Call for papers - EPICS VI

[Pilar Garces]

Dear all, 
 
The research group “Intercultural Pragmatic Studies (English-Spanish): Pragmatic and Discourse Issues” is pleased to announce the upcoming Sixth International Symposium on Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics (EPICS VI, after the Spanish acronym for “Encuentros de Pragmática Intercultural, Cognitiva y Social”). EPICS VI will be held on 12-14 May 2014, at the University of Seville, Spain. 

After having addressed issues related to (im)politeness, intercultural pragmatics, interlanguage pragmatics and relevance theory in previous editions, the sixth EPICS Symposium turns its attention to conflict in language. Under the umbrella theme “Pragmatic Perspectives on Language Aggression and Conflict”, EPICS VI aims at providing a forum for practitioners of pragmatics and other related disciplines to present on their latest research, as well as to share experiences and suggest new avenues for research. EPICS VI also wishes to create awareness among graduate students of the growing interest in this area of linguistic expertise within the broad field of pragmatics. 

EPICS VI will also host the European launching of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict. Co-edited by Pilar Garcés Blitvich (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) and Maria Sifianou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), JLAC focuses on the study of aggression and conflict, as manifested in language, from different perspectives such as discursive, pragmatic, sociolinguistic, cultural, cognitive, applied linguistics, or anthropological. Because of the thematic connections between JLAC and EPICS VI, a selection of the best contributions presented at EPICS VI will be published in a special issue JLAC.

Keynote Speakers:

We are very honoured that Professor Jonathan Culpeper (Lancaster University) and Professor John Joseph (The University of Edinburgh) have agreed to be EPICS VI keynote speakers. 

Conference Fees:

Until January 30, 2014:

Attendants: EUR 100 
Speakers: EUR 150 

After January 30:

Attendants: EUR 125 
Speakers: EUR 175 

These fees are for the full conference (12-14 May) and include the conference pack, coffee breaks and lunches. There will be a conference dinner, whose price is not included in the conference fee. The account to deposit the registration fee will be announced in the second call for papers. Presentations will not be included in the final program if registration fees have not been prepaid. Please note that payment on site will not be possible. In the next call for papers, information about accommodation will also be included.

Call for Papers:

Conference Presentations Types:

We welcome original papers, written in English, on any of the subjects that come within the list of conference topics below or on any other topic related to language aggression and conflict. Presentations can be made in any of the following types:

A) Individual Oral Presentations

These must be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. 

B) Themed Panels

These must contain a number of thematically-related papers, each of which must be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. Proposals for panels should also include a chair.

C) Posters

Participants presenting a poster must obey the following norms:

- Posters should be no larger than 118,9 x 84,1 cm (A0).
- They may be printed in colour or in black and white.
- Poster presenters must bring a printed copy of their poster with them to the conference. Note that there will not be printing facilities at the conference venue. Presenters will also be responsible for displaying the poster and turning it down at the time and in the place designated by the conference organisers.

Topics:

EPICS VI especially focuses, but is not limited to contributions, that address, explore or analyse in depth language aggression and conflict from a pragmatic perspective, as well as to works that present theoretical developments and practical applications on, among others, the following topics:

- Gender differences in language aggression and conflict
- Language aggression and conflict among family members
- Language aggression and conflict in work/academic settings
- Language aggression, conflict and identity
- Emotional communication and conflict
- Impoliteness
- Language aggression and conflict in the classroom
- Language aggression and conflict in political discourse
- Language aggression and conflict in the (digital) media.
- Language aggression and conflict in inter/cross cultural communication
- Language aggression and conflict in service encounters
- (Intercultural) Business and conflict
- Forensic linguistics

Submissions:

Proposals must be sent as email attachment to both Manuel Padilla Cruz (mpadillacruz at us.es) and Reyes Gómez Morón (rgommor at upo.es). Proposals must contain the following information:

A) Oral Presentations and Posters

Contributors to EPICS VI, regardless of whether they give an oral presentation or present a poster, must submit a one-page abstract no longer than 350 words, accompanied by the following information: 

i. Author’s name(s) and affiliation
ii. Title of paper
iii. Audio-visual equipment required (computer, VHS video, OHP, etc.)
iv. E-mail address(es)
v. Postal address(es)

B) Themed Panels

Panel proposals must include a one-page abstract no longer than 350 words for the panel, accompanied by the respective 350-word abstracts for each of the presentations included in the panel. The following information must also be included for each of the papers in the panel: 

i. Author’s name(s) and affiliation
ii. Title of paper
iii. Audio-visual equipment required (computer, VHS video, OHP, etc.)
iv. E-mail address(es)
v. Postal address(es)

Dates:

Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 1 December 2013. Proposals will be peer-reviewed and notification of acceptance will be sent by 15 January. The organising committee will plan the programme as soon as it has selected the successful abstracts, so please indicate on the abstracts if you cannot present your paper on any day of the conference (12-14 May), as it is very difficult to reschedule papers after the programme has been planned.

Publication:

After the Symposium, EPICS VI participants are invited to submit revised and extended versions of their work for publication in any of the following venues:

A) Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict. Guidelines for publication can be found at http://benjamins.com/#catalog/journals/jlac/main.

B) An edited collection. Style guidelines will be provided in due course. 

In both cases, the final text can be submitted after the Symposium, but no later than 31 July 2014. 

Organising Committee:

Reyes Gómez Morón (rgommor at upo.es)
Manuel Padilla Cruz (mpadillacruz at us.es)
Lucía Fernández Amaya (lferama at upo.es)
María de la O Hernández López (mariolahl at upo.es)
Manuel Mejías Borrero (mmejbor at upo.es)

Scientific Committee:

Patricia Bou Franch, Universitat de València
Derek Bousfield, Manchester Metropolitan University
Diana Boxer, University of Florida
Grace H. Chung, Seoul National University
María Victoria Escandell Vidal, UNED
Bruce Fraser, Boston University
Pilar Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Michael Haugh, Griffith University
Thomas Holtgraves, Ball State University
Nuria Lorenzo Dus, Swansea University
Jim O’Driscoll, University of Huddersfield
Theodossia S. Pavlidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Barbara Pizziconi, SOAS, University of London
María Elena Placencia, Birbeck College, University of London
Yongping Ran, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Maria Sifianou, University of Athens
Ruth Wodak, Lancaster University