Submission Guidelines
Please submit:
- A 500-word abstract/proposal
- A short bio (100 words)
- Which category fits best.
GYA Executive Committee member Carina Geldhauser (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) and incoming member Deniz Sarikaya (Universität zu Lübeck, Germany) invite contributions for an edited volume on curiosity-driven research, i.e. research motivated not primarily by immediate application, market demands, or predefined impact metrics, but by intellectual exploration, wonder, experimentation, and the pursuit of understanding.
The question of curiosity-driven research is closely related to questions of application, questions of foundational research (often taken to be a synonym), dual-use questions, the situation of the humanities, and questions of research assessment and funding. At a time when research agendas are increasingly shaped by short-term deliverables and measurable outcomes, this collection seeks to create space for reflections on open-ended investigation, serendipity, risk-taking, and even unconventional forms of knowledge production.
We strive for a mix of scholars from different scientific disciplines and at different levels of seniority. We especially encourage experimental, interdisciplinary, and nontraditional approaches to the topic.
Selected contributors will be invited to submit a full chapter of approximately (around 5,000–7,000 words, including references).
Please note that we will share the proposals of all successful submissions with all authors, to facilitate cross-references.
Timeline
- Abstract submission deadline: 15 July 2026
- Full-paper invitation by the end of August
- Full chapter submission: end of February 2027
- Submission of the book to the publisher in 2027.
FAQs
How will the review process look like and how long will it take?
There will be a light reviewing process to assure quality control, but we do not aim to organize this in a highly selective way, but rather in a productive way esp. for the more subjective contributions.
When do you expect full contributions to be submitted?
The submission deadline is February, 2027.
Where will papers be published?
We will approach a major scientific publishing house. The editorial team has already edited a handful of books. The Volume will most likely have no OA-funding.
Possible Themes and Categories
A) General Reflections
- What is curiosity-driven research?
- Historical, philosophical, or cultural perspectives
- Curiosity versus impact-driven research
- The politics and economics of exploratory inquiry
- The relation between applied and theoretical research
B) Personal Research Narratives
- Stories of unexpected discoveries
- Failed experiments and productive dead ends
- Serendipity in research practice
- Long-term exploratory projects
C) Institutional Conditions
- Funding structures and curiosity
- Universities, labs, and alternative research spaces
- Metrics, evaluation, and academic incentives
- Supporting exploratory and high-risk work
D) Futures of Curiosity-Driven Inquiry
- AI and automated discovery
- Open science and collaborative exploration
- Public curiosity and citizen research
- New models for knowledge production