11th International Biennial Graduate Student Conference
Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, Canada
October 20th – 21st, 2025
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Silence of Forgetting: Absence, Void, and Memory in Literature and Culture Conference
Remembering is an act that invites us to understand the present through the past,“a social and cultural process in which memory and forgetting, as opposing yet complementary practices, constitute the two operations that continually renew it,” as suggested by Pilar Riaño Alcalá (2003:30). Understanding how the sociocultural process of narrating memory from art and literature especially in diverse cultural contexts where forgetting, silence, and pain are predominant elements offers us an opportunity for dialogue, reflection and critique.
It is within this framework that the 11th edition of the Biennial International Graduate Student Conference of the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) invites interdisciplinary reflection on how silence and forgetting affect the memories that shape culture, art, and especially literature while critically engaging with topics such as
- Indigenous perspectives on memory-making: culture and resilience in literature and art through the eyes of indigenous communities
- Memory in art: the role of art in the construction of collective memories
- The absence of the other: representing marginalized voices through silence
- Oral traditions: the recovery of collective memory and oral cultural heritage
- Memory and longing: nostalgia, melancholy, remembrance, and loss in the reconstruction of memory
- Archives, film, and memory: visual culture as a means of sealing or reclaiming the past (Azoulay 2019: 235)
- Temporality and forgetting: analyzing the fragmentation of self and literary memory over time
- The unspoken/the non-narratable: disorientation and silences in literature and art
Terms of participation for postgraduate students
We invite all participants to apply by submitting a 250-word abstract along with 4-6 key terms explored in the proposal. Along with this, students will be prompted to submit the title of the presentation, the author’s name, and a short 150 word bio. Please fill out the information in the corresponding spaces of this form: forms.gle/1Mqvbc9kbhLee2Kc8
- CFP closes: July 20, 2025
- Conference dates: October 20 – 21, 2025
- Format: In-person is encouraged but we will also accommodate for online
- Location: Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, University of British Columbia (UBC)), Vancouver, Canada
- Languages: proposals are accepted in English, French and, Spanish
- Presentation length: 15-20 minutes
Interdisciplinary Call
We welcome proposals from various fields within Literature, Art and the Social Sciences that contribute to the critical reflection on the proposed theme. We especially invite graduate students whose research interests intersects with one or more of the following areas:
- Literature
- Art
- History
- Philosophy
We encourage all proposals that foster critical reflection and analysis of memory in the construction of our cultural and social present!
Works Cited
Azoulay, Arielle Aïsha. 2019. Potential History. Unlearning Imperialism. London: Verso Books.
Alcalá, P. R., Lacy, S., & Hernández, O. C. A. 2003. Arte, memoria y violencia: reflexiones sobre la ciudad. Corporacion Región.
More info: fhis.gradconference@gmail.com