Call for papers for the international research conference "Culture Crossroads XI"
The Latvian Academy of Culture is an accredited arts university, providing Bachelor, Master and Doctoral level study programmes. Research at the Latvian Academy of Culture is organised by its structural unit – the Research Centre. Its objective is to promote the development of the humanities and social sciences and to study internationally topical and nationally significant issues in the field of culture and arts. In accordance with this mission, the Research Centre organises annual international research conference Culture Crossroads.
November 1 – 4, 2017, the XI International Research Conference Culture Crossroadswill take place in Riga, Latvia. On Friday, November 3 and on Saturday, November 4 working language of the conference will be English.
On Friday, November 3, Professor Simon J. Bronner from USA, distinguished author of many books and articles on folklore, will present opening speech Managing Tradition: Framing, and Festing Culture, Locality, and Nationhood in the Twenty-First Century. After that, papers will be presented in parallel sessions covering broad range of topics related to the fields of culture and the arts.
On Saturday, November 4, an international symposium will gather researchers and artists who will explore stereotypes, social phobias and prejudices both in a form of traditional conference papers and artistic interventions.
Researchers are invited to submit papers related to the fields of culture and the arts to be presented in seven thematic sessions on November 3, 2017:
- Folklore Studies, Ethnology, Archaeology, and Cultural Anthropology;
- Sociology of Culture, Cultural Policy, Culture Communication in the Media;
- Cultural Management and Creative Industries;
- Performing Arts;
- Intercultural Communication and Significance of Language in Culture;
- Transdisciplinary Studies of Arts
- Literature and Translation.
The number of thematic sessions as well as their contents may vary according to the themes and summaries of the submitted conference papers.
Presentation timing is 20 minutes (questions included). Working language is English. Participation is free of charge.
In order to apply for participation at the Culture Crossroads XI conference, please send in the completed application form to the e-mail zpc@lka.edu.lv before October 2, 2017. We kindly ask you to attach your photo for the reasons of providing publicity for the conference.
Summaries of the conference papers will be published in the collection of abstracts. After the conference, authors are invited to submit articles to international peer-reviewed journal Culture Crossroads (indexed in EBSCO and ULRICH’S databases, http://www.culturecrossroads.lv).
Suggested, yet not imposed topics:
Folklore Studies, Ethnology, Archaeology, and Cultural Anthropology
Main theme of the section: Tradition and identity nowadays; new approaches in the field of their research.
We invite participants to share their research findings about sustainability of a tradition and its effect upon identity nowadays. We propose to discuss about symbolic expressions of locality/nationality, while communicating cultural heritage in various artistic, festive and everyday life contexts. We inspire to share reflections about the change of research focus and about aspects of methodological and technological variety, which can be traced in the processes communicating data collection and processing as well as research results in such 21st century disciplines as folklore studies, ethnology, archaeology and cultural anthropology.
Sociology of Culture, Cultural Policy, Culture Communication in the Media
Main theme of the section: Transformations of culture and the arts in the global environment; opportunities for development of interdisciplinary events in the fields of culture and the arts; manifestations of popular culture supply of a high artistic quality; development and diversity of research approaches in culture and the arts; cultural policies based on research and evidence; the representation of cultural and artistic life in the media.
The place of culture and the art in society, politics, and the media has always been a complicated, ambiguous, and ambivalent one. We encourage scholars from different fields (such as Cultural Studies, Sociology, Political Science, Law, Communication Studies) to share their research results on: cultural and artistic processes in society, and their specificity in different communities and social groups; the echo of cultural and artistic events in the media; distribution of the cultural funding; availability of culture and satisfaction of the audience with the existing cultural supply; reflection on the issues related to the field of culture in politics; and other themes.
Cultural Management and Creative Industries
Main theme of the section: The role and specificity of cultural management; cultural organisations’ activities; development trends in creative industries and in creative entrepreneurship.
We encourage theoreticians and practitioners of cultural management to share their research insights on such issues as: the specificity of cultural management, organisational leadership, human resource management, strategic management, communication management, financial management, marketing and audience diversification and involvement, the role of technology, the cultural events issues, and sustainability.
Representatives of cultural organisations as well as researchers are invited to take part in this thematic sections’ discussions on creative entrepreneurship and its forms of support, on creative industries’ start-ups, on the newest trends in fundraising, on business models, on challenges in export of creative industries’ products, on topical problems related to the development of creative cities, creative quarters, and creative places, and on the role of creativity in economics.
Performing arts
Main theme of the section: Relations between the performing arts work and its creator on the one hand, and ideology, power, on the other hand; freedom of artist and restriction on liberty on the stage and outside the scene.
We invite critics and artists to reflect on what is permitted or forbidden in contemporary practice or in history of performing arts. We encourage speakers assessing the boarders of artistic freedom both in historic developments and today, visible and invisible presence of censorship and self-censorship in developments of performing arts. What are relations of theatre and power in historical or contemporary contexts? How economic, ideological or organisational preconditions influence artistic liberty? What is potential and significance of art criticism in Latvia and internationally?
Intercultural Communication and Significance of Language in Culture
Main theme of the section: Intercultural communication in education, culture, diplomacy, creative industries, culture of language and language culture.
We encourage researchers and practitioners to share research results on different aspects of intercultural communication, on solutions and their applicability in successful cooperation. We also invite researchers who focus on interdisciplinary studies of a language and its ties to culture or interaction with it. In addition, other topics related to intercultural communication are welcomed.
Transdisciplinary Studies of Arts
Main theme of the section: Graffiti – challenge for artists, society, and conservators.
Graffiti is a set of unlimited ideas, materials, and forms of expression – an integral part of the urban environment. For thousands of years, mural paintings and inscriptions have been made as an interpretation of a social and political situation. How does society perceive graffiti nowadays? Is it viewed as a social art form that is topical in various periods of time – or on the contrary – is out of the art spectrum, having a simple function of communication? And how is the legality of graffiti viewed? These questions invite to raise discussion on art boundaries and to understand possibilities and ethics for preserving graffiti.
Researchers and practitioners are invited to evaluate the social aspects of graffiti, with emphasis on the artist's motivation, the explanation of urban communication, as well as the significance of graffiti's content and its visual form. Likewise, contributors are urged to discuss the link between graffiti and law and the challenges concerning its preservation and conservation ethics.
Literature and Translation
Main theme of the section: Perception of a literary work; problems of translation and interpretation; tradition of interpretation and its transformations; employment of literary text in culture and contemporary environment.
We encourage viewing literary works and processes from different periods, to find new approaches towards their evaluation and their contextual comparison with other forms of art, perception of literary works and transformations of interpretations in different cultures and periods, or employment of literary texts in other art works, ritual praxis and everyday life. We encourage viewing the interaction between the Latvian and the foreign literature and their coexistence in translation, to evaluate and to analyse the quality and its role in the local and global cultural context.
For more information, please contact:
Aija Lūse,
Coordinator of the “Culture Crossroads X” conference
Latvian Academy of Culture
E-mails:
zpc@lka.edu.lv
Phone numbers:
(+371) 67114807
(+371) 29107218