17 june 2016

Literature and History. Culture and Society. The borders of Humanism studies find themselves in a state of great volatility, redefinition even. New cultural scenes, social organisations, technologies… The new systems of communication and the exchange of ideas show a reconverting panorama. Contemporary challenges that require of ideas, debate and, also, a better understanding of the existing humanistic legacy.

The 2016 International Entresiglos Congress will land in Valencia next October with the aim of answering all these uncertainties. The University of Valencia and specifically the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication will receive researchers from all around the world on the 19, 20 and 21 of October. This congress “aspires to become a forum of communication and debate on the articulations of a new humanism, capable of providing an answer to the challenges of a global society, and that situates the assimilation of a European humanistic cultural legacy within the scope of challenges of the new era”.

The programme for this conferences will gravitate around four fundamental pillars:

1. Towards a definition of the concept of literary patrimony and its diffusion in the digital era. These talks will analyse the changes made in the conceptualisation and diffusion of literary patrimony up to our days, what effect the erosion of social or political barriers in Europe has had on these variations, and how the occidental legacy of Humanism should be defined.
2. The insertion of literature in Cultural History. The editing process will be the focus of this pillar, as well as how the main agents in the field of literature have evolved.
3. Patrimony and new technologies: Digital Humanities. ICT – information and communication technologies – will be the focal point of these debates: new tools, reading methods, diffusion, editing, standardisation of language, repositories, and much more.
4. Memory and commitment: a writer’s social responsibility. This final theme follows the figure of a writer in this new era. In a crisis context, what social responsibility should writers have?

For the moment, researchers from multiple prestigious international universities have confirmed their assistance, amongst them: University of Illinois, University of Syracuse, New York University (USA); Université de Caen (France); Università di Bologna, Università degli studi Roma Tre (Italy).

Professor Teresa Ferrer Valls is in charge of the Scientific Direction of the event, while several other teachers of the Master’s Degree in Hispanic Studies are on the Organisation Committee and Scientific Committee.

With the call for papers closed, applications to attend the event will open from the month of September. Inscription fees and further details of the conference (updated programme, activities, etc.) will be known soon.

For up-to-date information on the International Entresiglos Congress, head over to their web page here. Also, there’s this literature site (same name) from professors Teresa Ferrer and Joan Oleza, with scientific papers, databases and other interesting information for students and researchers in Hispanic Studies.