Rachel Carson Conference
Chatham University, Shadyside Campus | October, 17, 2026
Write to Resist
The roots of community and what ties us together
Lingual roots and language as storytelling
Growing with each other and from shared pasts
Creating common ground and space to thrive
What persists, what lingers, and what is left behind?
“This soil community, then, consists of a web of interwoven lives, each in some way related to the others—the living creatures depending on the soil, but the soil in turn a vital element of the earth only so long as this community within it flourishes” - Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962 – Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
Our shared natural world is responsible for creating and sustaining magnificent systems of life. Every action, interaction, and individual is part of a web of interdependence. Forests build on each other, just as knowledge is built. Root systems harbor memory, just as our communities do. How might human forms of connection mirror that of the natural world it is so often deemed separate from? How do we create systems of life through storytelling, language, and reciprocity?
The 2026 Rachel Carson Academic and Creative Writing Conference—hosted at Chatham University by Alpha Delta Lambda—is seeking papers uncovering the nuanced themes of community, language, creation, and growth.
Keynote: “Root Fractures: Against Erasure and Silence”
Keynote Speaker: Dani Lamorte
Dani Lamorte is a Pittsburgh-based artist who writes, performs, and makes photographic images. His first book of essays, Nobody's Psychic, was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2025. Dani has written essays and reviews for a range of publications, including Howlround, Cleveland Review of Books, 100 Days in Appalachia, Observer, Pittsburgh City Paper, and Edge Effects. He has performed and shown work at spaces in the United States and Canada, including Bunker Project, Carnegie Museum of Art, Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, Eshkenazi Museum of Art, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, and Andy Warhol Museum.
Finalized Conference Schedule
All conference events will take place in Mellon Center.
Please access a map of Chatham University’s Shadyside Campus here.
Guests are invited to park in the East Parking lots, Library Parking lot, and the Terrace Parking lot.
9:00-9:30 a.m. – Breakfast
9:30-9:40 a.m. – Opening remarks
9:40-10:25 a.m. – Keynote Speaker
10:25-10:30 a.m. – Layover
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – Session 1
12-12:45 p.m. – Lunch
12:45-1:40 p.m. – Workshop
1:40-1:45 p.m. – Layover
1:45-3:15 p.m. – Session 2
3:15-3:20 p.m. – Layover
3:20- 4:50 p.m. – Session 3
4:50-5:00 p.m. – Closing Remarks
Submission Deadlines & Notifications
Who Can Submit
Sigma Tau Delta student members
Alpha Delta Lambda student members
Alumni Epsilon Chapter members
Community members and students who have an interest in and would be available to present at the Rachel Carson Conference
How to Submit & Submission Deadline
To submit, email abstracts of 500 words or less in the form of a Word Doc or PDF to sigmataudelta@chatham.edu by September 29, 2026. Please additionally register to attend here.
Open to all, regardless of institutional affiliation.
Topics Might Include:
Media concerning our current sociopolitical, economic, or environmental reality in relation to these themes
Community and language across class, race, age, and gender
How shared history is remembered, taught, and learned
Feminist theory, ecocritical theory, or other relevant critical frameworks
How meaning, culture, and community are created
Any other creative or critical work resonant with these ideas.
Rachel Carson
Scientist. Author. Environmentalist. Pioneer. Student. Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) graduate Rachel Carson '29 rose to prominence with her book, Silent Spring, as a trailblazing voice questioning the resulting impact of pesticides on people, animals, and the environment. This call to attention was a catalyst for the environmental movement that has helped bring awareness and action to the ecological problems our planet faces. Her inspiration guided Chatham to the creation of Eden Hall Campus, and her work has also served as a catalyst for our and the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment's commitment to advancing sustainability education, implementation, and research. Carson's big thinking and devotion to improve the world are just two of the qualities we work to bring to life through our students.