Conference “Logos and Pathos: Humanitarian Reflection in Conditions of War” (Minsk, 28-29.10.2017)

International Association for the Humanities
European Humanities University (Vilnius)
Flying University (Minsk)
Centre for Interdisciplinary Humanities Research (Minsk)
Political Sphere Institute (Minsk-Vilnius)
announce a call for applications for the international academic conference
Logos and Pathos: Humanitarian Reflection in Conditions of War
Minsk, 28-29 October 2017
The “undeclared war” in Ukraine, which has unfolded both in the real and virtual (media) dimensions, has led to an extraordinary escalation of the rhetoric of war throughout the East European region.

In the assessment and analysis of what is happening, a symptomatic tendency has emerged: everywhere (not only in the speeches of politicians and public figures, but also in publications by humanities scholars) the primary question increasingly becomes the discussion of various scenarios of a new possible war and/or occupation.

Public thought seems to move in a circle: from real war to imaginary war and back again, producing in this militaristic “race” not only the necessary (quasi-)rational justifications, but also the corresponding affects in the spirit of a “la guerre comme a la guerre”.

In this context, an intellectual perspective of a different kind inevitably becomes less visible and, at the same time, increasingly needed: a perspective capable of unfolding beyond the indicated cycle of war rhetoric and of questioning war as the idée fixe of our time.

It is assumed that the humanities possess significant methodological resources and analytical experience for the realization of the task outlined above.

In this regard, the proposed conference is aimed at creating a platform (forum) for a humanitarian reflection on the current socio-political situation in the region and at strengthening the social significance (resonance) of humanitarian reflection under the conditions of our wartime.

One of the most acute questions facing humanitarian thought today is its own pathos, which testifies to affective linkages with the reality of war and thereby to the impossibility of “indifferent” thinking.

In this respect, the aim of the conference is to clarify the emotional dispositions of intellectual work capable of making its way beyond the frameworks/logic of ideological confrontation and forming an effective alternative to propaganda.

The conference plans to discuss the following issues:
– humanitarian research in a situation of “anthropological shock”;
– journalism under conditions of hybrid/information war;
– discourses of war and the conditions of their production and reproduction;
– the anti-propaganda potential of the humanities;
– cultural/artistic practices as a deconstruction of war;
– intergenerational fractures of the post-Soviet wartime;
– cross-cultural communication as a resource for political renewal in East European countries;
– political emotions;
– the construction of enemy images and hate rhetoric in the media and social media.

Applications for participation in the conference may be of two types:
(1) an application to present a paper,
(2) an application to organize a discussion.

An application must include the following information:
first name / surname, academic degree, institutional affiliation (if any), IAH membership (if applicable), e-mail addresses, the title and abstract of the paper (300-400 words) or the title and description of the discussion (200-300 words).

When applying to organize a discussion, the relevant information for at least 3 participants (including the applicant) must be provided.

To apply, please complete the electronic form via the links: Paper (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7KI4Mm0Zkrc7xO8dznsDVznF2vGVGIhN-tr0DAEiQZEi0RA/viewform) (paper) / Discussion (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFTi71lveWyASVot6HSya4LVYgA_aSlxKlEQfi5Qzw64rV_g/viewform) (discussion).

Applications are accepted until 10 August 2017.

Applicants will be informed of the selection results no later than 1 September 2017.

The working languages of the conference are Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian.

The organizers will provide accommodation for out-of-town participants whose presentations are included in the conference programme.

Conference organizing committee:
Tatsiana Vadalazhskaya (Minsk), Georgii Kasianov (Kyiv), Aleksandr Mikhailovsky (Moscow), Andrei Kazakevich (Minsk), Tatsiana Chulitskaya (Vilnius/Minsk), Tatsiana Shchyttsova (Vilnius/Minsk).

For additional information, please contact [email protected]