36.1790, Confs: (Im)politeness On Stage (Italy)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-1790. Mon Jun 09 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.1790, Confs: (Im)politeness On Stage (Italy)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Justin Fuller
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Steven Franks, Joel Jenkins, Daniel Swanson, Erin Steitz
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Valeriia Vyshnevetska <valeriia at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 06-Jun-2025
From: Valentina Vetri [valentina.vetri at unisi.it]
Subject: (Im)politeness On Stage


(Im)politeness On Stage

Date: 15-Dec-2025 - 16-Dec-2025
Location: Napoli, Italy
Contact: Valentina Vetri
Contact Email: valentina.vetri at unisi.it

Linguistic Field(s): Ling & Literature; Pragmatics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
                     Italian (ita)

Submission Deadline: 15-Jul-2025

(Im)politeness plays a crucial role in the analysis of dramatic
dialogue, revealing complex aspects of characterization, plot
development, and the underlying structure of social harmony or
discord. The ways in which characters deploy impoliteness strategies
on stage provide insights into power dynamics, relationships, and the
negotiation of social boundaries. Beyond its narrative function,
impoliteness also serves as an important theatrical tool: it can
enhance entertainment, generate humour, and, in the case of mock
impoliteness, even express intimacy, affect, or strategic cunning.
While dramatic texts have often been overlooked in stylistic and
pragmatic studies due to the long-standing debate between text-based
and performance-based approaches, the increasing availability of
filmed stage performances—through platforms such as National Theatre
Live, National Theatre at Home, Digital Theatre — has facilitated new
analytical possibilities. The integration of multimodal analysis now
allows scholars to examine not only the language of dramatic texts but
also their performative realization, including prosody, gesture, and
spatial dynamics. As Boulton argues, a play is an organic, complex
organism: it does not simply signify, but it “walks and talks before
our eyes” (1960: 3). This highlights the need to examine dramatic
dialogue from multiple perspectives, considering how meaning emerges
not only from the text itself but also from its delivery,
interactional dynamics, and performative realization. By integrating
linguistic, pragmatic, and multimodal approaches, scholars can explore
the full range of strategies through which (im)politeness operates in
drama—whether in written scripts, staged performances, or filmed
versions.
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on a wide range of topics
related to (im)politeness in dramatic discourse. The main topics of
interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
 - The multiple functions of (im)politeness in dramatic
representation;
 - (Im)politeness and characterisation in plays;
 - Mock-politeness, humour, sarcasm, banter in plays
 - Multimodal approaches to (im)politeness
 - (Im)politeness and violence in dramatic discourse
 - Rhetoric in inter-character dynamics;
 - Stylistics and narration in drama;
 - Persuasive discourse;
 - Taboo language;
 - Translation of Drama and (Im)politeness Theory;
We welcome contributions from scholars in pragmatics, discourse
analysis, stylistics, drama studies, multimodal analysis, and related
fields. Papers may focus on historical or contemporary drama, as well
as on different theatrical traditions.
Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and should be sent as email
attachments in .doc or .docx format to valentina.vetri at unisi.it or
chiara.ghezzi at unior.it by 15/07/2025.
Proposals should include:
 - full name;
 - academic position;
 - affiliation;
 - email address;
 - keywords (5 max.)
 - references (5 max.)
Notice of acceptance will be sent by 31/07/2025.
Organising and Scientific Committee
Valentina Vetri, Bianca Del Villano, Chiara Ghezzi, Roberto Esposito,
Mariaconcetta Mirto, Emma Pasquali, Aoife Beville.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List to support the student editors:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

De Gruyter Mouton https://cloud.newsletter.degruyter.com/mouton

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

Elsevier Ltd http://www.elsevier.com/linguistics

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

Lincom GmbH https://lincom-shop.eu/

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Oxford University Press http://www.oup.com/us

Wiley http://www.wiley.com


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-36-1790
----------------------------------------------------------