A two-day conference (23 and 24 May 2019) in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, at the University of Bologna
Immemorially, myths and dreams have been closely associated as wellsprings for fantasy and the imagination. The pairing of myth and dream reaches far back into antiquity, to the story of Gilgamesh in the Middle East, to the epics of Homer and Virgil in Europe, and to the Dream Time of Australian aborigines. In the modern era, psychoanalytic theories have drawn freely upon mythic accounts and archetypal images in interpreting dreams and plumbing the depths of the unconscious mind, while artists of the surreal and symbolist painters have revelled in the transformations and displacements that recourse to the world of myth and dream affords. Jane Harrison encapsulated the association between the two when at the beginning of the twentieth century she wrote that ‘myth is the dream-thinking of a people, just as the dream is the myth of the individual’.
The conference invites proposals addressing diverse approaches to the combination of myth and dream – literary, artistic, scientific or theological – that enjoy attention in the contemporary world.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Animals. Archetypes. Biblical accounts. Celestial realms. Children. Death.Divine phenomena. Dreamer as hero(ine). Dreams of other worlds. Eros. Folktales. Gates of ivory and horn. Gods of dreaming. Illustrations. Immortality. Initiation. Interpretations. Invisibility. Labyrinths. Legends. Mandalas. Monads and dyads. Monsters. Mythical realism. Nightmares. Oneiromancy. Portals. Prophecy. Sagas. Shamanic possession. Soul sleep. Succubus and incubus. Surrealism. Time and timelessness. Underworlds. Visitations. Voids. Wishes and desires. Yin and yang.
The languages of the conference will be Italian and English.
The proposals should be sent to lilec.mythdream@unibo.it along with an abstract of no longer than 250 words (in either Italian or English) and a brief bio-note no later than 28 February 2019.
Papers must not exceed the 20-minutes limit.
In case of numerous papers, the conference will be organised in parallel sessions.
Conference attendants will be notified of either acceptance or rejection by email by the end of March 2019.
The Scientific Committee is currently evaluating the possibility of publishing a selection of papers in conference proceedings.
Conference fee:
Early Bird Fee: by 30 April 2019: € 80 (Ph.D. students: € 50)
Late Fee: by 2 May 2019: € 100 (Ph.D. Students: € 70)
The fee covers coffee, the buffet, conference materials, and the possible publication of the proceedings (in case of acceptance)
We would like to stress that the fee does not include travel expenses and accommodation.
The methods of payment will be revealed once the proposals are accepted.