LONELINESS. International Interdisciplinary Conference
What makes us happy and content in our life? Some people may point to fabulous fame, fortune, or money. Some may say that the key to happiness are interpersonal relationships. But what if someone is alone? Is loneliness really disastrous? Are there any benefits of loneliness? Can loneliness become an epidemic? In order to answer such questions, during our conference we will have to concentrate on many particular issues. Thus, we are interested in all aspects of loneliness in the past and in the present-day world.
The conference is intended as an interdisciplinary event. Hence, we invite researchers representing various academic disciplines: sociology, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, anthropology, gender studies, literary studies, theatre studies, film studies, consciousness studies, social policy, cognitive sciences, history, and others.
The aim of our conference is to provide opportunities for researchers from a range of disciplines and countries to share their research, create an academically challenging and productive space for discussion, and enable them to establish long-lasting, ever-growing scientific networks and contacts with professionals in other countries and institutions.
We will be happy to hear from both experienced scholars and young academics at the beginning of their careers, as well as doctoral and graduate students. We also invite all persons interested in participating in the conference as listeners, without giving a presentation.
The topics of the conference include but are not limited to the following suggestions:
1. Loneliness and Society
- loneliness and social relationships (in families, marriages, partnerships, workplaces, etc)
- loneliness of children
- loneliness of seniors
- the lonely crowd
- loneliness in urban spaces
- loneliness as an epidemic
- loneliness, isolation and social exclusion (social class, racism, gender factors, educational status,
living standars, people with disabilities, ageism)
- loneliness and social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
2. Loneliness and Culture
- loneliness in different parts of the world
- loneliness and religions
- loneliness and initiation rituals
- lonely communities
- abandoned nations
- expelled minorities
3. Individual experiences
- loneliness as a state of mind
- loneliness and emotional isolation
- loneliness and depression
- loneliness and shame
- creative loneliness
- loneliness as a rest
- situational loneliness
- existentional loneliness
- loneliness, aloneness and solitude
4. Literature and Arts
- loneliness in literature, film, theatre and visual arts
- lonely artists
- books to take to a desert island
The conference language is English.
Please submit abstracts (no longer than 300 words) of your proposed 20-minute presentations, together with a short biographical note, by 31 July 2019 to: lonelinessconference@gmail.com