Conference Information

Full Title:	The World is Composed of Stories: The Relationship between Discourses and their Transformations

Location:	Vilnius, Lithuania
Start Date:	13-Sep-2012 - 16-Sep-2012
Contact:	Urte Kalmantaite
Meeting Email:	click here to access email
Meeting URL:	http://www.mruni.eu/lt/universitetas/fakultetai/humanitariniu_mokslu_institutas/detail.php?id=120457
Meeting Description:	Mykolas Romeris University Institute of Humanities Association of Lithuanian Comparative Literature Lithuanian Education University September 13-16, 2012, Vilnius Lithuania The World is Composed of Stories: The Relationship between Discourses and Transformations ‘The World is Composed of Stories: The Relationship between Discourses and their Transformations’, which will be held in Mykolas Romeris University on September 13-16, 2012. The organizers of the conference are the Groups of comparative studies of the Department of Language Culture of the Institute of Humanities of Mykolas Romeris University together with Lithuanian Education University and Association of Lithuanian Comparative Literature. During the first phase of the conference, the discussion will focus on the question whether there are any ‘discourses’ claiming the right to be representatives of ‘truth’ and not merely human creations. The participants may pay attention to two ways of resolving this controversy: (1) either there is a difference between theoretical discourses, claiming to have an access to reality, and aesthetic discourses, ranging from literature, through music, dance, all the way to painting and mythologies, or (2) there is no essential difference between these two domains, and resultantly theories and arts are equivalent as cultural creations. Modernity, and its extension through postmodernity, accepted as an inevitable conclusion that from the most rigorous sciences all the way to romantic arts, all discourses belong to the domain of ‘human’ sciences and, finally to ‘discoursing’ by way of numerous media, from theories through arts. In the second phase the discussion will focus on the question concerning the criteria within specific cultures - including Lithuania - that determine the importance in the rankings of ‘discourses.’ What is more important, poetry or physics, opera or chemistry, etc. It is essential to discuss such criteria, since the latter determine the level of funding for different disciplines in educational institutions and the status of social members who engage in such disciplines. Indeed, national pride might depend on such rankings and achievements. (It is interesting to note that sports and athletes are greater heroes than scientists or poets). During the third phase, the participants might focus on the ‘intertwining’ of stories (at times called ‘interdisciplinary studies’). Main question for discussion concerns the mutual changes by intertwining stories of distinct types: how sociological depictions (or even theories) change literature, painting or even architecture, and how the latter intertwine with and change sociology. How the stories, created by psychologists about the ‘unconscious’ events appearing in literatures and mythological dreams, integrate into other arts, and how such arts and literatures change psychological stories. Finally, how stories about one‘s own culture, songs about one’s ethnicity, change the psychology of an ethnic group and even create ‘the land of heroes.’ During the fourth phase, the participants might discuss ‘possible’ new stories (and of course ‘disciplines’) emerging from the intertwining previously autonomous stories. Here one can address films intertwining physics, astronomy, literature, ‘future’ technologies, appearing in ‘sci-fy’ journeys among the stars, and other stories. In brief, here shows up an in-between domain among stories, leading to ‘fabulous polymorphisms’. Registration fee is 60 EUR (including the publication fee), to be paid by July 15. Unfortunately, there are no funds available at the time to cover the accommodation - or travel - expenses.
Linguistic Subfield:	Discourse Analysis
Subject Language:	None
LL Issue:	23.2065


Back
Calls and Conferences main page