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Current Call for Submissions

Autistic Headcanons (8.1)
Deadline: September 15, 2026

Fictional works become entangled with real world diagnoses, helping us rediscover ourselves. This issue of Ought is a tribute to the imaginary worlds that have contributed to autistic joy. Television shows, films, novels, comics, video games, musicians, and artists have inspired a strong following in the autistic community, and the unofficial diagnosis of fictional characters contributed to the growth of identity, pride, and community among autistic people. Personal headcanons and more widespread fanons have also allowed autistic people to reclaim or reinvent narratives created for or written by neurotypical people. For this issue (8.1), Ought seeks pieces that explore these issues. Artwork, poems, scholarly essays, original research, theoretical considerations, and personal narratives are encouraged. Consider the following ideas:

  • How the diagnosis of fictional characters may engage, stem from, or create deep autistic interests
  • The ways in which fanons may help autistic people to connect with each other and to create community; how fan culture, nerd culture, and gaming communities include or exclude autistic people
  • The potential dangers, limits, or problems with “diagnosing” fictional characters with autism; stereotypical representations of autism in fictional works and how autistic interpretations may work against such representations
  • How the neurological identity and/or lived experience of the author may influence the representation or reception of a fictional work’s portrayal of autism
  • Explorations of autistic interests, fandom, and joy and the ways in which these experiences may overlap with (or be different from) allistic experiences

Please submit via http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ought.

Artificial Intelligence (8.2)
Deadline: March 15, 2027

With AI impacting so many areas of work and daily life, this issue of Ought examines how AI interfaces with autistic people and their communities. Autistic people have often been stereotyped using computer and computing metaphors. How does the rise of AI affect such depictions? Is AI contributing to the spread of misinformation and disinformation about autism? How is AI affecting accessibility and pedagogy for neurodivergent people?

For this issue (8.2), Ought seek pieces that explore these issues. Art, poems, scholarly essays, original research, theoretical considerations, and personal narratives are encouraged.Consider the following ideas:

  • How does atypicality figure into AIs neural networks?
  • How is AI changing education, teaching, and pedagogy? And how do these changes specifically impact neurodivergent students?
  • Does the speed of AI make neurotypical people disabled in comparison? How does AI potentially change our understanding of human ability, disability, and crip time?
  • Is the pace of AI increasing anxiety and stress for neurodivergent people in the workplace?
  • Science fiction and speculative fiction have often drawn large autistic fandoms: How does the reality of AI in the present moment reflect or deviate from those popular fictions?
  • Is the use of AI increasing the spread of misinformation and disinformation about autism—or is it helping to make accessible information more widely available?
  • In what new and innovative ways is AI being used as a tool for disability access?

Please submit via http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ought.