CFPs Conferences

Calls for Papers, Conference organized by AIA Members

CALL FOR PAPERS Performing Identity: Semiotic Representation(s) and the Making of Meaning University of Naples Federico II 3-4 December 2026

CFPs Conferences, Members' Events, upcoming /

Identity is not something we have, it is something we do. It emerges in discourse, takes shape through interaction and becomes legible through the semiotic resources we bring into play across contexts. From everyday conversation to institutional communication, from digital platforms to embodied practices, identity is continuously performed, negotiated and contested. In contemporary societies marked by mobility, digital mediation and ecological crisis, identity is increasingly fluid, relational and multimodal. Language is no longer the sole site of meaning-making: images, sounds, spaces, algorithms and bodies all participate in the production of identities. These processes are never neutral. They are embedded in relations of power, shaping who can speak, how they are represented and whose voices are legitimised or marginalised. At the same time, identities are constituted through intersecting and shifting dimensions, including gender, sexuality, race, class, age and ability, which are not fixed categories but positions continuously reconfigured in discourse. In this sense, identity is always situated: it is produced within specific socio-cultural, political and ecological conditions, and it remains open to transformation, resistance and re-articulation. This conference invites contributions that explore how identities are constructed, performed and reimagined in and through English, across a wide range of contexts and modalities. We are particularly interested in work that pushes beyond established frameworks, interrogates dominant assumption and engages critically with the relationship between language, meaning and power. Rather than treating identity as a stable object of analysis, we encourage approaches that foreground its processual, performative and semiotic nature, as well as its entanglement with material, digital and ecological realities.Possible areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to: discourse and the construction of self and other in media, institutional and public communication gender, sexuality and intersectional identities as discursive and embodied practices multimodal and visual representations of identity across digital and non-digital environments identity work in English language teaching and learning contexts translation, subtitling and dubbing as sites of identity mediation and transformation language variation, attitudes and ideologies in relation to belonging and social positioning corpus-based approaches to identity in authentic and digitally mediated data online identities and digital practices across social media, gaming and virtual spaces ecocritical discourse analysis and ecolinguistic perspectives on identity and the more-than-human world Conference venue and date: The conference will be hosted by the University of Naples Federico II and will take place on 3–4 December 2026. The exact venue will be communicated in the coming weeks. Abstract submission: To contribute to the conference as a speaker, please submit an abstract to the following email addresses: fcavalie@unina.it; aureliana.natale@unina.it; fabio.cangero@unina.it; and performid2026@gmail.com. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and should include a maximum of 5 references in APA style. The deadline for abstract submission is 15 July 2026. Conference fee and social dinner:€100 for senior scholars (RTDB, RTT, Associate Professor and Full Professor)€80 for junior scholars (PhD student, Research Fellow, Adjunct Professor and RTDA)€45 for participation in the social dinner.The conference fee should be paid using the following link: https://www.frcongressi.it/pay/user/areapersonale.php?token=5c23b24205a6acf83e2915485bd4226dPayment for the social dinner will instead be made on site. Keynote Speakers:Giuseppe BALIRANO (University of Naples L’Orientale)Encarnación HIDALGO TENORIO (University of Granada) Scientific Committee:Giuseppe BALIRANO (University of Naples L’Orientale)Fabio CANGERO (University of Naples Federico II)Flavia CAVALIERE (University of Naples Federico II)Paolo DONADIO (University of Naples Federico II)Antonio FRUTTALDO (University of Sannio)Encarnación HIDALGO TENORIO (University of Granada)Aureliana NATALE (University of Naples Federico II)Katherine E. RUSSO (University of Naples L’Orientale) Organising Committee:Fabio CANGERO (University of Naples Federico II)Flavia CAVALIERE (University of Naples Federico II)Paolo DONADIO (University of Naples Federico II)Aureliana NATALE (University of Naples Federico II)

CALL FOR PAPERS Performing Identity: Semiotic Representation(s) and the Making of Meaning University of Naples Federico II 3-4 December 2026 Read More »

CFP CLAVIER 2026 Seminar: Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation (10-11 December 2026, University of Catania, Department of Law

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The contemporary landscape of Legal English is increasingly defined by a shift from a monolithic entity to a diverse array of Legal Englishes, reflecting the role of English as a global lingua franca in legal, judicial and institutional settings. Within multilayered legal systems, practitioners and professionals from various fields (e.g. lawyers, judges, translators and interpreters, but also public servants) must navigate national, supranational, and international varieties, which often leave linguistic “traces” in texts, such as when supranational law is transposed into national legislation or when international case law interacts with national legislation. The interaction between varieties, and the need for translation in many communicative settings, may lead to significant hurdles for Legal English terminology, but also to a (rapid) evolution beyond terminology of both Legal English and other languages for legal purposes. In recent years, the awareness of the wide audience which legal and judicial written and spoken communication may reach has been driving simplification in legal drafting, translation, and institutional communication to ensure that information is accessible to laypersons. This focus on inclusion encompasses the implementation of plain language and easy-to-read language, which require a detailed profiling of the target audience, as well as the use of gender-neutral and gender-sensitive language. Furthermore, the dissemination of legal knowledge has been expanding through knowledge mediation, popularization, transmediation, and transcreation, recurring for instance to visual design and modern media entertainment/infotainment to explain complex law to the general public. These shifts present profound challenges in both using and teaching Legal English(es) and legal translation, which are changing at an incredibly fast pace due to the incorporation of innovative technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs). Despite the benefits brought by AI and LLMs, their application in specialized legal translation raises critical concerns regarding accuracy, data reliability, and ethical implications. Given the variety of aspects that fall within the broad areas of Legal English(es) and legal translation in and to English and the need to adopt interdisciplinary and mixed-method approaches to study them, this seminar is intended as a platform where scholars with different expertise engage in scholarly dialogue aimed at fostering research interaction and possibly collaboration. Possible topics include but are not limited to: ·       Defining the boundaries of Legal English(es); ·       National, supranational and international varieties of Legal English; ·       English as a lingua franca in legal and judicial discourse; ·       Legal English terminology; ·       Simplification in legal drafting, legal translation and institutional communication; ·       Inclusion in Legal English (plain language, easy-to-read language, gender-neutral and gender-sensitive language); ·       Legal knowledge mediation, popularization, simplification, transmediation and transcreation involving Legal English; ·       Legal English in modern media entertainment and audiovisual translation; ·       Benefits and challenges of innovative technologies (e.g. AI and LLMs) in Legal English and legal translation in and to English; ·       The challenges of teaching Legal English and Legal translation in and from English. Keynote speakers Jan Engberg (Aarhus University) Giuliana Garzone (IULM) Presentation Guidelines Papers will be allotted 20 minutes, plus 5 minutes for discussion. Abstract Submission Please send your anonymous abstract of no more than 300 words (including max 5 references) to the following addresses: g.digregorio@unict.it and kperuzzo@units.it. Please do not include any self-identifying information in the abstract; indicate only the title and the abstract itself. In a separate file, include: Title: Author(s): Affiliation(s): Postal mailing address (for primary author): E-mail (for primary author): Important dates Abstract submission: 30 June 2026 Notification of acceptance: 31July 2026 Information on registration will be provided in due course. Organising Committee Cristina Arizzi, Massimiliano Demata, Giuseppina Di Gregorio, Maria Teresa Musacchio, Giuseppe Palumbo, Katia Peruzzo, Giuliana Russo, Marco Venuti, Francesca Vigo, Raffaele Zago. Scientific Committee Cristina Arizzi (Università di Catania) Giuseppe Balirano (Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”) Maria Bortoluzzi (Università di Udine) Gloria Cappelli (Università di Pisa) Paola Catenaccio (Università di Milano) Costanza Cucchi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) Massimiliano Demata (Università di Catania) Olga Denti (Università di Cagliari) Giuliana Diani (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia) Giuseppina Di Gregorio (Università di Catania) Roberta Facchinetti (Università di Verona) Daniele Franceschi (Università di Roma Tre) Antonio Guidara (Università di Catania) Jean Marguerite Jimenez (Università della Calabria) Stefania Maci (Università di Bergamo) Denise Milizia (Università di Bari) Renzo Mocini (Università di Roma Sapienza) Maria Teresa Musacchio (Università di Trieste) Jekaterina Nikitina (Università di Milano) Giuseppe Palumbo (Università di Trieste) Giulia Adriana Pennisi (Università di Palermo) Katia Peruzzo (Università di Trieste) Douglas Ponton (Università di Catania) Carla Quinci (Università di Padova) Giuliana Russo (Università di Catania) Katherine Russo (Università di Napoli L’ Orientale) Christina Samson (Università di Firenze) Maria Grazia Sindoni (Università di Messina) Girolamo Tessuto (Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli) Marco Venuti (Università di Catania) Francesca Vigo (Università di Catania) Christopher Williams (Università di Foggia) Raffaele Zago (Università di Catania)

CFP CLAVIER 2026 Seminar: Status Quaestionis: Multiple Perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation (10-11 December 2026, University of Catania, Department of Law Read More »

CALL FOR PAPERS Pop Cultural Linguistics: Researching and Theorizing Performed Language and Communication (25 and 26 February 2027, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy)

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Organized by Francesca Bianchi (University of Salento), Valentin Werner (University of Bamberg) & Janina Wildfeuer (University of Groningen) The study of mass-media-distributed pop-cultural artifacts – such as songs, films, television series, comics, video games, and so on – is becoming increasingly widespread in academia due to their enormous reach and the fact that they constitute a significant portion of contemporary everyday communication with potentially significant social influence. In this regard, it should be noted that language, as a central creative component of pop-cultural communication, has received increased attention, and that the linguistic analysis of relevant uses has established itself as a branch of research known as Pop Cultural Linguistics, dedicated to the study of performed language and its specific conditions of production and reception in relevant contexts. Within this emerging paradigm, approaches that focus on the interaction of linguistic, social, and cultural factors play a particularly important role, among other things to highlight that pop-cultural artifacts are not simply commercial (entertainment) products but always also convey and construct social meaning. Another evident form of interaction in these artifacts occurs with other modalities (music, images, gestures, etc.) and the overall meaning-making potential these multimodal ensembles create. To take account of the increasing relevance attributed to the study of performed language and to highlight how current research contributes to its analysis and theorization, the conference Pop Cultural Linguistics: Researching and Theorizing Performed Language and Communication invites contributions from all linguistic subdisciplines (comprising, for example, sociolinguistics, stylistics, pragmatics, register studies, cognitive linguistics, translation studies, applied linguistics, etc.) using qualitative and quantitative as well as multi-method approaches (corpus analysis, conversation analysis, surveys, discourse analysis, etc.). Papers that revolve around the following guiding research questions/topics are sought: ● How are various semiotic resources dynamically combined in pop-cultural artifacts to create meaning(s)? ● How do pop-cultural artifacts contribute to the construction and stylization of social identities (e.g., ethnicity, gender) and to the creation of (cultural) authenticity? ● How are languages, varieties and the representation of multilingualism used for purposes of characterization? ● How does performed language reproduce or resist ideologies and power structures? ● How is humor and irony created linguistically and multimodally in pop-cultural artifacts? ● Which conceptual metaphors and cognitive frames are prevalent in performed language? ● Which linguistic and multimodal features are (consciously) employed to make pop-cultural artifacts resonate with audiences and to potentially create emotional experiences? ● How are the aforementioned concepts addressed in the context of the localization/translation of pop-cultural artifacts, and what implications does this have for applied linguistic areas? ● How can pop-cultural artifacts be used in the context of institutional first and additional language education and what is their role in informal language learning/acquisition? ● How can insights from other disciplines, like sociology, semiotics, literary and cultural studies, film studies, intermedial studies, multimodality studies, etc. inform the study of performed language? ● How can analyses of pop-cultural products be meaningfully triangulated with research on producer and audience perspectives? ● Which role does the use of LLMs and/or LMMs play in the creation of pop-cultural artifacts and which implications does this have? ● How does the analysis of performed language and its specific production circumstances impact on the conceptualization of longstanding linguistic dichotomies like written-spoken or formal-informal? The following scholars have kindly agreed to deliver plenaries: ● Astrid Ensslin, University of Regensburg ● Maria Pavesi, University of Pavia ● Roman Schneider, Leibniz Institute for the German Language & University of Mannheim ● Raffaele Zago, University of Catania While the main working language of the conference will be English, contributions on other languages are especially encouraged. The organizers will further organize dedicated sessions where contributors can present in languages other than English (e.g. Spanish, Italian, French, etc.) if applicable. This conference is planned as an in-person event with presentation slots comprising 20 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A. There will be an award for best paper by a junior researcher, kindly sponsored by John Benjamins. Please submit your abstracts (300 words + references in APA7 format) by 15 September 2026 from the Call for Abstracts page of the conference website (https://pop2027.unisalento.it). You will receive a notification on the outcome of the review process in November 2026. If accepted, the final/revised abstract is due 20 January 2027. Further information on the conference website: https://pop2027.unisalento.it

CALL FOR PAPERS Pop Cultural Linguistics: Researching and Theorizing Performed Language and Communication (25 and 26 February 2027, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy) Read More »

New deadline (8 May) for International Conference “Pleasure and Pain in Women’s Writing” – IWWA (International Women’s Writing Association) and the L&GEND Research Group (with AIA sponsorship)

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New deadline: 8 May9th-11th September 2026G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, ItalyConference Venue: Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, PescaraThis in-person conference of the International Women’s Writing Association (IWWA), organized incollaboration with the L&GEND (Literature & Gender Identity) International Research Group, willbe held at G. d’Annunzio University in the Pescara Campus, offering an interdisciplinary and cross-period investigation of women’s writing in all its forms, mediums, and expressions.The conference explores sensations of pleasure and pain in women’s writing, examining how theseexperiences are shaped, interpreted and endowed with meaning in texts produced by women acrossdifferent cultures and historical periods. As theorized by Henri Bergson, pleasure and pain providecrucial insights into the past, present and future; they belong to complex sensory systems that resistautomatic responses to the world and contribute to the formation of consciousness. In this sense, theyfunction as vehicles of resistance, freedom, and awareness (Suzanne Guerlac, Thinking in Time,2006). By investigating representations of pleasure and pain, the conference aims to foster criticalreflection on how women narrate intense, gendered sensory experiences, how they foreground thesocial consequences of women’s emotional vulnerability, and how they articulate forms of strategicrestraint alongside assertions of individual freedom to experience pleasure or suffering with intensity.Speakers are invited to examine these dynamics in a variety of genres, forms of cultural productionand media, including written literature and the digital, poetry and prose, the popular and the canonical,creative and factual writing, life-writing and biographies, theories and histories, screen and script,films and television. We encourage the exploration of collaborative and individual works, ofimaginative practices and women’s realities, of representation of personal and public issues, across awide range of disciplines, time periods, cultures and texts.We welcome submissions for individual twenty-minute papers as well as for full panels andworkshops. Topics might include, but are not limited to:● Women’s writing on page, stage, and screen● The portrayal and evolution of pleasures and pains across different periods and genres● Cultural, historical, and social contexts for pleasure and pain● Trauma in women’s writing● Representations of physical and psychological pain● Solidarity and difference● Views of forbidden and conventional pleasure● Women’s sexual pleasures and pains● Intellectual pleasure/pain● Technologies and pleasure/pain● Women writing love and romance● Narratives of abuse● Consent and intimacy on the page and screen● Performing pleasures and/or pain● Love and loss● Writing the pleasure and pain of women’s lives● The portrayal of pleasure and pain in global fictions and narratives● The ways in which pleasure and pain challenge or reinforce social norms● The pleasure of the text● Bestsellers, blockbusters, and popular writing● Representing the pleasures and pains of women’s authorship● The Gothic’s fascination with pleasures and pains● Reclaiming and resisting pain● Pleasure, pain, and powerKeynote speakers of the conference will be Marilena Parlati (University of Padua, Italy), JoanneElla Parsons (Falmouth University, UK) and Jennifer Schnabel (Ohio State University, US).Submissions:Proposals should include a title, an abstract of 250-300 words, a brief biographical note (up to 100words), and contact details. Panel and workshop proposals are very welcome.Please submit your proposals in a Word document to the team at iwwaitaly@gmail.com by 24thApril 2026 making it clear that you are submitting for the Pescara conference. We encouragesubmissions from scholars at all stages of their careers, including early career researchers,independent scholars, and postgraduate students. Interdisciplinary approaches and innovativemethodologies are welcome.All participants will be given free membership of the International Women’s Writing Association for2026 contact email: iwwaitaly@gmail.com

New deadline (8 May) for International Conference “Pleasure and Pain in Women’s Writing” – IWWA (International Women’s Writing Association) and the L&GEND Research Group (with AIA sponsorship) Read More »

CFP Conference: Textual Embodiments: Remediating Meaning across the Disciplines

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Rome Link Campus University, September 11-12, 2026 (deadline 1 June 2026) Eighteenth-century philology, as the science of editing and interpreting texts, while evolving in compartmentalised disciplines within the modern university curricula, formalised the analysis of written and visual works according to a shared methodology. Throughout its long history, philology has gone through important changes in the understanding of each component of the hermeneutic circle: author, text and reader. All periods in which philology was formalised as a discipline, i.e. the Hellenistic period, the Renaissance, and the second half of the eighteenth-century in Göttingen have elaborated a methodology in response to important changes in the material production and dissemination of texts. A focus on the technology of writing, the critical evaluation of the manuscript tradition, and the manufacturing of printed books and critical editions have all accompanied its evolution in response to the ground-breaking technological innovations of the time mediating culture transfer. As we are undergoing a new technological revolution with the production and dissemination of digital texts, this conference shall focus on the question of mediality in the production and circulation of texts, artistic works and performances from all periods. What is the role of each medium (writing, printing, digital textuality, artistic practice, embodied performance) in shaping communication strategies, literary and journalistic genres, as well as interactions and synergies with other media accompanying the written text? Which communities are involved in these exchanges? The topics proposed shall ideally contribute to a transhistorical, intermedial and interdisciplinary reflection.  Among the possible topics topics:  Please send a 250 word abstract to Alberto Gabriele a.gabriele@unilink.it and Carlo M. Bajetta at c.bajetta@univda.it by June 1 2026. 

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CALL FOR PAPERS English and Other Languages across Cultures, Classrooms and beyond (deadline 30 May)

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University of Siena, 15-16 October 2026 Contemporary language education operates within increasingly complex sociolinguistic environments shaped by migration, global mobility, multilingualism, large student cohorts, and growing informal exposure to English and other languages. Within these contexts, language classrooms are no longer isolated spaces but form part of broader learning ecologies in which formal instruction interacts with informal language use, digital media, and multicultural communicative practices. This conference explores how language education can respond coherently and effectively to these conditions while maintaining a strong focus on interaction, learner engagement, motivation, and disciplinary communication. While English will feature prominently, the conference welcomes contributions addressing the teaching and learning of other languages, as well as multilingual and cross-linguistic perspectives. Particular attention will be paid to higher education contexts, where students are often required not only to learn languages but also to use them as tools for accessing, constructing, and communicating disciplinary knowledge. In particular, the conference aims to explore the role of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as a pedagogical framework capable of responding to the shifting dynamics of our globalised world. This is achieved by building on key international contributions (e.g., Ellis 2003, 2005, 2019; Erlam 2015; Erlam & Tolosa 2022; Long 1985, 2015a, 2015b, Prahbu 1987; Willis 1996), as well as on studies carried out in the Italian context (e.g., Borro 2021; Della Putta & Sordella 2022; Della Putta & Ghia 2025; Morgana 2023; Nuzzo & Cortés Velásquez 2018; Nuzzo & Ferrari 2011; Petrocelli 2021, 2025; Petrocelli, Pizziconi, Ghia & Di Ferrante 2022). Contributions may examine how task-based approaches can support learner engagement and motivation (e.g., Gutiérrez 2024), particularly in contexts where English is no longer positioned solely as a subject to be learned but functions as a lingua franca within multicultural settings, including informal, media-saturated environments (Pavesi & Ghia 2020, Pavesi et al. 2025). At the same time, the conference seeks to place TBLT in dialogue with discipline-informed language education, exploring connections with established traditions and practices such as Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), Language for Academic Purposes (LAP) and Language for Specific Academic Purposes (LSAP) (Long 2015b; Serafini et al. 2015; Siddiqui & Winke 2023), English Medium Instruction (EMI) (Moore 2017), and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) (Nikula 2015; Ortega 2015; Ahmadian & García Mayo 2018; Petrocelli et al. 2022). These approaches raise important questions about how language teaching can support students in engaging with disciplinary knowledge, academic discourse, and specialised communicative practices. The conference, therefore, welcomes contributions that investigate how task-based, discipline-informed pedagogical approaches are interpreted, adapted, and implemented in educational contexts characterised by mobility, multilingualism, and large student populations, both within and beyond higher education (Álvarez & Pérez Cavana 2015; Duong & Nguyen 2021; Liu & Ren 2021). Perspectives from teacher education and professional development in relation to task-based and discipline-informed approaches are also welcome. The aim is to foster an inclusive dialogue on how language education can adapt to contemporary learning ecologies while remaining theoretically grounded and pedagogically purposeful. Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following questions: How can meaningful interaction be structured and sustained in large-enrolment language learning contexts?How can task-based approaches support learners’ and teachers’ engagement and motivation, especially in multilingual and multicultural classrooms?How can language education enable students to analyse, construct, and communicate disciplinary knowledge effectively?How can explicit and implicit dimensions of language learning be integrated within coherent curriculum design?How can TBLT be adapted to contexts characterised by mobility, migration, and diverse linguistic repertoires?How can task-based approaches be integrated with LSP, LAP, LSAP, EMI support, or CLIL practices?What role do informal language exposure and digital environments play in shaping task-based learning opportunities?What role does technology-mediated communication play in task-based design and implementation?How can language instructors interpret and respond to learning difficulties in multilingual classrooms shaped by migration and linguistic diversity?How can teacher education and professional development respond to the challenges of implementing TBLT and discipline-informed language education in multilingual and large-enrolment contexts?We welcome theoretical, empirical, and practice-based contributions that address these issues across educational settings and sociolinguistic contexts. References Ahmadian, M.J. & García Mayo, M.d.P. (Eds.) (2018). Recent Perspectives on Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton. Ahmadian, M.J., & Long, M.H. (Eds.) (2021). The Cambridge Handbook of Task-based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Álvarez, I. & Pérez Cavana, M. (2015). “Multilingual and Multicultural Task-based Learning Scenarios: A Pilot Study from the MAGICC Project. Language Learning in Higher Education. Journal of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS) 5(1): 59–82. Borro, I. (2021). “Comparing the effectiveness of TBLT and PPP on L2 grammar learning: a pilot study with Chinese students of Italian L2”. In M. Long & M.J. Ahmadian (Eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press. Della Putta, P., & Ghia, E. (2025). La focalizzazione sulla forma nell’apprendimento e nell’insegnamento delle lingue straniere: aspetti linguistici, psicolinguistici e glottodidattici. Venezia: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari. Della Putta, P., & Sordella, S. (2022). Insegnare l’italiano a studenti neo arrivati. Un modello laboratoriale. Pisa: Edizioni ETS. Duong T.M., Nguyen H.T.T. (2021). “Implementing Task-based Language Teaching in Vietnamese Secondary Schools: What Hinders EFL Teachers?” TESL-EJ 25(2). Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford & New York: Oxford Applied Linguistics. Ellis, R. (2005). “Principles of instructed language learning”. System 33(2): 209–224. Ellis, R. (2019). “Towards a Modular Language Curriculum for Using Tasks. Language Teaching Research 23(4): 454–475. Erlam, R. (2015). “‘I’m still not sure what a task is’: Teachers Designing Language Tasks”. Language Teaching Research 20: 279–299. Erlam, R., & Tolosa, C. (2022). Pedagogical Realities of Implementing Task-based Language Teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Gutiérrez, X. (2024). “Implementation of Task-based Language Teaching in a Spanish Language Program: Instructors’ and Students’ Perceptions”. Language Teaching Research. Liu, Y. & Ren, W. (2021). “Task-based Language Teaching in a Local EFL Context: Chinese University Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices”. Language Teaching Research. Long, M. H. (1985). Input and second language acquisition theory. In S. M. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 377–393). Rowley, MA: Newbury

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CALL FOR PAPERS: (Im)politeness on the Page

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December 14th – 15th, 2026 – University of Naples L’Orientale The conference continues the tradition of previous events on linguistic (im)politeness hosted by the Argo Research Centre. Following the respective conferences on cinema, TV series and theatre, this year’s edition aims to investigate (im)politeness in fictional and scientific texts that use the page as their medium from a philological, linguistic and literary point of view. Since the idea of textuality has gradually encompassed a wide spectrum of written forms, the term “page” is understood as any material medium bearing written language. The purpose of the conference is to adopt a cross-disciplinary approach to non-book media, such as urban spaces, the human body, and digital environments. In light of these conceptual horizons, while the methodological frameworks of (im)politeness have been traditionally applied to textual forms related to dialogue (drama, screenplays, spoken language), the conference addresses underinvestigated textualities: fictional prose, scientific-argumentative texts, forms of urban writing (textual graffiti), lettering and quotations in tattoos, acronyms and abbreviations, online written interactions and comments. We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations. The main topics of interest include, but are not limited to, (im)politeness phenomena in: Abstracts should not exceed 300 words (excluding title, bibliography, and keywords) and should be sent as e-mail attachments in .doc or .docx to roberto.esposito@unior.it, m.mirto@unior.it, and a.marino105@unior.it by 10/05/2026 30/05/2026. Proposals should include: Notice of acceptance will be sent by 30/06/2026. No fee registration. Scientific and Organising Committee Bianca Del Villano, Giuseppe Balirano, Roberto Esposito, Mariaconcetta Mirto, Alessia Marino, Chiara Ghezzi, Aoife Beville, Emma Pasquali. Selected references Bousfield, D. (2008). Impoliteness in Interaction. John Benjamins. Brighenti, A. M. (2010). At the Wall: Graffiti Writers, Urban Territoriality, and the Public Domain. Space and Culture, 20(10), 1-18. Brown P. & Levinson S. C. (1987 [1978]). Politeness. Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press. Bruti, S. (2013) La cortesia. Aspetti culturali e problemi traduttivi. Pisa University Press. Carver, E. H (2018) Graffiti Writing as Urban Narrative. Literary Geographies, 4(2), 188-203. Chmielewska, E. (2007). Framing [Con]text: Graffiti and Place. Space and Culture, 10(2), 145-169. Culpeper J. (1996). Towards an anatomy of impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics 25, 349–367. Culpeper, J. (2001). Language and Characterization: People in Plays and Other Texts. Longman. Culpeper, J. (2011). Impoliteness. Using Language to Cause Offence. Cambridge University Press. Culpeper, J., Haugh, M. & Kádár, D. Z. (2017). The Palgrave Handbook of Linguistic (Im)politeness. Palgrave Macmillian Goffman, E. (1967), Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Behaviour. Penguin. Kizelbach, U. (2023). (Im)politeness in McEwan’s Fiction: Literary Pragma-Stylistics. Palgrave Macmillian. Jucker, A. H. (2020). Politeness in the History of English: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day. Cambridge University Press. Short, M. (2013 [1996]). Exploring the language of poems, plays and prose. Routledge. Vandendorpe, C. (2009 [1999]). From Papyrus to Hypertext. Toward the Universal Digital Library. (translated by P. Aronoff & H. Scott). University of Illinois Press.

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Call for Papers Collecting, Collected, Collective: Working with Hopkins June 10 to 12, 2027 Proposals due: 26 October 2026

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By 2027, all nine volumes of The Collected Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins will bepublished, including the much-anticipated final volume in the series, Poetry. The 2027international Hopkins conference will focus on the new research possibilities andprovocations afforded by the texts. Hopkins 2027 will be held at Università degli Studi“G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, Italy. Chieti-Pescara is on the Adriatic coast of Italy,about a two-hour drive through the Apennines from Rome.Topics could include:

Call for Papers Collecting, Collected, Collective: Working with Hopkins June 10 to 12, 2027 Proposals due: 26 October 2026 Read More »

International Conference “Pleasure and Pain in Women’s Writing” – Organized by IWWA (International Women’s Writing Association) and the L&GEND Research Group (deadline for submissions: April 24, 2026)

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9th-11th September 2026G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, ItalyConference Venue: Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Pescara This in-person conference of the International Women’s Writing Association (IWWA), organized incollaboration with the L&GEND (Literature & Gender Identity) International Research Group, willbe held at G. d’Annunzio University in the Pescara Campus, offering an interdisciplinary and crossperiodinvestigation of women’s writing in all its forms, mediums, and expressions. The conference explores sensations of pleasure and pain in women’s writing, examining how theseexperiences are shaped, interpreted and endowed with meaning in texts produced by women acrossdifferent cultures and historical periods. As theorized by Henri Bergson, pleasure and pain providecrucial insights into the past, present and future; they belong to complex sensory systems that resistautomatic responses to the world and contribute to the formation of consciousness. In this sense, theyfunction as vehicles of resistance, freedom, and awareness (Suzanne Guerlac, Thinking in Time,2006). By investigating representations of pleasure and pain, the conference aims to foster criticalreflection on how women narrate intense, gendered sensory experiences, how they foreground thesocial consequences of women’s emotional vulnerability, and how they articulate forms of strategicrestraint alongside assertions of individual freedom to experience pleasure or suffering with intensity. Speakers are invited to examine these dynamics in a variety of genres, forms of cultural productionand media, including written literature and the digital, poetry and prose, the popular and the canonical,creative and factual writing, life-writing and biographies, theories and histories, screen and script,films and television. We encourage the exploration of collaborative and individual works, ofimaginative practices and women’s realities, of representation of personal and public issues, across awide range of disciplines, time periods, cultures and texts.We welcome submissions for individual twenty-minute papers as well as for full panels andworkshops. Topics might include, but are not limited to: ● Women’s writing on page, stage, and screen● The portrayal and evolution of pleasures and pains across different periods and genres● Cultural, historical, and social contexts for pleasure and pain ● Trauma in women’s writing ● Representations of physical and psychological pain● Solidarity and difference● Views of forbidden and conventional pleasure● Women’s sexual pleasures and pains● Intellectual pleasure/pain● Technologies and pleasure/pain● Women writing love and romance● Narratives of abuse● Consent and intimacy on the page and screen● Performing pleasures and/or pain● Love and loss● Writing the pleasure and pain of women’s lives● The portrayal of pleasure and pain in global fictions and narratives● The ways in which pleasure and pain challenge or reinforce social norms● The pleasure of the text● Bestsellers, blockbusters, and popular writing● Representing the pleasures and pains of women’s authorship● The Gothic’s fascination with pleasures and pains● Reclaiming and resisting pain● Pleasure, pain, and powerKeynote speakers of the conference will be Marilena Parlati (University of Padua, Italy), JoanneElla Parsons (Falmouth University, UK) and Jennifer Schnabel (Ohio State University, US). Submissions:Proposals should include a title, an abstract of 250-300 words, a brief biographical note (up to 100words), and contact details. Panel and workshop proposals are very welcome.Please submit your proposals in a Word document to the team at iwwaitaly@gmail.com by 24thApril 2026 making it clear that you are submitting for the Pescara conference. We encouragesubmissions from scholars at all stages of their careers, including early career researchers,independent scholars, and postgraduate students. Interdisciplinary approaches and innovativemethodologies are welcome.All participants will be given free membership of the International Women’s Writing Association for2026. deadline for submissions: April 24, 2026contact email: iwwaitaly@gmail.com

International Conference “Pleasure and Pain in Women’s Writing” – Organized by IWWA (International Women’s Writing Association) and the L&GEND Research Group (deadline for submissions: April 24, 2026) Read More »

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