually between 3000-4000 words, but the length is open for discussion and depends on the type of contribution.
Contributors publishing new material especially created for this issue of Errant receive a fee of € 500,- incl. VAT per contribution upon acceptance and publication. The editor is free to reject contributions after they have been written if they do not fit the editorial framework, deviate significantly from what was discussed/agreed upon, or if the quality is considered sub-par.