Appel à communication : « Revolution: Representation(s), Ideologies, Strategies » (Calgary, 28-29 octobre 2016)

The Department of French, Italian and Spanish at the University of Calgary is organizing its second Young Researchers’ Conference (YRC@YYC) on October 28 and 29, 2016. The conference is meant to be a multidisciplinary every-other-year forum, where Graduate Students can exchange their vibrant and innovative research across Arts disciplines. This edition’s topic is “Revolution”.

The concept of Revolution is an intriguing and a complex one. What conditions must be met for a (political) event to be considered a Revolution? Must it be created by large masses of people, or be inflamed by a small group of intellectuals? Must it come from street cafes, university classrooms, or factory workshops? Must it trigger violence, mass killing or be a peaceful manifestation? And must it be the simple replacement of one group by another or a complete change in the fundamental structures of society? One thing is clear when we look at various revolutionary events across history, be it the Athenian Revolution (508/7 BC), the French Revolution (1789), the European revolutions of 1848, the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), the Russian Bolshevik Revolution (1917) and the Arab Spring (2010-2012), Revolutions seem to have always been inspired by the ‘word’, oral or written. From the simplest utterance, the shortest newspaper article written, to more sophisticated religious and literary works, a verbal expression of dissatisfaction and riposte have most often fueled the revolutionary spirit. All through history, philosophers, artists, linguists, writers, politicians and religious men have questioned what writings and pieces of literature have motivated revolutionary actions all over the world.

It is from this (political) viewpoint of the concept, that the Young Researchers invite fellow graduate students from all disciplines to examine, in its various acceptations, the representation and manifestation of the concept of Revolution across the discourse of various fields of study as well as the impact of Revolutions on the life of people in a society across time and space. We invite proposals exploring themes such as (but not limited to):

Revolution, theory or (political) action?
Evolution of Revolution
Revolution, discourse and ideology
Revolutions and revolutionists
Revolution and fiction
Art as a Revolution
Revolution and (civil) war
Revolution as a movement
Revolution and social/historical change
Eco-revolution
Revolution in the age of Information Technology
Revolution and survival interests

We welcome all students of any graduate-level degree and encourage everyone to present during a twenty-minute period followed by a ten-minute discussion. Please send a 200-word abstract in a Word file including the title of your work to the following email address: YRC.calgary@gmail.com by July 15th 2016.

Keynote Speakers:
We are pleased to announce the participation of two guest speakers:
·         Dr. Pablo Policzer (University of Calgary)
·         Valery Yankey-Wayne (Independent Consultant, United Nations)

Organizing Committee (under the supervision of Dr. Ozouf S. Amedegnato, GPD):
Jaime Boyzo; Michael Kudi; Isabel Lara; Ganna Pletnyova; Daniela Spago

For more information, please check the conference’s website: https://yrccalgary.wordpress.com/

University of Calgary, Canada
FACULTY OF ARTS
Department of French, Italian and Spanish

YRC@YYC – Young Researchers Conference 2016
Revolution: Representation(s), Ideologies, Strategies
October 28th – 29th 2016