CALL FOR PAPERS

Landscapes Of the Mind: Narratives of Cultural Encounters

Anda International Conference

Università del Salento, Lecce – Italy

25-26 September 2025

Landscapes of the Mind: Narratives of Cultural Encounters explores how different cultures perceive, interpret, and narrate their experiences and interactions. Possible topics related to the conference include:

Cultural Exchange and Syncretism:

a) How different cultures blend and borrow from each other;

b) Literature as a means of accessing otherness; estrangement and the uncanny; representing imaginary encounters;

c) Exploration of how colonialism shaped cultural identities and landscapes; d) The role of travel writing in shaping perceptions of the “Other”.

Frames of Perception:
a) Perceptions of material forms;
a) Sensory engagements with nonhuman agency;

a) Visual perceptions (landscapes); auditory perceptions (soundscapes); linguistic landscapes (langscapes); olfactory perceptions (smellscapes); gustatory perceptions (foodscapes); haptic perceptions (touchscapes); cross-sensory perceptions.

Cultural Memory, Heritage and Representation of Cultural Encounters: a) The role of monuments, museums, and cultural sites in preserving history;
b) Analysis of cultural memory in literature, visual and performing arts;
c) Contemporary artists exploring themes of cultural identity and hybridity.

Indigenous Narratives and Worldviews:

a) Understanding landscapes from indigenous perspectives;

b) Oral traditions and their role in preserving cultural heritage;

c) Contemporary indigenous writers and their contributions to literature and environmental justice;

d) Stories of migration and diasporic identities.

Globalization and Cultural Homogenization:
a) Impact of globalization on local cultures and identities;
b) Resistance to cultural homogenization and the preservation of local traditions; c) Analysis of global cultural flows in media and entertainment.

Fostering Encounters through Language and Translation:

a) Textual and cultural border-crossing in translation;

b) Role of translation in bridging (or raising awareness on) cultural gaps;

c) Metaphors and other discursive devices for imagining, representing, and/or fostering (cultural) encounters.

Each of these topics can be explored through various media, including literature, the fine arts, visual arts, performing arts, and contemporary criticism, providing a rich and multifaceted understanding of cultural encounters and their impact on the human mind and society.

Please send your 250-word proposal for a 20 minute talk and a brief bio note to:

Caterina Colomba, caterina.colomba@unisalento.it

Deadline for proposal submission: June 2nd, 2025

Notification of acceptance will be sent by July 2nd, 2025

Scientific Committee:

Antonella Riem, Paolo Bertinetti, Giovanni Bassi, Laura Colombino, Carmelina Concilio, Manuela D'Amore, Maria Renata Dolce, Angelo Monaco, Saverio Tomaiuolo

https://www.docentianglistica.it/