The VIII edition of the Congress will take place on November 19, 20 and 21, 2025 in the Auditorium of the Congress Centre “Ciutat d’Elx” (Spain) (in person format), and via our website (online format). There are 3 participation options:

> Option 1: In this modality, the proposals of the Communications will follow the main thematic line of the new edition of the Congress and the Festival: Japan and its imprint on the Fantastic Genre.

> Option 2: In this modality, the abstracts will follow the generic thematic line of the Congress: The Fantastic Genre and its possible interconnection with the different platforms of culture, audiovisual and new technologies.

In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston artistically chooses distinctive forenames and nicknames for her characters, reflecting the uniqueness and diversity of African American culture. Names like Tea Cake, Bootsie, Alphabet, or Sop-de-Bottom are informal name choices that also highlight the difference between the proper white naming conventions and the relaxed naming choices of African Americans in the South.

Recent manuscript studies increasingly examine physical damage to medieval documents as intentional acts. Erasure often functioned as censorship, silencing content deemed transgressive. Conversely, damage has also been interpreted as ritualistic worship, where marks on texts or artefacts express devotion rather than destruction. This session explores erasure both as censorship and as devotional practice, investigating how such traces can be read as deliberate, symbolic interventions. By considering these forms, the session sheds light on the complex interactions between materiality, authority, and spirituality within the medieval archive.

Please note that this is a virtual session. 

2025 Dress and Body Association Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Dress and Body Association invites submissions for the organization’s sixth annual conference, which will be held on November 1-2, 2025. Consistent with our long-term goals for inclusivity and sustainability, all activities will be 100% online.

Join our Google Group to learn about opportunities and converse with members of the DBA year-round! Email to request membership: dress.body.assoc@gmail.com.

Comfort and Joy: Locating Hope in Dress and the Body

Recent years have seen an upsurge of narratives from the Global South that engage in the representation of various African cosmologies. In contrast with Western traditions, these narratives are contributing to an epistemological shift from “the study of African religion as object [to] the study of African religion as subject” (Olupona 2013: xix). 

This book will explore how religion and the sacred emerge from within the structure and narrative of The Legend of Zelda series, one of the most influential and enduring franchises in video game history. Zelda has greatly impacted multiple generations of players, and has an extremely loyal and dedicated fanbse.