CAPS Research Network Conference

CAPS (Critical Approaches to Pain Scholarship) is hosting its second conference in September.

Manchester, UK

September 25, 2026

The second Critical Approaches to Pain Scholarship (CAPS) Research Network conference will take place at the University of Manchester in Manchester, UK, from September 24-26.

This year's conference theme is Decolonizing Pain.

The event will bring together researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, artists, and community contributors to critically examine how colonial histories and dominant systems of knowledge have shaped understandings of pain, while exploring more equitable, community-led, and creative approaches to research and practice. We are also pleased to be co-sponsoring the conference with the Social Sciences in Endometriosis Network (SEEN).

This session is particularly interested in work that engages with:
✨ Indigenous and culturally grounded understandings of pain
✨ Knowledge and practices from the Global South
✨ Anti-racist, feminist, disability justice, and intersectional perspectives
✨ Community-led and participatory approaches
✨ Creative, embodied, and arts-based explorations of pain
✨ Critical examinations of power, inequity, and exclusion in pain research and care

We warmly encourage submissions from:
✨ Early career researchers (including works in progress)
✨ People with lived experience
✨ Clinicians
✨ Artists and creative practitioners
✨ Community contributors

We welcome a wide range of presentation formats, including traditional talks, Pecha Kucha presentations, poetry, spoken word, film, visual art, music, performance, participatory sessions and innovative formats that challenge conventional academic presentations.

We are pleased to share that the conference will be offered in a hybrid format, allowing participants to attend and present either in person or online. While we are committed to making the conference accessible through a hybrid option, we will prioritize in-person presentations wherever possible to foster discussion, networking, and community building.