LONELINESS 2019 : LONELINESS International Interdisciplinary Conference

CFP: LONELINESS

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

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: [email protected]