[Commlist] Taboo Conference 2020 - CfP

*Conference :  Taboo in language, culture, and communication
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*Rome, Italy – September 30th-October 2nd, 2020
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*Call for Abstracts deadline: February 10th 2020 (midnight CEST)*


In a world that seems continuously to be stretching the line of what is 
acceptable to the inhabitants of specific linguistic and cultural 
contexts, this interdisciplinary conference acknowledges the importance 
of investigating taboos and their reinforcement/breaking in various 
areas of language, culture, literature and society, and across different 
cultures. We propose to explore the delicate balance and subtle 
boundaries between the need for inclusion and respect for different 
ethnic, religious, sexual  backgrounds – which seem to be at the basis 
of modern multicultural societies – and a conscious (or unconscious) 
push towards the breaking of existing taboos, for example for shock 
value, as in the case of comedy and art. In such contexts, investigation 
of the linguistic, cultural, social, institutional and personal 
implications of taboo reinforcement/breaking appears of extreme value.

For its 5th edition, the Taboo Conference series will specifically 
address the intricacies of taboo in language, culture, literature and 
communication in its various occurrences from the points of view of 
production, performance, and perception/reception. The subject of taboo 
in language, culture, literature and communication seems to have become 
especially relevant in the last few years, in which political 
correctness at both the institutional and individual level has been 
seen, on the one hand, as a crucial tool in protecting people from 
verbal abuse and in preventing the reinforcement of stereotypes and, on 
the other, as a set of measures and a way of thinking which 
significantly curtail free speech in many aspects of the public sphere.

The 2020 conference seeks to explore the shifting boundaries of the 
acceptability of taboo in their various incarnations as produced and 
perceived in today’s multicultural society, from cinema and television, 
to news, videogames, literature and different kinds of online content. 
The study of taboo in the past, for example through the medium of 
literature, is also relevant to the conference. Possible areas of 
inquiry include, but are not limited to, political orientations and 
political satire, identity and gender politics, ethnic stereotypes, 
different kinds of non-normative behaviour, political correctness and 
the discourse surrounding it, and the debate between real and perceived 
offense through comedy.

We welcome individual proposals or pre-organized panels from different 
disciplines pertaining – but by no means limited – to the following 
thematic areas and their intersections in various mediatic forms:

Sex and sexuality (e.g. nudity, non-normative sexual practices, pornography)

Racism and sexism (e.g. white supremacy, gender discrimination, transphobia)

Death and dying (e.g. mortality, ageing, funerals and burials, fatal 
accidents)

Sickness, disability, and deformity

Scatology (e.g. excreta/effluvia)

Politics (e.g. political corruption, political incorrectness, prejudice, 
gender discrimination)

Religions and blasphemy (rituals, prejudice, afterlife)

Addiction

Money (greed, graft, exploitation, waste, extravagance, poverty)

Changing social attitudes towards violence, exploitation and abuse 
(prostitution, slavery, trafficking, rape, children’s rights)

Censorship, reactions to it, and its effects.


The Conference will be held at University of Rome, Tor Vergata. The 
working language for the conference is English. Each paper presentation 
should be scheduled for 15 minutes to be followed by 5-minute question 
time to the panel.

300-word abstracts can be submitted through the conference website by 
Feb 10th, 2020:
http://taco2020.grupposymposia.it/call-for-abstracts 
<http://taco2020.grupposymposia.it/call-for-abstracts/>


<http://taco2020.grupposymposia.it/call-for-abstracts/>
	
Call for abstracts - TACO 2020 
<http://taco2020.grupposymposia.it/call-for-abstracts/>
Taboo in language, culture, and communication. Rome, Italy – September 
30 th – October 2 nd, 2020. In a world that seems continuously to be 
stretching the line of what is acceptable to the inhabitants of specific 
linguistic and cultural contexts, this interdisciplinary conference 
acknowledges the importance of investigating taboos and their 
reinforcement/breaking in various areas of ...
taco2020.grupposymposia.it


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