The Old Polish Literature and Culture Scientific Circle at the Department of Old Literature and Supplementary Sciences, Institute of Polish Philology, University of Lodz, invites you to participate in a student-doctoral scientific conference:

“The theme of  fauna and flora in literature and culture”

The meeting will take place in Lodz, June 11-th, 2016. The subjects of interest should include animals and/or plants, both in the role of background for events and/or as a fully-fledged protagonist. It may be interesting to take a closer look at people, who take characteristics of an animal, or the influence of nature affecting thinking and mood in a given text. Moreover, to show how nature is presented visually (as an element of a picture or a film). In papers regarding thematically and formally diversified texts, we propose taking into account the following subjects:

• Fauna and flora in the Bible.
• Plant and animal themes in mythology.
• Dangerous nature.
• Fantastic creatures and beings.
• The animal as a protagonist in literature.
• Nature as the background for events.
• Animalisation and personification in paintings.
• Film presentations of animals and plants and their role.
• Nature as a reflection of the spiritual state of the protagonist.
• Functions of floristic motifs in the literary work.
• Painting and film inspired by the nature.
• The conflict between man and the world of nature in literature and culture.
• The theme of a garden in painting and literary work.
• Characters from the world of fauna and flora in children's literature.
• Ways to implement anthropomorphisation in the literature.
• Magic plants and animals in culture and literature.
• Rhetorical conventions of descriptions of plants and animals.

We hope for the participation of students, post-graduate students and experienced researchers from the broad range of literature, art and culture fields. Applications should be send by April 30-th, 2016. Please send the application by e-mail only:kolo.staropolska.UL@gmail.com (application form attached below). The allotted time for speech is 15–20 minutes (this corresponds to about 7 pages of text, font 12, line spacing 1,5).

We expect the conference fee of  200,- PLN, this will cover the expenses associated with the organisation of the conference, reviews and publication of the post-conference volume, and conference materials and refreshments during coffee breaks. Any accommodation costs have to be covered by the participants themselves. Interested parties will be informed about the proposed accommodation in an e-mail following qualification. The conference will take place at the Philology Department, University of Lodz,  Pomorska 171/173 in Lodz.

All interested parties are welcome. An email regarding qualification for participation at the conference shall be sent by May 10-th, 2016.

The application form is available for download here: Application form Fauna and flora