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CALL FOR PAPERS THE POWER OF THE MASK
to be held in KAUNAS, LITHUANIA on 2-6 July, 2009
The Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania, and the SIEF working group on the ritual year are pleased to invite you to Kaunas, Lithuania for the fifth annual conference of the ritual year working group.
The Ritual Year Working Group (www.ritualyear.com) was established in 2004 under the aegis of SIEF, Societé Internationale d’Ethnologie et de Folklore. The Executive consists of Emily Lyle (President), Irina Sedakova (Secretary) and Aude Le Borgne (Treasurer).
CALL FOR PAPERS
The general theme is THE POWER OF THE MASK. The language of presentations at the conference will be English, but discussion may take place also in other languages with the help of colleagues prepared to offer instant translation.
The conference aims at discussing the semantics, forms and ritual context (carnivals, processions) of masks from the remote past to modern times. Of special interest are the following questions: What is the meaning of disguising at certain times of the ritual year? What masks are more popular in the ritual year and why? What are the local interpretations of the masks used in calendric rites? How does the use of masks relate to the use of face-painting in these rites? How do masks change diachronically? These and many other topics related to the ritual year will be discussed during the conference.
Papers are invited on:
A. Masking. Carnivals. Processions.
B. Rites de Passages including life cycle parallels to the ritual year cycle. This topic has been selected to mark the centenary of the publication of Van Gennep’s influential study.
C. The ritual year in the Baltic region.
D. Any other subject concerning the theory or practice of the ritual year.
Proposals for contributions to this conference are invited from around the world. The presentations will normally be allowed 30 minutes, including discussion. If you are interested in offering a paper, please send the following information to:
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1. Paper title and the section (A, B, C or D) into which it falls.
2. An abstract in English of between 70 and 120 words.
3. Name (with your family name in capital letters), affiliation, postal address, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 October 2008. The Conference Committee will respond with acceptance or rejection of your paper in December 2008. Only the abstracts tightly linked to the topics of the conference will be accepted.
It will be possible for additional short presentations to be made by participants in forums or workshops focussed on an individual day of the year or on digital resources for our field of study. There will also be scope for showing some films or videos. More details will be given in the first circular, but those interested are welcome to send suggestions to the organiser when submitting the abstract.
Conference Programme
Papers will be given, and general meetings held, on Thursday, 2 July, Friday, 3 July and Sunday, 5 July. On 4 and 6 July there will be excursions to the RumšiškÄs Open Air Museum, to the Curonian Spit (Kursiu Nerija) on the coast, and to the Cross Hill near Siauliai. (The excursion program is not final. More information will follow in the first circular.)
Venue Kaunas is the second biggest city in Lithuania with a population of more than 415,700. It was founded in the 12th century and owes its existence to its favourable geographic position. Kaunas is situated in the centre of Lithuania, at the confluence of the two biggest rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, 100 km from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and 250 km from the port city Klaipeda.
Information on accommodation and costs will follow in the first circular.
Papers from the conference will appear in The Ritual Year 5: The Power of the Mask. The Vytautas Magnus University will seek possibilities to publish this volume.
We look forward to seeing you in Kaunas!
Arūnas Vaicekauskas
Head of the Department of Ethnology and Folklore
Vytautas Magnus University
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