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Home > Conferences ASLS Conferences(details of other Scottish literary and linguistic conferences are given further down this page)
Other ConferencesListed below are forthcoming relevant conferences worldwide. Links to websites are provided where possible. If you would like to add a forthcoming conference to this page, please contact
Crime Scotland – Then & Now2nd Scottish Studies in Europe Conference31 May – 3 June 2012, Göttingen, Germany CALL FOR PAPERS Scotland’s literary and cultural heritage is infused with narratives of crime. Both real and imagined criminals have shaped the image of Scotland’s dual soul. The tension between good and evil, salvation and redemption as well as beauty and repulsiveness lies at the heart of the Scottish Tartan Noir tradition, which has been thriving ever since Robert Louis Stevenson published his novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Critics have frequently used Gregory Smith’s term “Caledonian antisyzygy” in order to express this duality of the Scottish character, yet up to this day neither the production nor the reception of Scotland’s alleged split soul has been properly analyzed and understood. This conference seeks to look at both literary and cultural forms of Scottish crime fiction in order to enhance our understanding of Crime Scotland – Then & Now. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary papers that look at Scottish crime narratives from a variety of angles. We invite proposals for 20-minute papers to be presented in May 2012 at the 2nd conference of the Society for Scottish Studies in Europe. Topics for papers may include – but are not restricted to – the following subjects:
Click here for the conference website. Please send 250-word abstracts by 31 October 2011 to both: crimescotland@phil.uni-goettingen.de James Hogg and the RomanticsThe 2012 James Hogg Conference, jointly hosted by the James Hogg Society and the School of Critical Studies at the University of Glasgow29 – 30 June 2012, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland CALL FOR PAPERS The theme of the Conference will be “Hogg and the Romantics”. The Conference will provide an opportunity to explore the nature of Hogg’s relationship with other Romantic writers and welcomes, in particular, papers relating to all aspects of Hogg’s relationship with Scottish Romanticism. Papers on topics related to the life and works of James Hogg and to Hogg’s literary connections and influence are also welcomed. Reading time should not exceed 20 minutes. Proposals or abstracts should be sent by 29 February 2012 to Dr Kirsteen McCue. Byron and GenreThe 38th International Byron Society Conference4 – 9 July 2012, The Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon CALL FOR PAPERS Under this thematic umbrella, practically all of Byron’s works are pertinent and could be approached from different perspectives. Exploring Byron’s works, his journals, and his correspondence through genre allows fresh and engaging debates about issues such as Byron’s use of various genre and his responses to genre and gender, genre and history, genre and culture, genre and poetic modes, etc. ... and the validity of his prescriptive definitions of genres such as biography, travel literature, narrative romances, epistolary, dramatic unities, satire, comedy, tragedy, etc. ... And perhaps also an interesting revisionary study by William Duff, Romanticism and the Uses of Genre (OUP 2009) which won the ESSE Award last year. Duff challenges the widespread interpretation of Romanticism as a period of the “extinction of traditional genres” and focuses on “broader” genre patterns established by means of comparative study of West European Romanticisms (English, German and French). Abstracts of 200–300 words may be sent to Naji Oueijan, Conference Chair, before the end of February 2012. The Corporeal and the Spiritual in the Works of Walter ScottColloque Walter Scott, organisé par l'équipe D2I (VALE) et la SFEEc, à l'université Paris-Sorbonne.5 – 6 July 2012, Sorbonne University, Paris, France CALL FOR PAPERS Walter Scott often seems determined to erase the body from his texts, following the traditional Cartesian opposition between body and soul, the body being merely, to use Plato’s image, the tomb of the soul. Thus the novelist often chooses to focus only on his characters’ intellectual development, giving the reader so few details about their physical appearance that it is often quite difficult to picture them. Scott demonstrates his lack of interest in the material body even further – although, in this case he does transcend the dichotomy between body and soul – when he depicts the spectral body through images of disembodied beings. In fact, it appears that what Scott cares little for is not the body itself but ordinary representations of it. He only finds it fascinating when it is either incomplete or immaterial – as in the case of ghosts for instance – or, on the contrary, when it is excessively present and materialized, in a Rabelais-like manner, when it is grotesque, misshapen, mutilated, dismembered or transgressive (a cross between male and female or between the human and the animal) or when it has turned into a corpse, embodying the ultimate victory of the matter over the spirit. This paradoxical attitude towards the body probably stems from the mixed feelings of attraction and repulsion which Scott himself experienced through his own infirmity and the repressive spirit of the XIXth century society as a whole. As the body sparks off sexual impulses and carnal desires, it is the inexpressible which must yet be expressed and written but in another form. Apparently absent from Scott’s texts, sexuality is nonetheless conveyed through transpositions, transfers from the animate to the inanimate as illustrated by the rape of the prison in The Heart of Midlothian or the erotic treatment of the Scottish landscape. In a figurative sense the body is also what holds several elements together, what brings together materially distinctive components to form a united and homogenous whole so the notions of domestic or political body and of the body of the nation can also be analyzed, as well as Scott’s textual body, discussing the ways in which uniqueness and homogeneity are achieved in spite of the various foreign bodies it borrows from. Abstacts (300–500 words) should be sent to colloquescott2012@gmail.com before December 30th, 2011. Notification for acceptance will be communicated to scholars by January 15th, 2012. International Conference on the Relationship between Literature and the Media in Small Nations12 – 13 July 2012, Academi Hywel Teifi, Swansea University, Swansea, WalesCALL FOR PAPERS Deadline for proposals: 1 March 2012
Cyfrwng 2012 aims to discuss the relationship which exists between literature and the media within Small Nations. Here in Wales, and especially in the Welsh language, a close relationship has developed between our literary canon and the dramatic productions which are seen on our screens. We hope through this conference to share experiences and ideas about that relationship, its influence and the reaction to it. Proposals for papers, complete discussion panels, workshops, screenings and performances discussing any aspect of the conference theme are welcomed, including, but not limited to:
We invite those engaged in intellectual work within existing institutions, such as Universities, but also those engaged in the arts and media professionally to share their ongoing work. Papers should be no more than 20 minutes in length, but we will consider other timescales for short performances, screenings etc. We would also consider proposals for small-scale exhibitions. Proposals for complete panels will also be welcome. Please send proposals of around 300 words (for individual papers) together with a short biography to e.price@abertawe.ac.uk. For more information on Academi Hywel Teifi please visit the website. For more information on the city of Swansea, please go to www.visitswanseabay.com We look forward to hearing from you, organizing with you, and of course, discussing your work with you! Languages of Scotland and Ulster 20122012 International Triennial Conference of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster18 – 20 July 2012, Aberdeen, Scotland Invited speakers include:
For further information contact Robert McColl Millar 39th Annual Hume Society Conference18 – 22 July 2012, University of Calgary, CanadaCALL FOR PAPERS The Hume Society is pleased to announce its thirty-ninth annual conference. We are looking for papers in all areas of Hume studies. The following are the special themes of this conference:
Papers should be no more than thirty minutes reading length, with self-references deleted for anonymous review. Papers may be submitted in English or French with an English-language abstract. Papers should not have been previously published or to be published by the date of the Conference. Authors are requested to submit papers in either MS Word or rich text format (RTF). Papers should be submitted at the Hume Society Conference website. Hume Society Young Scholar Awards are given to qualifying graduate students whose papers have been accepted through the normal anonymous-review process. Submissions must be sent by November 1, 2011. ECSSS will celebrate its 25th annual conference in Columbia, South Carolina, in April 2012. The conference will explore the varieties of Scotland in EuropeUniversity of Warsaw, Institute of English Studies17 – 19 October 2012, Dom Architekta SARP, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland CALL FOR PAPERS We would like to invite everybody interested and involved in Scotland, in the country’s culture, history and politics, and in how it has been perceived and represented particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, to participate in the first conference on this subject ever to take place in Poland. We would also like to draw attention to the interdisciplinary nature of the conference and to create a forum for discussion and future cooperation between different European centres concerned with the following subjects:
Plenary Speakers:
Organisers and contact:
Conference website: www.scotlandineurope.angli.uw.edu.pl Venue and accommodation: Rynek 20 Kazimierz Dolny, Poland Single room (including breakfast): 170 PLN (per night)
Dom Architekta SARP lies in the very centre of the town of Kazimierz, in what is known as the market square (Pol. Rynek). Due to its historical buildings, art galleries, restaurants and cafés, the town is a tourist attraction in itself. It lies along the Vistula River and walks can be made into the surrounding and extremely picturesque countryside. For more see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz_Dolny Papers: Participants will have 30 minutes at their disposal (20 minutes for the paper and 10 minutes for discussion). Abstracts: Please write your abstracts (250 words max.) in the registration form provided (see website) and return by email: scotlandineurope@uw.edu.pl Participants who will need a VAT invoice are kindly requested to fill in the form provided together with the registration form (see website). Deadline for abstract submission and registration: 15th April 2012 Notification of acceptance: 30th April 2012 Deadline for early payment: 10th May 2012
Deadline for final payment: 15th September 2012
The conference fee will cover conference materials, refreshments and a conference get-together. Forms of payment:
Note: Participants from the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw do not make any personal payment. “Freedom, Come All Ye ...”Société Française d’Etudes Ecossaises and the ASLS18 – 20 October 2012, Universidade da Coruña, Spain CALL FOR PAPERS “Fredome all solace to man giffis, He levys at es that frely levys!”* The notion of “freedom” has long been associated with a number of key perceptions deemed fundamental to an understanding of Scotland and the Scots. Thus Scottish history is explained from the Pictish resistance to the Romans through the Wars of Independence against English dominance, the Jacobite uprisings, to the birth of the Labour and Trade Union movements. Key Scottish texts have the concept of liberty at their core – from the Declaration of Arbroath through the poems of Barbour, Burns and MacDiarmid to the writings of Janice Galloway and Irvine Welsh. Scottish thinkers have written extensively on the freedom of the individual, on economic freedoms, and Scottish theology has historically regarded as fundamental the freedom of the individual before her or his deity. This Conference aims to examine the question of “freedom” in its broadest terms, regarding concepts such as artistic, intellectual and political independence as crucial factors towards an understanding of Scotland’s self-image. Papers might include, but are not limited to the following themes:
Please submit proposals for:
Abstracts (approx. 250 words) should be submitted by e-mail as file attachments in MS WORD to both dclark@udc.es and rjarazo@udc.es. These should include:
Deadline: 28th March 2012 Dr. Rubén Jarazo Álvarez U.I. of Research in Irish Studies ‘Amergin’ Edificio dos Servizos Centrais de Investigación Campus de Elviña 15071 A Coruña Universidade da Coruña Spain He lives at ease that freely lives!” — from Barbour’s The Brus Ireland and Scotland: Conflicts and Crosscurrents10th NEICN Conference: North East Irish Culture Network in Association with the Scottish Irish Network (SIN) and the University of Sunderland9 – 11 November 2012, Chester Road Campus of the University of Sunderland, Sunderland, England CALL FOR PAPERS Following the success of the previous nine international Irish Studies conferences, this year the University of Sunderland, in association with NEICN, invites papers for an interdisciplinary conference, which will run from 9th to 11th November 2012. The conference organisers hope to represent a wide range of approaches to Irish and Scottish culture from academics and non-academics alike. Performances, roundtables, collaborative projects, and other non-traditional presentations are encouraged in addition to conference papers. We welcome both individual submissions and proposals for panels. In connection with the conference theme we welcome submissions for panels and papers based around the often overlapping and interconnected histories and cultures of Ireland and Scotland. Possible themes include, (but are not limited to):
Along with papers specific to the conference theme, we are interested in using this conference to highlight the most recent work in the field. Therefore, we welcome submissions addressing any and all topics or themes relevant to Irish and/or Scottish studies. Following the interdisciplinary nature of the conference we welcome proposals from the areas of:
Each session will include three or four 20-minute presentations each followed by discussion. A selection of the accepted papers will be subsequently published in the conference proceedings. The University of Sunderland houses the North East Irish Culture Network, established in 2003 to further the study of Irish Literature and Culture (see www.neicn.com). It has held seven previous conferences. Previous speakers include Terry Eagleton, Robert Welch, Luke Gibbons, Ailbhe Smith, Kevin Barry, Siobhan Kilfeather, Shaun Richards, Lance Pettitt, Stephen Regan, Lord David Puttnam, Andrew Carpenter, John Strachan, John Nash and Willy Maley, with readings from Ciaran Carson Medbh McGuckian, Bernard O’Donoghue and Eilis Ni Dhuibhne. Length: Papers should not exceed 2000 words / 20 minutes’ delivery. Deadlines: Enquiries and submissions (name, affiliation, title of contribution, and abstract of no more than 200 words) should be submitted by 10th August 2012 to Mr Colin Younger (NEICN Manager). Alasdair Gray International ConferenceUniversité Européenne de Bretagne & Université de Brest15 – 17 November 2012, HCTI, EA 4249, Université de Brest, Brest, France CALL FOR PAPERS Ever since the publication of Lanark in 1981, Alasdair Gray (1934–) has become one of the most influential and prolific artists of his generation. He is now considered a major contributor to not only Scottish but also European literature. A true polymath, Alasdair Gray is at the same time a writer of fiction and non fiction, a gifted playwright, pamphletist (Why Scots Should Rule Scotland – 1992 and 1997, How We Should Rule Ourselves – 2005), poet and painter. From Lanark to the recent publications of Old Men in Love (2007), Fleck (2008), A Gray Play Book (2009) and the impressive autopictography A Life in Pictures (2010), Alasdair Gray’s literary and pictorial works display a continuously renewed energy that it will be our task to comprehend. We will be interested in Alasdair Gray’s creative independence and contribution to the aesthetics of subversion inherited from the political and cultural past of Scotland. Through his experiments in generic hybridisation and parodic rewriting, Alasdair Gray has proved committed to the complex notion of truth, often viewed in his fiction and non fiction as a catalyst for social change and progress. This first international conference on the artist whom Ali Smith once called a “necessary genius” will welcome proposals that address issues that can be varied and broad in scope (the following are but indicative topics). We will also be happy to explore ideas with colleagues who are interested in cross-disciplinary issues.
Please send your proposals for the 2012 Alasdair Gray Conference before April 30, 2012 to Camille Manfredi. First World Congress of Scottish Literatures2–5 July 2014, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, ScotlandWorld Congress website From 2–5 July 2014, the University of Glasgow is hosting the first World Congress of Scottish Literatures in the College of Arts, with the involvement of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies and other bodies. The conference will be organised under four main themes: Authors, Theorising Scottish literature, Gaelic, Mediaeval, Musical and Artistic Scotland and Scotland in global culture and context. Colleagues in the US, Europe, UK and Australia have already agreed to organise panels, and the congress steering group, together with a wider internationally based committee, are planning regular updates to interested colleagues. If you would like to be on our mailing list, please contact Rhona Brown. A Call for Papers will be issued in due course. The conference will be held in an exciting month in Glasgow, with the Commonwealth Games and the major Georgian Glasgow exhibition both taking place in July. We plan to work closely with our colleagues in the city and its galleries and museums to make this a truly exciting experience for our delegates. Panel discussion will include among other topics:
Author Panels will include such figures as:
Fuller details and a call for papers will be announced soon.
Last updated 10 May 2012. |
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