Round tables are discussion events organised around a theme. Some are invitation only. For
others the organisers are still welcoming participants. Please check at the bottom of each of
the following descriptions if this is the case.
1. Gender Studies Network
The GSN meeting is meant as a get-together of all ESSE members interested in extending a
gender perspective within and from our association. It will be the fifth in a row since Kosiče.
First a brief account will be given of what has been done so far (e.g. Internet presence with a
Directory of Members, Gender Studies Gallery, etc.). Special focus will be on the follow-up
from Lyon. Then the floor will be open to all in order to articulate and discuss proposals for
the near future. New ideas are most welcome and, if submitted in advance to one of the
Convenors, can be circulated before the conference.
Convenors:
Işil Baş (Istanbul Kültür University, Turkey, isil@boun.edu.tr)
Florence Binard (Paris Diderot ̶Université de Paris, France, fbinard@eila.univ-parisdiderot.fr)
Renate Haas (University of Kiel, Germany, haas@anglistik.uni-kiel.de)
María Socorro Suárez Lafuente (University of Oviedo, Spain, lafuente@uniovi.es)
2. 1922: Beyond Modernism
Convenors:
Prof. Dr. Ingo Berensmeyer, LMU München
Prof. Dr. Dorothee Birke, University of Innsbruck
In the centenary of the modernist annus mirabilis, we propose a conversation that offers a
focus on the “unknown 1922”. The panellists will discuss a selection of that year´s
publications in Britain to illustrate the range of residual and dominant genres and modes
that form the ‘background’ to the literary avantgarde. Shifting the critical focus on this
background, we will ask how modernism as a period has traditionally been defined against
phenomena such as the middlebrow, lowbrow, genre fiction and nonfiction writing. In what
sense can these forms be included in a less hierarchical, vertically expanded understanding
of modernism?
Participants:
Convenors
Prof. Yuri Cowan, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
(confirmed)
Dr. Leo Mellor, University of Cambridge (confirmed)
Prof. Dr. Monika Pietrzak-Franger, University of Vienna (confirmed)
Contact:
ingo.berensmeyer@anglistik.uni-muenchen.de
3. Literary Practices and Sustainability in Higher Education
Convenor:
Monika Class, University of Mainz
This roundtable builds on theories and practices in the fields of English studies, medical humanities, and narrative medicine, in creative writing, and in the environmental humanities in order to ascertain the uses of literature with regard to sustainability in higher education. We invite a broad definition of sustainability for this panel that includes interpersonal connections and teaching styles, literary and critical materials used in and outside the English-studies seminar room, and longitudinal approaches to development and growth. We explore concepts such as ambiguity tolerance, close reading, close listening, writing prompts, ecological literacy, the relationship between ecology and aesthetics, and the relationship between cultural and natural ecosystems. How might David Orr’s notion of ‘people who live well in their places’ relate to literary practice as well as the purpose and focus of literary studies? How can literary practice translate to complex situations outside the classroom, for example to make health care more sustainable for humans (e.g. patients, health-care professionals), for animals and their carers, and for the environment? How can it challenge dominant models of growth or standardization and encourage new connections or creative re-purposing of existing models?
Participants:
Monika Class (Mainz)
Barbara Barrow (Pittsburgh)
Will May (Southampton)
Anita Wohlmann (University of Southern Denmark)
Kaisa Kortekallio (Helsinki)
Andrew Blades (Bristol University)
4. New Approaches to the Study of Scottish Historical Correspondence
Convenors:
Marina Dossena (Bergamo)
Christine Elsweiler (Munich)
Participants (in alphabetical order):
Marina Dossena, Bergamo, marina.dossena@unibg.it
Christine Elsweiler, Munich, Christine.Elsweiler@anglistik.uni-muenchen.de
Moragh S. Gordon, Leiden, ms.gordon@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Kirsten J. Lawson, Edinburgh and Bergamo, kirstenjane.lawson@guest.unibg.it
Sarah van Eyndhoven, Edinburgh, S.J.M.Van-Eyndhoven@sms.ed.ac.uk
This panel aims to discuss new tools in the study of correspondence as a valuable source of
data in historical sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and dialectology. The choice of Scottish
material depends on the fact that it is especially interesting for the analyses it can enable in
a cross-varietal perspective, not only in relation to diachronic and diastratic changes, but
also in relation to diatopic ones. After an overview of the most recent projects launched in
this domain, attention will be paid to what methodological approaches seem most suitable
for a range of research questions and what digital tools are available or in preparation.
5. Interpreting Online Headlines [FURTHER UPDATE!]
Convenors:
Alexey Tymbay, Ph.D. (Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic)
Anita Naciscione (Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga, Latvia)
Elīna Veinberga (Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga, Latvia)
Further participant:
Antonella Luporini, PhD (University of Bologna, Italy)
The discussion group hypothesizes that current news consumption may pose a serious difficulty for EFL students. Headlines can seriously distort the content of the original text and, unless clarified, form false implications about news events. The round table explores general manipulative strategies employed by news reporters, such as false generalizations, logical fallacies, and selective citation with special attention paid to the use of metaphors and metonymy, which may pose a special difficulty for the learners of English. The empirical material reveals that metaphor, as a powerful persuasive technique, is applicable in different types of media discourse. Realizing metaphors’ significance is vital to teaching many language skills, namely perception, comprehension, and interpreting of the text. Metonymy is another manipulative means which is used to evoke emotional and/or dramatic associations. It is typically based on the associations of contiguity operating within one conceptual domain of experience. A number of headlines reveal the cases of metonymy, and by analysing them with students of English it is suggested to build up their stylistic awareness. This way the discussion will cover the whole trajectory of online news stories starting from attracting attention headlines (clickbait), finishing with the skills that EFL students have to acquire to understand the news content.
Contact: alexey.tymbay@tul.cz