37.973, Confs: Objects and Discourses of Resentment (France)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-973. Tue Mar 10 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.973, Confs: Objects and Discourses of Resentment (France)

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Date: 07-Mar-2026
From: Mohamed Saki [mohamed.saki at univ-brest.fr]
Subject: Objects and Discourses of Resentment


Objects and Discourses of Resentment
Short Title: O&D_R

Date: 21-Oct-2026 - 22-Oct-2026
Location: Brest, France
Contact: MOHAMED SAKI
Contact Email: mohamed.saki at univ-brest.fr

Linguistic Field(s): Clinical Linguistics; Discourse Analysis;
Philosophy of Language; Pragmatics

Submission Deadline: 14-Jun-2026

Far from being a private matter, recent studies on emotion,
particularly since the affective turn, have shown its complexity as a
subject of study; it is at the intersection of psychology, history,
sociology, anthropology, neuroscience, etc. Admittedly, emotion is
subjective, but it also has a collective, social, and cultural
dimension. Emotions are felt by the subject in their psyche and body,
but their representation and semiotization use linguistic and semiotic
codes specific to a culture, an era, as well as social and cultural
norms that allow and value the expression of certain affects and
prohibit and delegitimize others.
This conference focuses on one emotion in particular: resentment.
Often viewed as a negative emotion, a melancholic and “unworthy”
passion associated with self-victimization, resentment is said to
affect powerless individuals, vulnerable people, and losers in rapidly
changing and highly competitive societies.  The problem with this
definition is that it reduces resentment to a sad and negative feeling
in response to the denunciation of social injustice. Social criticism
is then limited to its emotional dimension, which prevents its
political and moral dimensions from being taken into account.
Typically, discourses that mobilize this emotion aim to reverse the
hierarchy of values, portraying the values of the dominant group as
unjust, inequitable, immoral, etc., while presenting those of the
dominated group as the purest and most morally acceptable.
Rather than being an expression of spite, jealousy, bitterness, etc.,
resentment is a moral emotion that challenges the prevailing societal
hierarchy of values at a given moment. It calls for the existing value
system and its hierarchy to be discussed anew in the public sphere.
Since all emotions are triggered in response to a stimulus, the
following questions arise: What stimuli trigger resentment, and how
can this be understood? What is the rationale behind its
manifestations and upsurge in the public space? What argumentative
rationalities explain, justify, or dismiss it?
The conference aims at gaining insights into resentment as a complex
emotion and welcomes contributions approaching it from a variety of
disciplinary perspectives, such as philosophy, political science,
linguistics, rhetoric, discourse analysis, psychology, etc.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
- The transformations of the concept of resentment
- Linguistic, rhetorical, and discursive expressions of resentment
- Resentment and speech acts
- Modalities of auto- and alter-attribution of resentment
- Social and political groups that mobilise resentment in their
discourse
- Resentment and politics
- Moral, political, and social values and resentment
- Cultural and/or historical expressions of resentment
- The objects and catalysts of resentment
- etc.
Submission Guidelines:
We invite proposals for individual papers (25-minute presentation +
5-minute discussion). Abstracts should be:
-       No more than 300 words
-       Submitted in English or in French
-       Accompanied by a short biographical note (max. 100 words) and
3–5 keywords
-       Sent to: d&o_ressentiment at univ-brest.fr
Important Dates:
-       Abstract submission deadline: June 14, 2026
-       Notification of acceptance: July 10, 2026
-       Conference dates: 21-22 October 2026
Contact:
For questions, please contact the organising team at:
d&o_ressentiment at univ-brest.fr



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