RaAM15: 15th Researching and Applying Metaphor Conference University of Bialystok Białystok, Poland, September 21-24, 2022

15th Researching and Applying Metaphor Conference: The Social Impact of Metaphor

21-24 September, 2022 // University of Bialystok, Poland

RaAM is an open community of researchers of metaphor, metonymy, and other forms of figurative expression. The association is interdisciplinary, welcomes a broad range of research methods, and focuses on application to real-world contexts. RaAM conferences are therefore mainly concerned with the application of research to metaphor and other forms of figurative language use to real world issues.

We are pleased to announce that the 15th Researching and Applying Metaphor Conference (RaAM15) will be hosted by the University of Bialystok (Poland). It is scheduled to take place 21-24 September 2022 in a hybrid form. The online part is going to be hosted via a videoconferencing platform, and the in-person event is going to be located at the Faculty of Education of the University of Bialystok. The Local Organizing Committee closely monitors the COVID-19 pandemic and will make changes to the program accordingly.

The Social Impact of Metaphor

People affect each other in many different ways. As social animals, we are drawn by the attractiveness of others and aroused by their mere presence, stimulated by their activity and embarrassed by their attention. We are influenced by the actions of others, entertained by their performances, and sometimes persuaded by their arguments. We are inhibited by the surveillance of others and made less guilty by their complicity. We are threatened by the power of others and angered by their attack. Fortunately, we are also comforted by the support of others and sustained by their love. By social impact, I mean any of the great variety of changes in physiological states and subjective feelings, motives and emotions, cognitions and beliefs, values and behavior, that occur in an individual, human or animal, as a result of the real, implied, or imagined presence or actions of other individuals. (Latané, 1981:343)

Metaphor scholarship, conscious of the power yielded by figurative language, has great potential to raise the same awareness among other language users. With this theme we hope to advance the discussion about the implications of metaphor studies and their implementation in real world from the perspective of pressing social changes.

We welcome papers that address all aspects of metaphor (and related) research from any perspective, including but not restricted to the following:

• metaphor as an influence on and reflection of today’s society; metaphor and social change
• metaphor in cross-cultural contexts, e.g., translation studies, metaphor variation;
• metaphor in politics, e.g., environmental changes, COVID-19 pandemic
• metaphor in education, e.g., language acquisition;
• metaphor in discourse, e.g., medical, legal, media (online/traditional).

Latané, B. (1981). The Psychology of Social Impact. American Psychologist, 36(4), 343–356

Submission Guidelines

Please note that while you do not have to be a RaAM member when submitting an abstract, it is necessary to become one to present at the conference. If you are not a member yet, go to RaAM website to learn how you can become one.

Abstracts for oral presentations, theme sessions, ‘work in progress’ talks, and poster presentations should be no longer than 400 words (excluding references) and should include:

• a title.
• clearly articulated research question(s) and its/their relevance to the conference theme.
• the most essential details about research approach, data, and methods.
• if possible, (preliminary) results and their interpretation.

You may apply for one of the following:

• paper presentations (single or multiple authors): 20-minute talk + 5-minute Q&A.
• theme sessions: 90/180-minute theme-based panels. Proposals should include the title, explanation of the session(s) and 3 or more abstracts (of 300-400 words each; outlining each part of the session). After the theme session proposal is accepted, individual authors should submit their abstracts via EasyChair for double-blind peer review.
• Poster presentation (single or multiple authors): 2-minute presentation. Please note that instructions will be sent upon acceptance.
• Lightning round/work in progress: 3-minute presentation. Instructions will be sent upon acceptance.

Please note that through EasyChair you can only submit abstracts for talks and poster presentations. For theme sessions and work in progress abstracts, please send them to raam15[at]uwb.edu.pl first.

All submissions are anonymously reviewed by the Program Committee. Please ensure that your abstract does not contain any elements that might identify you (both in the text and in the file properties).

• Theme session proposals: 31 January 2022 -- Submission notification: mid-February 2022 (if your proposal is accepted, please remember to submit your abstracts individually through EasyChair!)
• Pre-conference workshop proposals: 31 January 2022 -- Submission notification: mid-February 2022
• Abstract submission until: 15 March 2022 -- Submission notification: early May 2022

Plenary Speakers

• Prof. Kathleen Ahrens The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong)
• Prof. Christian Burgers Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam / University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) 
• Prof. Veronika Koller Lancaster University (the United Kingdom) 
• Prof. Susan Lee Nacey  Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway)

Local Organizing Committee

Center for Linguistic Studies, Faculty of Philology at the University of Bialystok (Poland)

• Justyna Wawrzyniuk (chair)
• Daniel Karczewski
• Agata Rozumko
• Paweł Dziedziul
• Marcin Trojszczak

Contact

For more information, visit the conference website. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can always contact us at raam15@uwb.edu.pl