THE SUN AND HER PLANETS. AROUND GEORGE SAND’S RECEPTION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE International conference
George Sand is undoubtedly one of the most astonishing figures of 19th -century culture. Her cultural impact reaches far beyond the sometimes benevolent, sometimes unfavourable reception of her works: it is also felt through the development of cultural models that can be described as “sandism”, to use one of Honoré de Balzac’s terms, but giving it a broader meaning.
In Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, however, critics and historians have rarely addressed the question of a serious impact of George Sand on the literatures of these regions, nor have they bothered to list possible references to her works. This is surprising, given that she was an author whose work, as is well known, was explicitly present in different spheres of readership for a few decades at least, and it seems therefore impossible that she should have had no influence at all on the ideosphere, as well as on the aesthetic and cultural models of these places.
This conference intends to fill this gap, and in this sense, it is a first in Poland. It would like to pay tribute to George Sand in two ways: on the one hand, it aims to highlight her role as a producer of culture, and thus examine the phenomenon of “sandism” and its dissemination in Poland and in Central and Eastern Europe; on the other hand, it would like to examine as systematically as possible the way in which the works of the French writer have been received, read and understood in these regions. This approach is in keeping with the intense development of Sand reception studies in other countries. Particular emphasis will be put on ego-documents: Sand’s letters, autobiographical writings, diaries, and travel notes, as well as the (auto)biographies of people for whom she played the role of a reference, if not a true authority.
The three-day conference will devote one day to discussions on the following topics:
- “Sandism” as a biographical model in life and in the ego-documents of 19th -century Central and Eastern European women writers and social activists
- Sand’s travel writing, letters, diaries, calendars and Story of my Life (as perceived by Polish, Central and Eastern European society)
- Sand’s social, political and religious thought and its impact in Poland, Central and Eastern Europe
- Sand and the Polish issue
- “The Chopin affair” (in Polish culture) and its influence on the reception of Sand
A second day will focus on the following points:
- Sand’s aesthetic and the 19th -century Central and Eastern European novel (the role played by her “feminist” novels, by her novels about female artists, by her pastoral and socialist novels as a possible point of reference for other female writers and for Polish and Eastern European pastoral novels in general)
- Polish and Eastern European novels and Sand’s characters, plots and imagery
- The history of translations of Sand and sandology in Poland, Central and Eastern Europe.
The conference will be accompanied by events including a trip to the Chopin Museum, a Chopin concert, a guided walk tour through Chopin’s Warsaw, and a panel discussion with translators and publishers of Sand’s works.
The papers presented during the conference will be published in a post-conference volume or in selected scientific journals specializing in 19th -century studies and studies on the works and reception of George Sand.
Venue: Staszic Palace in Warsaw or/and online (depending on the pandemic situation)
Date: 20-22 October 2021
Organisers:
- Women’s Archive of the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences
- Committee on Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences
- Department of Comparative Studies, Institute of Polish Literature, University of Warsaw
- The Polish Woman: Foundation for the Renewal of Meanings
- Institute of the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Institute of French language and Literature, University of Bern (Switzerland) - Cultural and Tourist Association Women Writers Route
Language of the conference: English is preferred, but communications in French, Polish and Russian are also accepted.
Presentation time: 20 minutes
Abstract submission: By email to: archiwumkobiet@ibl.waw.pl, closing date: 25 July 2021, include “Sand” in the title. The submission (in doc or docx format) should include the name and surname of the participant, their university affiliation, title of the proposed paper, abstract (250 to 400 words). The title and abstract should be sent in the language that the participant intends to use during his presentation.
Conference fee: 80 EUR/ 360 PLN - affiliated academic staff 40 EUR/180 PLN - PhD students The fees should be paid after the submission is accepted.
Scientific Committee:
Regina Bochenek-Franczakowa, Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Katarzyna Czeczot, Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN), Warsaw
Corinne Fournier Kiss, University of Bern (Switzerland)
Emilia Kolinko, IBL PAN, Warsaw
Michał Kuziak, University of Warsaw
Katja Mihurko, University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia)
Katarzyna Nadana-Sokołowska, IBL PAN, Warsaw
Anna Nasiłowska, IBL PAN, Warsaw
Iwona Puchalska, Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Monika Rudaś-Grodzka, IBL PAN, Warsaw
Alicja Urbanik-Kopeć, IHN PAN, Warsaw
Danuta Zawadzka, University of Białystok
Organising Committee:
Katarzyna Nadana-Sokołowska
Monika Rudaś-Grodzka
Michał Kuziak
Corinne Fournier Kiss
Emilia Kolinko
Alicja Urbanik-Kopeć
Anna Pawlik
Information
See also
Druidka i święta? Joanna, wiejska bohaterka powieści George Sand / Seminarium w cyklu „Duchowość kobiet”
Zespół Archiwum Kobiet serdecznie zaprasza na kolejne otwarte seminarium w cyklu „Duchowość kobiet”.
Władysław Reymont through the prism of film adaptations (Andrzej Wajda and others) - A lecture and multimedia presentation by Prof. Tomasz Żukowski
On June 8, Prof. Tomasz Żukowski will examine Reymont’s texts and their adaptations in the context of the discussion about how national history relates to the history of social groups and the conflicts between them. The lecture is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences and is part of the Tadeusz Solowij Lectures of the Kosciuszko Foundation.
Allen Kuharski, Richard Lowe: The Digital Archiving of Performance Data: The Case of Witold Gombrowicz / Otwarte zebranie Centrum Humanistyki Cyfrowej IBL PAN
Poetyki nie(po)rozumienia. Kulturotwórczy potencjał zakłóceń w komunikacji artystycznej / Poetics of (Mis)understanding: Culture-Making Potential of Interference in Artistic Communication
W imieniu członków Pracowni Poetyki Historycznej Instytutu Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk oraz Zarządu Fundacji „Centrum Międzynarodowych Badań Polonistycznych” serdecznie zapraszamy na Międzynarodową Interdyscyplinarną Konferencję Poetyki nie(po)rozumienia. Kulturotwórczy potencjał zakłóceń w komunikacji artystycznej. Sesja odbędzie się w dniach 7-8 grudnia 2017 w Instytucie Badań Literackich w Warszawie (ul. Nowy Świat 72, Pałac Staszica).