International Conference on Disease, Death, Decay in Literatures, Cultures, and Language

University of Opole,

26-28 September 2016

Confirmed keynote speakers:

Prof. Tadeusz Sławek  (University of Silesia, Katowice)

Prof. Elżbieta Chrzanowska-Kluczewska (Jagiellonian University, Kraków)

Prof. Jacek Fabiszak (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań)

 

Carlos Schwabe’s “The Death of the Gravedigger” presents us with what is inevitable for all: the end. Schwabe’s vision of finality, however, is neither pessimistic nor particularly intimidating. As the gravedigger looks up toward the Angel of Death’s winged embrace, we discern the sense of majesty she inspires. Her placid face offers respite from a lifetime of physical labor, allowing the gravedigger to release his well-worn shovel. The gravedigger’s work is done, his soul departs, but life around him is renewed. Flowers begin to dot the receding winter snow. It is, ultimately, a comforting image. But, one might ask, are death and its first cousins, disease and decay, really so easy to accept? Let us confront such issues.

Our conference provides a platform to reflect upon themes that address, but are not restricted to:

·       Representations of disease, death and decay in literature and the media

·       Cultural and religious perspectives on terminal disease, death and the afterlife

·       Narratives of apocalypse and demise

·       Narratives of death and resurrection

·       Disease as narrative

·       Travel and disease

·       Dystopian visions of humanity’s breakup and destruction

·       Rituals of cleansing, passage and mourning

·       Rhetoric of commemoration

·       Atonement as a cultural motif

·       Pandemic and Armageddon in literature, film, and the news

·       Philosophical and ethical approaches to death disease and decay

·       Communicating about disease and death in private and institutional settings

·       Metaphors mitigating taboos related to disease, degeneration and death

·       Coping with pain, aging and illness

·       The medicalization of popular culture

·       Panaceas, self-help and therapies

·       Conceptions of honorable deaths

·       The significance of ghosts, haunting and spirits in literature

·       Zombies and the undead

Because Disease, death and decay can also be associated with language change, we plan to arrange a separate linguistic panel. Languages influence one another, and such interaction can be perceived as both a blessing and a curse -  a disease which threatens language’s purity. Some may even talk about language decay: “Tongues, like governments, have a natural tendency to degeneration” (Johnson Samuel, 1755)     

Thus, we would like to invite papers that address the topic from the linguistic perspective and discuss the notion of:

• Language death
• Language attrition
• Language endangerment and revitalisation

We would also like to provide a platform for the discussion of current research within studies of

• semantics,
• metaphor and metonymy,
• discursive analysis,
• anthropological linguistics

 

For those scholars unafraid of death, disease and decay in its various aspects or guises and interested in participating:

Please send us an abstract (not exceeding 300 words, including the title, your professional affiliation, e-mail address, phone number and audio-video requirements) by May 15, 2016, to

deathdecaydiseaseconference@gmail.com.

 

The language of the conference will be English. The time allotted for individual papers will be twenty minutes with an additional ten minutes for discussion. We plan to publish the papers delivered at the conference in a peer-reviewed post-conference volume (after receiving positive review).

 

Because Disease, death and decay can also be associated with language change, we plan to arrange a separate linguistic panel. Languages influence one another, and such interaction can be perceived as both a blessing and a curse -  a disease which threatens language’s purity. Some may even talk about language decay: “Tongues, like governments, have a natural tendency to degeneration” (Johnson Samuel, 1755)     

Thus, we would like to invite papers that address the topic from the linguistic perspective and discuss the notion of:

• Language death
• Language attrition
• Language endangerment and revitalisation

We would also like to provide a platform for the discussion of current research within studies of

• semantics,
• metaphor and metonymy,
• discursive analysis,
• anthropological linguistics

For those scholars unafraid of death, disease and decay in its various aspects or guises and interested in participating:

Please send us an abstract (not exceeding 300 words, including the title, your professional affiliation, e-mail address, phone number and audio-video requirements) by May 15, 2016, to

deathdecaydiseaseconference@gmail.com.

The language of the conference will be English. The time allotted for individual papers will be twenty minutes with an additional ten minutes for discussion. We plan to publish the papers delivered at the conference in a peer-reviewed post-conference volume (after receiving positive review).

Organizing Committee:

Dr Katarzyna Buczek

Dr Tadeusz Lewandowski

Dr Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska

Dr Stankomir Nicieja

Prof. Ryszard W. Wolny