Call for Papers: Symposium on "The Identity of Fictional Characters"

deadline for submissions: 
July 15, 2023
full name / name of organization: 
University of Alcala
contact email: 

Call for Papers: Symposium on "The Identity of Fictional Characters"

Dates: November 15-17, 2023

Location: University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain

Submission Deadline: July 15, 2023

We are pleased to announce the Symposium on "The Identity of Fictional Characters" as part of the "International Comic Book Research Conference: Perspectives from Visual Culture." This symposium aims to delve into the nature of fictional characters, with a specific emphasis on exploring how the identity conditions of characters in visual media, such as comic books, differ from those in written works of fiction.

Topics of interest for this symposium include, but are not limited to:

  • Existence of fictional characters
  • The creation or discovery of fictional characters
  • CrossWorks identity conditions of fictional characters
  • Comparing the portrayal of fictional characters in comic books with other forms of fiction
  • The role of visual and written elements in the identity conditions of fictional characters

We invite researchers interested in this topic to submit their proposals to alfonsom@ucm.es on or before July 15, 2023. The proposal should include the paper title, a 300-word abstract, and your contact information.

Registration: Participants in this symposium are required to register for the "International Comic Book Research Conference: Perspectives from Visual Culture." Registration will grant access to all events organized during the conference. However, participants will not be charged a conference fee as it will be covered by the research project "The Problem of the Identity of Fictional Characters" (Fundación BBVA, Ayudas a Proyectos de Investigación Científica en Filosofía 2021).

Limited travel bursaries will be available for researchers who require financial assistance to attend the conference. If you are interested in applying for a travel bursary, please indicate so when submitting your proposal.

For further inquiries, please contact alfonsom@ucm.es.

We look forward to your submissions and engaging discussions at the Symposium on "The Identity of Fictional Characters."