Cultural Literacy in Europe#

First International Conference#

16-18 April 2015#

Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, University of London#


Full information is on the project website: http://cleurope.eu
To book your place: https://www2.bbk.ac.uk/bih/cle

BOOKING CLOSES ON 30 MARCH 2015#


This international conference brings together academics interested in the development of Literary and Cultural Studies in Europe and beyond with European policymakers. The language of the conference will be English. Venue: Birkbeck, University of London: Gordon Square WC1H 0PD and Malet Street (Torrington Place) WC1E 7HX. The conference includes five keynote talks, 36 short papers, a policymaker panel, an art installation, a film showing, a book-launch, a poster session and a practical workshop.

Researchers practising literary-and-cultural studies [LCS] examine a vast range of social and cultural objects through the lens of literary thinking – analysing textuality, fictionality, rhetoricity and historicity, and developing ‘cultural literacy’. How can LCS research and cultural literacy contribute to solving the major challenges of Europe today?

Academic fields:#

Cultural memory, Translation & migration, Digital textuality, Biopolitics & the body

Keynote speakers:#

Prof Aleida Assmann, Prof Michael Cronin, Prof Lars Elleström, Prof Sir David King & Prof Alexandre Quintanilha

Policymakers:#

Dr Monika Dietl, Prof Maureen Freely, Dr Philippe Keraudren, Prof Svend Erik Larsen, Prof Wolfgang Mackiewicz, Angela Schindler-Daniels, Prof Milena Žic Fuchs

Queries to http://cleurope.eu/contact

Venue: Birkbeck, University of London: Gordon Square WC1H 0PD and Malet Street (Torrington Place) WC1E 7HX.




Background#

First set up in 2007 by the European Science Foundation Standing Committee for the Humanities, Cultural Literacy in Europe ran as an ESF-COST synergy 2009-2012, running international interdisciplinary workshops in four areas of LCS research – Cultural memory, Migration & Translation, Electronic textuality and Biopolitics, biosociality and the body. The initial two outcomes were an ESF-COST Science Policy Briefing, published in January 2013 http://www.esf.org/hosting-experts/scientific-review-groups/humanities-hum/publications.html, and a volume, From Literature to Cultural Literacy, coedited by Naomi Segal and Daniela Koleva, published by Palgrave Macmillan in summer 2014.

No longer restricted to studying manuscripts, printed books or other language-based genres in a philological mode, LCS researchers are now concerned with four essential conceptual elements, using them to describe, analyse and evaluate what may broadly be called the symbolic dimension of humanity’s relationship with material reality – textuality, rhetoricity, fictionality and historicity. These concepts both represent crucial structures and processes at work in cultural objects and at the same time offer key techniques for understanding They indicate ways in which all knowledge, all social activity, can be read.



This international conference will bring together academics interested in the development of Literary and Cultural Studies (LCS) in Europe and beyond, as well as policymakers at European and national level. The language of the Conference will be English.

First set up in 2007 by the European Science Foundation Standing Committee for the Humanities, Cultural Literacy in Europe ran as an ESF-COST synergy 2009-2012, running international interdisciplinary workshops in four areas of LCS research – Cultural memory, Migration & Translation, Electronic textuality and Biopolitics, biosociality and the body. The initial two outcomes were an ESF-COST Science Policy Briefing, published in January 2013 http://www.esf.org/hosting-experts/scientific-review-groups/humanities-hum/publications.html, and a volume, From Literature to Cultural Literacy, coedited by Naomi Segal and Daniela Koleva, published by Palgrave Macmillan in summer 2014.

No longer restricted to studying manuscripts, printed books or other language-based genres in a philological mode, LCS researchers are now concerned with four essential conceptual elements, using them to describe, analyse and evaluate what may broadly be called the symbolic dimension of humanity’s relationship with material reality – textuality, rhetoricity, fictionality and historicity. These concepts both represent crucial structures and processes at work in cultural objects and at the same time offer key techniques for understanding They indicate ways in which all knowledge, all social activity, can be read.

The project Steering Committee now invites proposals for individual papers and project presentations for the 2015 Conference.#

Submission Topics#

Proposals should refer to one or more of the following areas:
  • Current developments and issues in LCS research in any of the four fields: Cultural memory; Migration & Translation; Digital textuality; Biopolitics, biosociality and the body;
  • How LCS already relates to the social and cultural challenges of 21st-century Europe;
  • How LCS can continue to do so in the future.
Additional ideas for topics can be found at http://cleurope.eu/conference/call-for-papers/call-for-paper-additional-topics/

Submission Types#

  • Individual papers
These are academic papers. They will be grouped into parallel sessions: each paper will be 15 minutes long followed by questions.
  • Project presentations
These are presentations of projects which are successful examples of LCS research with impact on social and cultural challenges. They will be presented in a plenary panel: each presentation will be 10 minutes followed by discussion.

Submission Procedure#

Proposals must be submitted by 31 August 2014 on-line (link for submission https://www.conftool.net/cleurope-2015/). Your abstract must not exceed 750 words (1000 including bibliography). If you don’t have already one, you will need to create an account (i.e., username and password) in order to file a submission. For each submission, you must upload an abstract and may upload other files as supporting materials (including graphics, multimedia, etc.) after you have completed filling out some demographic data and the abstract field.

Bursaries#

A number of Early-Career Bursaries, worth £245 €300 each, to offset conference expenses, are available: closing date also 31 August 2014. To be eligible, applicants must have obtained their PhD no more than 8 years ago and have a successful viva completed by the time of the conference.

Details of how to apply can be found at http://cleurope.eu/conference/bursaries

Cultural Literacy in Europe is endorsed by several partners: ESF, which has funded the project since its inception, the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, which is hosting this conference, as well as the Academia Europaea, ALLEA, COST, EADH, ECHIC, ICLA, the Universities of Roehampton and Sofia and Warwick University’s Connecting Cultures Research Priority Programme.

If your institution wishes to become a partner, please contact us at http://cleurope.eu/contact

Cultural Literacy in Europe Steering Committee#

  • Dr Arianna Ciula, University of Roehampton (UK)
  • Dr Nina Kancewicz-Hoffman, European Science Foundation (FR)
  • Dr Daniela Koleva, University of Sofia (BG)
  • Dr Loredana Polezzi, University of Warwick (UK)
  • Prof Naomi Segal, Birkbeck (UK)

Please send queries to http://cleurope.eu/contact/
Download the conference information(info).

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