Call for Papers

Crisis of Representation: new solutions and critical voices in contemporary literature and language

The proposed publication (to be published by a major academic publisher upon approval of book proposal) invites contributions that focus on differing forms of symbolic representation within language studies and narrative fiction. Such forms in narrative fiction include the function of allegory, character and archetype within contemporary narratives, representations of history and the past, culture, race and religion, representation of war in adult and/or children’s fiction, alternate realities (including world building in fantasy literature), representations of the multiverse, technology and scientific theory (either in concert with, a replacement of, or in opposition to religion, magic and myth), mythic consciousness, the adult world in children’s literature, child consciousness and perception (relating to specific age groups and literary genres), representation of children, adults and/or animals in literature (including representations of the posthuman (and possible posthuman future realities).

Research results within language studies should draw on discourse-functional aspects of linguistic knowledge representation. In particular, the issues pertaining to various forms of symbolic representation (symbols, symbolism, representations of an utterance), the representation of semantic and cultural knowledge in the mind/brain, formal and cognitive models of grammar and grammatical knowledge, meaning construction in discourse, pragmatic and discourse functional aspects of symbolic representation, mental representations (semantic frames, domains, and idealized cognitive models), the relationships between language, culture and the mind, different forms of representation of utterances in translation, and representation of grammatical and semantic knowledge in dictionaries and other reference works.

The submission (including notes and references) should not exceed 30 000 signs (spaces included). The article should contain an abstract (app. 150 words) and six to eight keywords.

Deadline: 29/02/2024

Chapter proposals should be sent to Katarzyna Kozak: katarzyna.kozak@uph.edu.pl