Past events - conferences and symposia

A list of conferences and symposia hosted by the Department of European Languages and Cultures from over three years ago.

Dates: 20 September 2019

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

In brief: A one-day workshop organised by the Association of University Professors and Heads of French (AUPHF), co-sponsored by the Society for French Studies and the French Embassy. Focusing on changing mindsets and rethinking the value of languages in a time of crisis, the event brought together stakeholders from Universities, Schools and Cultural Institutes to celebrate and share positive examples of French and Francophone teaching of language and culture. The event culminated with a roundtable discussion on advocacy, lobbying and policy making.


Dates: 13 and 14 December 2018

Venues: 7 George Square, University of Edinburgh; L’Institut français d’Ecosse

Keynote speakers: Professor Nobuko Akiyama (Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo); Professor Nobuko Anan (Kansai University); Professor Fuhito Endo (Seikei University, Tokyo)

Organisers: Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce (University of Edinburgh); Dr Akihiko Shimizu (Cardiff University)

In brief: A two-day international conference in comparative literature on representations of the face in Japanese and Western European art, literature and theatre from the Early Modern period to the present. Comprising 13 papers over five sessions, and three keynote lectures, the event was supported by the DAIWA Foundation (UK), L'Institut Français Écosse and LLC.


Dates: 28 and 29 June 2018

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Organiser: Dr Séverine Genieys-Kirk

In brief: A two-day research meeting of the Dariah-EU Working Group on Women Writers in History. Bringing together an international group of 15 researchers, the event comprised panel sessions, a film screening, workshops and working group discussions.

Related research: Cultural Encounters/Dialogues; Learning to see the power of women


Date: 15 June 2018

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Organisers: Dr María Alonso Alonso, Dr Charlotte Bosseaux, Dr Véronique Desnain and Dr Fiona Mackintosh

In brief: A one-day symposium on the evolution of narrative techniques towards noir aesthetics in world literatures. Combining panel sessions involving nine selected researchers, and a facilitated conversation with author Christopher Brookmyre, the event looked at texts which favour the adoption of a new consciousness towards cultural politics, as they reinforce the connection between literature and public affairs.

Related research: Language and Violence


Date: 8 March 2018

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Organisers: Professor Rob Dunbar and Dr María Alonso Alonso

In brief: A one-day symposium bringing together established and early-career researchers working on issues related to Galician Studies. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, the panel sessions shed light on how Galician Studies engage with the most diverse avenues of research, with particular emphasis on new approaches within the Humanities.


Dates: 2 and 3 November 2017

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Keynote speakers: Professor Juliet Hooker; Professor Peter Wade

Organisers: Dr Julie Cupples and Dr Charlotte Gleghorn

In brief: A two-day gathering on Afrodescendant film and media from Latin America organised as part of the AHRC-funded International Network, ‘Afro-Latin (in)visibility and the UN Decade’. Comprising a keynote address, three panel sessions and a roundtable discussion, the event included the screening of a selection of films curated by the Network steering committee and the Africa in Motion film festival.


Events series: The World After Fukushima

Date: 15 September 2017

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh; Summerhall

Organiser: Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce

In brief: The third in a series of events on the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 and the future of nuclear energy. This international one-day conference, in English, focused on Post-Fukushima Art and Literature in Japan and the West. Comprising five panel sessions and a roundtable discussion, it culminated with a screening of 'The World after Fukushima' and a Q&A with its director Kenichi Watanabe and scriptwriter Michaël Ferrier. Generously supported by the Japan Foundation Endowment Committee.


Events series: The World After Fukushima

Date: 14 September 2017

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Organiser: Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce

In brief: The second in a series of events on the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 and the future of nuclear energy. This international one-day conference, in French, focused on the Tokyo-based writer Michaël Ferrier, author of the 2012 book 'Fukushima: Récit d'un désastre'. Generously supported by the Japan Foundation Endowment Committee, it comprised three panel sessions and a talk with Michaël Ferrier.


Dates: 11 and 12 May 2017

Venues: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh; Scottish Parliament; and Italian Cultural Institute

Format: Six panel sessions; exhibition; parliamentary debate; in-conversation event

Organisers: Cristina Savettieri and Federica Pedriali, with assistance from Eugenio Cannovale, Domenico Crea and Carolina Rossi

In brief: A two-day interdisciplinary conference exploring to what extent and how the First World War, its representations and contemporary memory can be considered as a laboratory for testing identities at large.

Generously funded by the European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions), the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Department of European Languages and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Edinburgh.

The event included an exhibition on WWI landscapes by masters students at Edinburgh College of Art, a parliamentary debate on Nationhood and Nationalism Today, and a public, in-conversation event with writer Paolo Rumiz.


Dates: 8 to 10 September 2016

Venue: Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities (Days 1 & 2); L’Institut français d’Ecosse (Day 3)

Organiser: Dr Séverine Genieys-Kirk

In brief: A three-day conference bringing together 35 international experts to explore the power of women in Europe and America from the Renaissance to the present in panel sessions, exhibitions, a documentary screening, public talks and discussions. The first in an ongoing series of ‘cultural encounters’ between past and present, the event unlocked disciplinary differences and opened a new field of cross-cultural and transmedial investigation between playwrights, artists, filmmakers and others.


Date: 3 to 5 December 2015

Venue: 50 George Square

Organisers: Creation of Reality Group, L'institut Français, School of Literature, Languages and Cultures

In brief: The first CRAG International Conference, organised by the Creation of Reality Group explored discourse analysis, environmental studies, cognitive sciences, history, education, anthropology, sociology, and more.


Date: 16 and 17 November 2012

Venues: Summerhall and 40 George Square

Organiser: The Swedish Institute and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh

In brief: In honour of the centenary of August Strindberg's death, Scandinavian Studies commemorated the playwright, author, and artist with a series of events held across a number of Scottish universities. These events culminated in performances of three Strindberg plays and extracts on 16 November by students from the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews. These were each followed by a chaired panel discussion. The following day, there was a day-long conference in 40 George Square which further addressed the reception of Strindberg’s drama in the Digital Age.


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