37.3200, Calls: The Spirits of Festivities Past, Present, and Future

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3200. Tue Oct 06 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3200, Calls: The Spirits of Festivities Past, Present, and Future

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Daniel Swanson
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: 05-Oct-2026
From: Daniela Cesiri [daniela.cesiri at unive.it]
Subject: The Spirits of Festivities Past, Present, and Future


Full Title: The Spirits of Festivities Past, Present, and Future
Short Title: Spirits of Festivities
Theme: Cross-Cultural and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
End-of-the-Year Celebrations

Date: 21-Dec-2026 - 22-Dec-2026
Location: Online
Contact Person: Daniela Cesiri
Meeting Email: daniela.cesiri at unive.it

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Discourse Analysis;
Semantics

Call Deadline: 30-Nov-2026

Call for Papers:
Conference Format: International Online Conference via Zoom
Conference Dates: December 21st – 22nd, 2026
Abstract Submission Deadline: November 30th, 2026
Notification of Acceptance: December 7th, 2026
Conference Organizer: Daniela Cesiri, Ca’ Foscari University of
Venice, Italy – daniela.cesiri at unive.it
1. Conference Rationale and Premises
Conventionally set during the month of December in most countries
around the world, the turning of the calendar or the seasonal
threshold during this period holds profound symbolic significance
across cultures and belief systems (Aveni 2004; Gell 2021). While it
is often connected with Western or Christian winter traditions,
end-of-the-year and transitional festivities manifest in countless
vibrant forms around the globe. These celebrations encompass
traditions that are deeply rooted in historical and cultural practices
(Laing and Frost 2014). They can include ancient winter solstice
rituals (such as Germanic Yule, Scottish Hogmanay, and Chinese
Dongzhi), religious and spiritual observances such as Christian
Christmas, Buddhist Bodhi Day, Jewish Hanukkah, or Hindu Pancha
Ganapati (Heinberg 1993; Laing and Frost 2014). Alongside these more
ancient practices, we could also mention more recent celebrations such
as mid-20th-century Kwanzaa, affirming African-American heritage
(Laing and Frost 2014).
Central to these celebrations across times and places are food
traditions and culinary heritage, often characterized by ritual
feasting and sacred recipes to symbolic ingredients, as well as
multimodal representations spanning visual culture, music, digital
media, bodily performances, and sensory experiences (ibid.).
The online International Conference «The Spirits of Festivities Past,
Present, and Future» is founded on the core premise that late-year
celebrations represent a shared human phenomenon. The conference aims
to serve as an inclusive platform designed to bridge and unite rather
than divide cultures. It seeks to explore how human communities use
narrative, ritual, language, and memory to mark transitions, honor the
past, celebrate the present, and express hope for the future.
We warmly invite prospective speakers from Europe, Asia, Africa, the
Americas, and Oceania. Submissions are welcomed regardless of cultural
backgrounds, religious affiliations, non-religious perspectives, and
indigenous heritage.
2. Disciplinary Focus and Thematic Areas
Submissions should develop the conference main topic from a cross- and
multi-cultural perspective, exploring it from Linguistics, Literature,
Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Folklore, Sociology, and adjacent
interdisciplinary fields. We explicitly encourage contributions
examining food traditions and multimodal representations across the
conference’s thematic areas (A to D).
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
A) Linguistics and Language of Celebration
 - Semantics, etymologies, and metaphors associated with end-of-year
festive rituals, recipes, and festive foods/meals.
 - Multimodal discourse analysis of festive media (combining text,
image, audio, video, and digital interfaces).
 - Greeting rituals, seasonal formulas, folk songs, culinary
terminology, and oral tradition preservation.
 - Translation, multilingual adaptation, and discourse dynamics of
food and festive culture in multicultural societies.
B) Literary Representations and Narrative Traditions
 - Literary depictions of festive feasting, culinary rituals, food
scarcity, and seasonal banquets across historical periods.
 - Multimodal and graphic narratives (illustrated texts, graphic
novels, film adaptations, audio drama) portraying festive threshold
periods.
 - Ghost stories, memory, nostalgia, sensory imagery, and temporal
reflections in late-year literature.
 - Speculative fiction and dystopian/utopian visions of future festive
practices, foodscapes, and digital celebrations.
C) Anthropological and Cultural Perspectives
 - Culinary anthropology, foodways, gastronomy, and the symbolic value
of ritual food and drink in end-of-year events.
 - Multimodal performances, material culture, costumes, music, dance,
and multisensory enactments of holiday traditions.
 - Comparative analysis of light, feasting, gift-giving, ancestral
veneration rituals, and table settings.
 - Secular, humanistic, and non-religious celebrations and food
gatherings in modern globalized contexts.
D) Intercultural Dialogue and Global Dynamics
 - Globalized foodways, culinary diaspora, migration, and the fusion
or adaptation of hybrid festive dishes.
 - Digital, social media, and virtual multimodal spaces shaping
contemporary festive expression and food sharing.
 - Commercialization, culinary tourism, and media representation of
regional and global seasonal traditions.
 - Interreligious dialogue, community bonding, and multicultural
harmony through shared culinary spaces and festive practices.
3. Deadlines:
Abstract Submission Deadline: November 30th, 2026
Notification of Acceptance: December 7th, 2026
Final Program Publication: December 14th, 2026
Conference Dates (Zoom): December 21st – 22nd, 2026
4. Submission Guidelines and Instructions
Prospective speakers should submit their application materials as a
single Word document containing:
 - Abstract: around 300 words (references excluded), clearly stating
the research question, theoretical framework, methodology, and
preliminary findings.
 - Keywords: 3–5 relevant keywords.
 - Biographical Note: 100–150 words indicating institutional
affiliation (if any), research interests, and contact details.
 - Presentation Format: 15–20 minute presentation followed by a
10-minute Q&A discussion.
 - Working Language: English (presentations examining other languages
should deliver their presentation in English).
5. Submission Contact and Inquiries
Please submit your abstract via email to: daniela.cesiri at unive.it
Email Subject Line: Abstract Submission - Spirits of Festivities
Conference
For conference-related inquiries, please contact the Conference
Organizer Daniela Cesiri (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) at
daniela.cesiri at unive.it.
NB: the Zoom link will be shared after abstracts are selected.
References:
Aveni, A. F. (2004). The book of the year: A brief history of our
seasonal holidays. Oxford University Press.
Gell, A. (2021). The anthropology of time: Cultural constructions of
temporal maps and images. Routledge.
Heinberg, R. (1993). Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's
Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony. Quest Books.
Laing, J., & Frost, W. (Eds.). (2014). Rituals and traditional events
in the modern world. Routledge.



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

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

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

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Australian Linguistics Society https://als.asn.au/Home

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

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

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

De Gruyter Brill https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en

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

European Language Resources Association (ELRA) http://www.elra.info

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

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

MDPI Languages https://www.mdpi.com/journal/languages

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

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

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

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

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com

SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3200
----------------------------------------------------------