Activities
Making - or Not Making - Sense of Dreams
Workshop at the ICLA Congress in Tbilisi (Georgia), July 24-29, 2022
Call for Papers
Organisers: Prof. Dr Bernard Dieterle (Université de Haute-Alsace); bernard.dieterle@uha.fr;
Prof. em. Dr Manfred Engel (Saarland University); manfred.engel@mx.uni-saarland.de;
Laura Vordermayer, Junior Researcher (Saarland University); laura.vordermayer@uni-saarland.de
Dreams frighten and attract us because of their »otherness«, their manifold deviations from the world we know when being awake. One of the most consistently used techniques of coming to terms with this otherness has been the attempt to »make sense« of dreams, to consider and portray them as messages – sent, for instance, by supernatural forces or by the »unconscious« – which can and have to be deciphered. On the other hand (and much more rarely), dreams have been considered as a welcome source of ambiguity and non-sense, a source of entertainment, or as a key instrument to shatter or at least expand the limitations of a world view which is based on convention, reason, and the exclusion of the uncanny. The workshop will analyze aspects of this dialectic in theoretical writings on the dream, in factual dream reports and in fictional representations of the dream in literature and all other media. We would be especially interested in proposals which show (1) how the »otherness« of the dream is celebrated and enjoyed, e.g. in genres and styles like the fantastic, nonsense, horror, surrealism, etc., and/or (2) how the dream is domesticated into a rebus, an allegory, a riddle which can and has to be solved. Papers (20 minutes) should focus on a close reading of two or three examples by different authors, ideally (but not necessarily) from different periods and/or different cultures; accepted languages are English and French. Virtual participation is not possible; participants will have to travel to Tbilisi. Proceedings will be published in our series »Cultural Dream Studies«).
Proposals (no more than 300 words; add 3 to 5 keywords and specify our workshop; language: English or French) have to be submitted via the congress site starting September 25; definitive deadline: November 15. You can additionally mail them to the organisers but uploading is obligatory. Membership of the ICLA is a requirement to pre-sent at the Congress. You can become a member via your national organisation or directly via the ICLA (10 € per annum; https://www.ailc-icla.org/membership-information/). Congress fee will be 120 € (early bird registration). You will be informed of the acceptance of your proposal in early December. In case of any questions do not hesitate to contact the organisers.