COMELA 2020: Conference on Mediterranean and European Linguistic Anthropology 2020 American University in Greece Athens, Greece, September 2-5, 2020 |
Conference website | https://comela2020.acg.edu |
Poster | download |
Submission deadline | April 1, 2020 |
Theme
Bounded Languages … Unbounded / Περιορισμένες γλώσσες, Απεριόριστες
Politics of identity are central to language change. Here, linguistic boundaries rise and fall, motivating the ephemeral characteristics of language communities. The Mediterranean and European regions are replete with histories, with power struggles, uniquely demarcating nation, ethnicity, and community. For this, cultural and political identities, language ideologies, as well as the languages themselves, have sought boundedness, dynamics of which have indeed sought change over eons, through demographic movements, through geopolitics, through technological innovation. In a current era of technological advancement, transnational fluidity, intellectual power, capitalism, and new sexualities, then, we question, once again, the boundedness of language and identity, and ways in which to unbound languages and ideologies. More than before, we now increasingly pursue anthropological toil, so to innovate ways to locate these ideologies and their fluid boundaries, actively. We now need to increasingly unbind these languages, and their ideologies, so to arrive at progressive realizations, and to rectify, or at least see and move past, the segregations of old.
The COMELA 2020 theme, “Bounded languages… Unbounded”, encapsulates the ongoing struggle throughout Mediterranean and European regions. As the continuous tension between demarcation, and the concurrent legitimization, of languages, language ideologies, and language identities, enters an era where new modes of interactivity require language communities to take on roles super-ordinate to the past, flexible citizenship now operates within, and not only across, language communities, to unbind languages, and to create new boundaries, unlike those ever seen throughout history.
The COMELA 2020 invites work which addresses the shifting boundedness of Language Communities of the Mediterranean and Europe. Papers and posters should acknowledge and describe processes of language shape, change, and ideology, pertinent to social, cultural, political histories, and futures of Mediterranean and European regions, and by those working in Mediterranean and European regions.
Official Partners
- Taylor and Francis Global Publishers
- SOAS, University of London
Keynote speakers
Jan Blommaert (Tilburg University, The Netherlands)
- Jan Blommaert is Professor of Language, Culture and Globalization, and Director of the Babylon Center at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He is of the world’s most prominent Sociolinguists and Linguistic Anthropologists, and has contributed substantially to sociolinguistic globalization theory, focusing on historical as well as contemporary patterns of language and literacy, and on lasting and new forms of inequality emerging from globalization processes.
Alexandra Georgakopoulou (King’s College London, England)
- Alexandra Georgakopoulou is a narrative and discourse analyst with a longstanding interest in how people present themselves and relate to others in significant socialization contexts (family, friendship groups, school, leisure sites, social media platforms). Drawing on sociocultural linguistic and interactional perspectives, she has researched the role of everyday life stories (both face-to-face and on new/social media) in the (re)formation of social relations. She has specifically researched, with ethnographic methods, female adolescent peer-groups, in Greece and in London.
Dimitris Dalakoglou (Vrije University, The Netherlands)
- Dimitris Dalakoglou is Professor at Vrije University Amsterdam, where he holds the Chair of Social Anthropology. Since 2004 he is developing an anthropology of material infrastructures which most recently culminated to his current project infra-demos that studies democracy and infrastructures in Greece. He is director of the Lab on Mobility, Infrastructures, Sustainability and Commons (MISC Lab).
Conditions for submitting
- A participant may be first author/presenter in a maximum of two presentations, be it individual papers, posters, or papers within colloquia.
- In addition, a participant may act as chair, discussant, or co-author in one further presentation.
- Alternatively, participants may act as first author/presenter in one presentation, and chair, discussant, or co-author in a maximum of two other presentations.
- All proposals must present or interpret original work otherwise yet unavailable.
- The language of the COMELA is English. However, abstracts may be submitted in any language, but together with an English translation.
- Presenters can present in any language, but must prepare an English translation for the presentation.
- The COMELA Committee will assign all relevant schedules to accepted individuals and groups.
- Presenters must register and pay prior to April 25, 2020, to confirm their place at the COMELA 2020, and hence for their presentations to be confirmed in the program.
- Presenters are required to organize their own travel and accommodation arrangements. The COMELA Organizers have secured accommodation at various locations around the city (see link for accommodation), details of which will be available for booking when registering for the COMELA.
Presentations
Colloquia
- 1.5 hours with 3-5 contributors
- Colloquia provide an opportunity for several presenters within the boundaries of a theme or topic to present together in a supportive environment. Colloquium organizers can tailor time lengths to each presentation, but must allow time to include opening and closing remarks, presentations, and audience interaction.
- The colloquium chair is responsible for organizing the group and for submitting the colloquium in the Call for Papers platform on behalf of all contributors.
- All colloquium submissions must be uploaded to the submission site using the Colloquium Submission Form Template provided.
- Panel organizers here will be responsible for panel chairs. Time keepers will be provided by the COMELA 2020, if needed.
General and non-colloquia session papers
- Paper presentations will be allocated 25 minutes (+ 5 minutes for questions).
- Time keepers will be provided by the COMELA 2020 if needed.
Posters
- Posters will be displayed at designated times throughout the COMELA 2020.
- Posters are for one-on-one discussion of a symposium-related theme or topic.
- A block of time will be allocated for presenters to discuss their posters.
- Posters will be displayed in the designated areas (main halls).
- Presenters will be assigned a space to display their poster(s).
- Posters should be A0: 841 x 1189 mm width x height (landscape or portrait).
- A guiding but not necessary template for the poster can be found at the link https://comela.me/poster-template/
- Submissions should contain a summary of key elements for the presentation.
- Posters can include relevant visuals or academically descriptive objects, where color is optimal.
- Posters must be clear, concise, and simple, with large fonts, with the title of the project, and author information (name and affiliation).
For submission / registration, please visit: https://comela2020.acg.edu
For all information, please contact:
Ms. Anastasia Tsantis
Communications Liaison, COMELA 2020
comela@acg.edu
Important dates
Second and Final Call for Abstracts
Opens: December 1, 2019
Closes: April 1, 2020
Notification of acceptance: No later than April 20, 2020
Registration
Early bird - October 30, 2019 - January 21, 2020
Normal bird - January 22, 2020 - April 25, 2020
Presenters will need to have registered for The COMELA by no later than April 25, 2020, midnight, to guarantee a place in the program. Registration will remain open after this date, but the conference organizers can not guarantee placement in the conference.
Late bird registration - April 26, 2020 - September 5, 2020
Conference dates
Day 1: Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Day 2: Thursday, September 3, 2020
Day 3: Friday, September 4, 2020
Day 4: Saturday, September 5, 2020 - Full day optional anthropological tour (separate cost)
Strands
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Committees
Scientific Committee
- Scientific Committee of over 130 academics globally prominent in Linguistic Anthropology and related fields
Organizing committee
- Chair
Professor Helena Maragou
Dean
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece
- Vice Chair
Professor Chryssa Zachou
Department of Sociology
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece
- Steering Committee
Professor Ilay Romain Ors
Department of Anthropology
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece
Professor Spyros Gangas
Department of Sociology
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece
Professor Marina Kolokonte
Department of Linguistics
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece
Professor Stergios Pardalis
Department of Anthropology
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The American College of Greece -
Communications
Ms. Anastasia Tsantis
Communications Liaison
comela2020@acg.edu -
Counsel and Head of Legal
Professor Colin Cavendish Jones
ccj@comela.me
Fees
CommitteeStudents/Affiliates:
Early Bird $170
Regular Bird $220
Late Bird/On-site $270
Others:
Early Bird $220
Regular Bird $270
Late Bird/On-site $320
Excursion: $110
The conference fee includes daily buffet lunch, morning and afternoon break refreshments, and one buffet dinner. The 5th September optional anthropological program is priced separately.
Publication
- All proceedings will be channeled through SCOPUS citation indexing. Here, papers submitted to the COMELA 2020 proceedings will be channeled for SCOPUS ranking and citation.
- All papers submitted to the COMELA 2020 will be considered for review for publication in tiered journals and monographs.
Venue
The conference will be held in American University of Greece, Gravias 6, Ag. Paraskevi 153 42, Greece.
Contact
The Call for Abstracts is now open, at the following link, with all information. https://comela2020.acg.edu
All questions about submissions should be emailed to comela@acg.edu (Ms. Anastasia Tsantis)