Call for Papers and Abstract Submission
Rivers, Mountains, Sky and Sea: The Materiality of Spirit and Place
Sixteenth Annual Sophia Centre Conference
Faculty of Humanities and the Performing Arts
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Lampeter 7-8 July 2018
Conference Theme
In Dust of Snow American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) wrote of his uplifted spirit in an unexpected encounter with landscape and animal:
"The way a crow,
Shook down on me,
The dust of snow.
From a hemlock tree,
Has given my heart,
A change of mood,
And saved some part,
Of a day I had rued".
As Frost demonstrates, certain experiences produce a direct phenomenological sense of connection with other-than-human entities (Abrams 2010). These potent encounters may elicit significant feelings of reverence and awe, and in so doing elucidate the inherent entangled relationships between flesh and place. This is what Lévy-Bruhl (1975) described as participationplace, what Heidegger called 'being in the world' (1971) and what Ingold terms 'dwelling with' the landscape (2000).
This academic conference attends to the intersections and relationships between land, sea, sky and bodies with a view to exploring historical or contemporary expressions of participation or becoming-with place. It adopts water, mountains, and sky as a framework, and, chiming with the broad scope of research achieved by the Sophia Centre.
We invite interdisciplinary proposals that recognise these kinds of vital entanglements of people and places, land, water, sky, stars and sea. Papers can address the ways in which landscapes, skyscapes or seascapes and the spirit of place have influenced, inspired and expressed the human spirit, on how objects and entities (including aspects of the environment shape people's lives, and the connections and relationships between people and the world, land, sea, stars and sky.
Topics can be drawn from a variety of academic perspectives, including anthropology, astronomy, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and literature.
All proposals should refer to theory in the understanding of place and space.
The deadline for abstract submission is 15th February 2018. Speakers will be notified by 1st March.
The conference will be live-streamed and the recording available to subscribers for a month. By submitting an abstract you agree to these terms.
The Conference Committee
Abstract Submission Form
Please use the form below to submit your abstract.
The deadline for abstract submission is 15th February 2018. Speakers will be notified by 1st March.
The conference will be live-streamed and the recording available to subscribers for a month.
Submitting abstracts is now closed.
