AOSIS calls on all authors to participate in the HTS Theological Studies journal’s 2026 special collection, Hope, Reconciliation and Joy, that will be published in the open-access scholarly journal. Submit your latest research for consideration, contribute to the open-access content available to everyone, and share your expertise with a wider audience.

Timeline:

• Online full manuscript submission open: 31 January 2026
• Online full manuscript submission closes: 30 April 2026
• Expected publication date: 31 October 2026

HTS Theological Studies 2026 special collection. Hope, Reconciliation and Joy

In 2015, cultural critic Terry Eagleton stated in his book Hope without Optimism that hope has been a curiously neglected notion in an age that confronts us with a felt loss of a future. Today, at least, the longing for hope seems to be everywhere. But what does, hope, reconciliation and joy mean.

Can we be surprised by hope, reconciliation and joy again? Searching for answers is something that none of us can do alone. With this in mind, this special issue seeks to bring different voices, (sub-)disciplines and (faith) traditions together to seek side by side (Jonathan Sacks) a profound, not cheap, way forward together.

Purpose and scope
In this Call for Papers, we seek to focus on hope, reconciliation and joy and their prominent, but often overlooked, role in navigating or embracing distressing times and contexts. The purpose of this special collection is to start and facilitate a common process of reflection and to strengthen our dedication to finding new ways forwards of hope, reconciliation and joy in conversation with our intellectual heritage of present and past.

Recommended topics:

• What is the nature of hope, reconciliation or joy?
• What is the role of hope in distressing settings?
• What are role and conditions of reconciliation in fractured settings?
• Can a distressing setting still be a place of hope and joy?
• How and when does hope, reconciliation or joy fade or fail? What are the durational aspects. When and how can they be maintained?
• When does hope create action, or when does hope lead to passivity and even acceptance of distressing conditions?
• How does hope create communities with a sense of resilience or liminality in the midst of hardship?
• How can hope and joy be manifested and generated as a state of reconstructing possibility and good?
• How to study hope (methodological approaches)?
• How can a researcher reflexively navigate their own sense of hope and distress when undertaking fieldwork?

Manuscript information:

The author guidelines include information about the types of articles received for publication and preparing a manuscript for submission. Read the full submission guidelines.

Submission procedure:

This special issue builds further on two joined initiatives dedicated to the theme ‘Hope’ of the University of the Free State (South Africa) and VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). The first initiative is the Tutu/Jonker-lecture 2024 ‘Hope and Reconciliation’, October 2024. The other one is the symposium ‘Rediscover and Build Hope for All’ together with the Vatican in the framework of the Jubilee 2025 in Rome, June 2025. Authors who did not attend one of the events are very welcome to submit papers to the special collection.

When submitting your manuscript to the journal, choose ‘Hope, Reconciliation and Joy’ as the article type. You can access the submission portal on the journal’s website after logging in with your personal credentials. For further information on the submission process, visit the journal procedure page.

All submissions will undergo an anonymous review process to guarantee high scientific quality and relevance to the subject. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision on acceptance, revision, or rejection based on the feedback from the reviewers.

We will be happy to provide you with any assistance during the submission and application process. Kindly enquire at submissions@hts.org.za.

All inquiries should be directed to the attention of the guest editors:

• Prof John S Klaasen, Dean, University of the Free State, klaasenjs@ufs.ac.za
• Ass.Prof Jan Jorrit Hasselaar, VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands, j.j.hasselaar@vu.nl

We would be honoured to receive a positive reply from you and look forward to receiving your manuscript.