To be in the minority, to be the minority

Department of Roman Philology
University of Lodz
Department of Enlightenment and Applied Literature
Polish Philology Institute
University of Lodz
invite to participate in
The International Academic Conference
To be in the minority, to be the minority
Lódź, 2nd – 4th March 2016
The issue of minorities, formulated in the conference title, is perceived by us in a broad
sense – as any dominated distinctiveness (national, ethnic, religious, parliamentary, sexual,
ideological, etc.), captured in relation to the dominant group. We find the Deleuze and
Guattari's definition of the concept particularly inspiring, however we do not detach from a
methodological polyphony concerning categories and perspectives developed in relation to
the issue of our interest, by the following theories: post-colonial, new historicism,
multiculturalism, feminist criticism and gender studies as well as others. The invitation is
addressed to representatives of various disciplines in the humanities, offering reflection in
several areas, designated by the following specific issues:
1. Art and Language
– The works of national and ethnic minorities (eg. The Roma, the Lemko).
– The works of 'minority' (littérature mineure, cinéma mineur etc.), understood as an area of
expression of those who for various reasons were excluded from the works of 'majority'
(eg. a queer, LGBT).
– The works of subcultures (eg. prison, hip-hop).
– Emigration and exile works (created in the world – outside the country, beyond the local
culture and reality, created with a living memory of the place of origin or the opposite –
often by writers born in exile and directly unfamiliar with the land of their ancestors,
submerged/hermetically sealed in a given cultural environment; writers-'language
converts').
– The works of 'minor' artists and writers (in relation to the 'great' ones, considered to be
the 'masters').
– Language of 'minority' as a sphere of transgression and variations (paraphrase, parody,
styling etc.), experiment and creation of new forms of expression (alternative culture,
avant-garde art).
– 'Minority' act of creation as a revolt and battlefield (countercultural movements,
contestation styles).
– Images of minorities in literature and art of 'the majority' (national, mainstream or
popular).
– Strategies of 'negotiating' minority issues within the dominant poetics (stereotyping
processes, conventionalization etc.).
2. Sociology and Cultural studies
– 'Minority group' as a category of sociological analysis.
– Social majority vs minority: 'fellows' vs 'others'-'strangers'.
– Areas and forms of social exclusion (eg. the disabled, the unemployed, AIDS sufferers,
drug addicts).
– Minority visions of their group's place in the society.
– Environmental subcultures (occupational groups, age groups, groups of deviant identity etc.).
– Cultural identity of borderland groups.
– Immigration decisions: reasons for spatial mobility, adaptation and readaptation
attempts, price of the return.
– Problems, fears, threats, opportunities of multicultural community.
– Stereotypes and prejudice against minorities, cultural and social conditions.
3. History and Political sciences
– Historical minorities (indigenous, settled, traditional, old): Poland – Europe – the World.
– Histories of minorities vs national histories.
– Migration of people: past, present and future prospects.
– Traditions of multiethnic and multicultural countries (eg. The Second Polish Republic/II
Rzeczpospolita), the border regions (eg. The Polish Borderlands Myth).
– National liberation movements and the fight against various forms of racial, class, caste or
sex oppression throughout history and today.
– Minorities vs ideologies (eg. nationalism).
– The issue of minority rights protection vs the contemporary and historical forms of
democracy.
– Hate speech, political correctness, egalitarian discourse and other linguistic strategies of
exclusion/inclusion of national, ethnic, social and other minorities, in the public sphere.
– The multiplicity of languages, cultures, awareness and religions in the project of United
Europe.
4. Religion and Ideology
– Religious minorities: Poland – Europe – the World.
– The dominant religion vs minority religions.
– Various trends within the dominant religion against the problems of minorities (eg.
Liberalism/Christian fundamentalism against racial, sexual and national minorities as well
as women).
– Minorities and new religious movements (sectarianism, heresies, New Age, etc.).
– The phenomenon of ethno-religious borderland.
– Pastoral care of migrants.
– Attempts of mediation between religions: challenges to ecumenism.
– Religious aspects of cultural and civilizational collisions West – Islam.
– The image of religious minorities in the media.
We want to devote a special place to the issues and problematics of the
Enlightenment
intellectual
heritage,
inviting
you
to
a
discussion
on
the
presence/absence of the 18th century ideas of equality, freedom, human rights, tolerance in
contemporary thinking about the man, usefulness/uselessness of essentialism, normativity,
universalism in constructing a description of the modern world, as well as encouraging the
formulation of suggestions concerning contemporary interpretations of works, themes,
plots and motives of the Enlightenment (eg. D. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, the myth of "the
noble savage", theme of transcontinental travel, educational Grand Tour), remaining in
relation with minority issues. We also accept other suggestions of presentation topics.
Please submit your applications for participation in the conference (in the attached form)
via an e-mail to minor_eng@uni.lodz.pl by 15th June 2015.
In case of a large number of applications we reserve the right to select papers. We suggest
that time of the presentation should not exceed 20 minutes. Printed text can be extended up
to 20 pages. The decision of your paper acceptance will be sent to you by e-mail by 30th
June 2015.
The conference fee amounts to 500 PLN and includes lunches during the conference,
refreshments in the breaks between the conference sessions, dinner, associated event and
banquet, as well as the printing of conference materials and partly the post-conference
publication in the form of monographic books reviewed, containing research proposals in
the three languages of the conference (Polish, French, English).
The conference fee does not include travel costs or accommodation. We guarantee booking
accommodation in Training and Conference Center, University of Lodz, ul. Rogowska, as
well as any help needed to select and book a hotel in Łódź. The accommodation can be
booked on the forms attached to the invitation.
After receiving the confirmation of participation in the conference, please make the
conference payment by 15th September 2015 to of the University of Lodz account:
PEKAO SA
II Oddział w Łodzi
IBAN: PL 96 1240 3028 1111 0010 2943 1767
BIC/SWIFT: PKOPPLPW
(with a note: minor)
The conference website http://filologia.uni.lodz.pl/minor will be available since 1st
April 2015. All necessary information concerning the concerning will be posted on this
website.
Conference Programme Board:
prof. Jonathan Locke Hart (University of Western Ontario, Canada)
prof. zw. dr hab. Ewa Kosowska (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland)
prof. María Ángeles Llorca Tonda (University of Alicante, Spain)
prof. dr hab. Gabriela Matuszek (Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland)
prof. Pierre Michel (University of Angers, France)
prof. zw. dr hab. Wiesław Pusz (University of Lodz, Poland)
Conference Organizers:
dr hab. Mariusz Gołąb (Department of Literary Theory, Contemporary Culture Institute,
University of Lodz)
dr hab. Tomasz Kaczmarek, prof. UŁ (Division of French Literary Studies, Department of
Roman Philology, University of Lodz)
dr Joanna Raźny (Department of Enlightenment and Applied Literature, Polish Philology
Institute, University of Lodz)
Conference Secretaries:
dr Anita Staroń (Division of French Literary Studies, Department of Roman Philology,
University of Lodz)
dr Sebastian Zacharow (Division of French Literary Studies, Department of Roman
Philology, University of Lodz)
(for Polish and French speaking participants of the Conference)
mgr Katarzyna Dyniak (Foreign Language Centre, Medical University of Lodz)
mgr Joanna Włodarczyk-Bulska (Administrative Center for Studies in English, Medical
University of Lodz)
(for English speaking participants of the Conference)
Contact:
minor_eng@uni.lodz.pl (for English speaking participants of the Conference)
minor_fr_pl@uni.lodz.pl (for Polish and French speaking participants of the Conference)
We cordially invite you to Łódź!