Trauma and Nightmare - International Interdisciplinary Conference on March 20-21, 2025 in Gdańsk, Poland

Conference online

 

CALL FOR PAPERS:

“Trauma” and “nightmare” have become the most popular metaphors of evil in our times. The old philosophical discussion about “the nature (or mystery) of Evil” has been replaced by modern (and postmodern) studies on trauma. Nightmare is a more and more frequent phenomenon, and it is being studied by dream and sleep researchers. However, nightmare means not only bad dream – today this term describes also a variety of unpleasant experiences, memories, emotions, so it deserves special attention as an important factor which characterizes human condition.

  Keeping this in mind, during our conference we would like to ask how the discourse on trauma and nightmare helps us to understand our contemporary world. In order to answer this general question, we will have to concentrate on many particular issues. Thus, we are interested in all aspects of traumatic experiences, in their individual and collective dimensions, in the past and in the present-day world. We would like to describe the phenomena of nightmare and trauma in their multifarious manifestations: psychological, social, historical, cultural, philosophical, religious, economic, political, and many others. We also want to devote considerable attention to how these phenomena appear in artistic practices: literature, film, theatre or visual arts.

That is why we invite researchers representing various academic disciplines: anthropology, history, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, politics, philosophy, economics, law, memory studies, consciousness studies, dream studies, sleep studies, literary studies, theatre studies, film studies, migration studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, medical sciences, cognitive sciences, and urban studies, to name w few.

  Different forms of presentations are encouraged, including case studies, theoretical inqueries, problem-oriented arguments or comparative analyses.

  We will be happy to hear from both experienced scholars and young academics at the start of their careers, as well as doctoral and graduate students. We also invite all persons interested in participating in the conference as listeners, without giving a presentation.

  Our repertoire of suggested topics includes but is not restricted to:

I. Individual experiences

Trauma and childhood memories

Trauma and child abuse

Trauma and women abuse

Trauma and domestic violence

Trauma and old age

Trauma and love

Trauma and death

Trauma and mourning

Trauma and crime

Trauma and neurosis

Trauma and psychosis

Secondary traumatization

Life after trauma

Trauma and psychotherapy

Help for traumatized people

II. Collective experiences

Trauma and war

Trauma and genocide

Trauma and terrorism

Trauma and natural disasters

Trauma and post-memory

Traumatized nations

Traumatized minorities

Traumatized generations

Traumatized social classes

Trauma of victims

Trauma of witnesses

Trauma of bystanders

Trauma of perpetrators

Trauma and oblivion

Trauma and forgiveness

III. Dream experiences:

Nightmare after trauma

Nightmare and post-traumatic stress disorder

Nightmare and life cycle

Nightmare and physical illness

Nightmare and suicide

Nightmare and threat simulation theory

Nightmare and dream recall

Therapy of nightmares

Nightmare and lucid dreaming

Nightmare and paranormal dream experiences

IV. Philosophical questions

Nightmare and trauma as Evil

Nightmare and trauma as metaphors

Nightmare in everyday life

Life as a nightmare

 Nightmare and beauty

Attractiveness of nightmare and trauma

Attractiveness of trauma studies

V. Representation of trauma and nightmare

Bearing witness of trauma

Testimonies and memories

Trauma and narrative

Trauma and fiction

Nightmare and horror

Trauma in literature

Trauma in film

Trauma in theatre

Trauma in visual arts

Traumatized authors

Traumatized readers/spectators

Writing as a traumatic experience

Writing as recovery from trauma

Trauma and creativeness

VI. Institutionalization

Trauma and law

Trauma and politics

 Trauma and religion

Trauma and medical treatment

Trauma and management

Trauma and punishment systems

Trauma and army

Trauma and school

Trauma and memory places

Trauma and museums

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Please submit abstracts (no longer than 300 words) of your proposed 20-minute presentations, together with a short biographical note, by 28 February 2025 to: [email protected] or by REGISTRATION FORM

Notification of acceptance will be sent by 3 March 2025.

The conference language is English.

Note:

As our online conference will be international, we will consider the different time zones of our Participants.

The conference will be held virtually via Zoom. Different forms of presentations (also posters) are available