“The moments of the past do not remain still; they retain in our memory the motion which drew them towards the future, towards a future which has itself become the past, and draw us on in their train.” (Marcel Proust).

We cordially invite you to participate in the 2022 Taipei Tech Hybrid International Literature Conference. The Department of English is organizing the conference, which will take place on October 21-22, 2022 (Taipei GMT+08:00). The meeting will use both physical and virtual ways of communication. This year, due to the pandemic, we have decided to make the conference registration free.  The 2022 Taipei Tech International Literature Conference will focus on the theme of “Memory” this year. We would be delighted to have you join us for a lively discussion about the boundless potential of mnemonic imagination. 

The word Mnemosyne (Μνημοσύνη) is derived from Greek mythology and alludes to the good and sweetness of memory. Additionally, the term is related with the mnemonic (mnēmē), which connotes memory and remembering. The methods for capturing, describing, and expressing the concept of memory have long presented writers with a challenge and fascination. Memory also has an extended connation of nostalgia. In Greek, nostalgia is comprised of the word νόστος (nóstos), meaning "homecoming", and ἄλγος (álgos), which means "pain" or "ache." This is a type of psychological melancholy in which one yearns to return to the good old days, or a lovely childhood.

One of the most famous examples of memory/remembrance transcending boundaries is Marcel Proust’s book In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu). Proust introduces the concept of involuntary memory (“mémoire involontaire”) via a taste of madeleine (“Le Madeleine”) or a piece of music (“La Sonate de Vinteuil”) as the reader travels back in time and through space. 

As French deconstructionist Jacques Derrida points out, memory is elusive: the French word “mémorie(s)” is untranslatable because it has several meanings in masculine (un mémorie: a memorandum), feminine (La mémorie: aptitude of memory), and plural forms (La mémoire(s): memories).  

“Memory” in Mandarin is denoted by two Chinese characters: 記 (Ji) and 憶 (Yi). The first character記 (Ji) is formed of the elements言 (yán: words, or talk), and 己 (jǐ: the self); the second character 憶 (Yi) is composed of the elements心(xin: the heart, and mind), and 意 (Yi: idea; meaning; wish; desire).  This phrase, taken together, signifies that one may speak or write down what is on their minds and thoughts.  In Mandarin, the term “memory” connotes a type of self-recording and autobiographical writing.  However, how do we refer to unarticulated people and events?  How do we as humans retain and forget?  

The word “Lemoyne” (forgetting) derives from the Greek word (λήθη) lethe, which is a river flowing from Hades (or the underworld).  The term connotes “forgetfulness," “oblivion, “and “concealment.”  Harald Weinrich, a German philosopher, studied the Greek term a-lethe-ia (ἀλήθεια), which means “un-forgetfulness” and “un-concealment” of the truth.  Weinrich suggests that “one can conceive truth as the unforgotten or the not-to-be-forgotten.” 

 This conference invites scholars to imagine spaces that store memories, and will examine the tension between the captive and the figurative, the remembered and the forgotten.  It will also explore memories from both happy and difficult periods.  How tangible is memory in visual or audio terms, and how can it relate to the human senses?  How does selection of memory work?  Is it arbitrary, or is it an act of obsession?  What are the boundaries between truth and fiction, imagination and reality?  Is memory forever lost, or do we unconsciously preserve and replicate the past?  This panel solicits papers that include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Platonic Memory
• Reason, Memory and the Self 
• Imagination and Memory 
• Involuntary Memory, Proustian Memory
• Body, Habit, Pure Memory 
• Cultural, Collective Memory 
• Wars, Truth, False Memory Syndrome, and Trauma 
• Travel, Transnationalism and Memory
• Temporality, and Memory
• Phenomenology and Memory 
• Place, Space, Memory 
• Colonial, Postcolonial Memory 
• Immigrants, Diasporic Groups, and Nostalgia
• Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience: Memory, Amnesia, Schizophrenia 
• Memory Fabrication: Storytelling, Magical Realism, and Memory
• Memory in Art and Films
• Memory that is encapsulated within Museums, Monuments, and Memorials
• Virtual Memory, Prosthetic Memory, and Electronic Memory
• Digital Memory and Technologies: A.I./Robot/Machine Learning, Metaverse

Submission Guidelines and Important Dates

Please email us the information below:

Name, affiliated institution, title

Time Zone

Email Address

A 150-word Bio 

A 300-word abstract

A Note if you’d like to pre-record your presentation 

Deadline for abstract submission: May 30th 

To submit your abstract (300 words, 150 bio) to: 

< taipeitechlc2022@gmail.com>

Notification of acceptance: June 30th