The 7th International Conference on Ecolinguistics (ICE-7)

Call for Papers

The 7th International Conference on Ecolinguistics (ICE-7) will be held at Beijing Normal University, China, on August 22-26, 2024 by the International Ecolinguistics Association (IEA). The theme for ICE-7 is “Language, Place and Sustainability: Ecolinguistics for the Present and Future of the Planet Earth”.  We invite proposals for symposia, individual papers and posters. We would be particularly interested in presentations with a focus on the conference theme. However, any other topic within the scope of ecolinguistics will also be welcome.

As a naturalised science of language, ecolinguistics studies the impact of language on the life-sustaining relationships among humans, other organisms and the physical environment (Alexander & Stibbe 2014, Steffensen & Fill 2014).  Carbaugh’s (2001) discussion of place in “dueling depictions” of nature reveals that communicating about natural space is a way of anchoring messages in physical space, but in so doing, more than a physical space is involved as the communicative process of depicting nature carries with it a potent complex of socio-cultural messages. From ecolinguistic approaches to representations of place (e.g. Nash & Muhlhausler 2014, Kidner 2016) to geographical text analysis for corpus-assisted ecolinguistics (Poole 2022), amongst many others, studies in discourse analysis broadly and ecolinguistics specifically have explored the production of place in discourses of ecological relevance (Poole 2022). In ecostylistic studies, the edited collection Language in Place: Stylistic Perspectives on Landscape, Place and Environment (Virdis et al. 2021) considers portrayals and conceptualisations of natural scenery and space in literary and non-literary texts by means of various stylistic methodologies. The edited collection The Stylistics of Landscapes, the Landscapes of Stylistics (Douthwaite et al. 2017) is devoted to stylistic analyses of physical landscapes in literary texts.

Place has become an important topic in ecolinguistics as it is closely associated with the physical environment, our habitat and the planet Earth which sustain the life of humans and other organisms. As Snyder (1995) puts it, whatever lives needs a habitat, a culture of warmth and moisture to grow. It is hoped that this conference will provide a platform for the topics of language, place and sustainability to meet, so that we could discuss the role language plays in making the planet Earth a more sustainable and livable place for present and future generations.

I. Conference theme

Theme: Language, Place and Sustainability: Ecolinguistics for the Present and Future of the Planet Earth

Potential topics, areas and themes to be addressed:

Representation of place in ecolinguistics

Ecolinguistics in the Anthropocene

Ecological care for the planet Earth

Linguistic landscape from an ecolinguistic perspective

Linguistic diversity and place from a sustainable perspective

Ecolinguistics in a regional context

Ecological knowledge and locality

Sustainability and locality

Place and sustainable living

Discourses of sustainable development

Ecological identity and place

Ecological discourses from indigenous cultures across the world

Discourses of ecological civilisations from across the world

Ecological philosophies from across the world

Environmental migration

Ecoliteracy and sustainable ecological education

II. Conference information

Time: August 22-26, 2024

Venue: Beijing Normal University, Beijing

Organized by: The International Ecolinguistics Association (IEA)

Co-organized by: The Chinese Ecolinguistics Association

Hosted by: Beijing Normal University

III. Keynote speakers

Leonie Cornips (Maastricht University)

He Wei (Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Huang Guowen (South China Agricultural University)

Hermine Penz (University of Graz)

Sune Vork Steffensen (University of Southern Denmark)

Arran Stibbe (via video link) (University of Gloucestershire)

Wang Jinjun (Guangzhou University)

Yu Hui (Beijing Normal University)

IV. Forms of Presentation

We invite proposals for symposia, individual papers, and posters.

• Symposia

A symposium will be allocated a 2-hour block. Organizers may invite 4 to 6 panel members. Each symposium consists of an introduction, presentations, discussion (optional), Q&A, and conclusion. The symposium organizer needs to provide the title, symposium introduction and all the abstracts.

• Individual Paper Presentations

A block of 25 minutes will be designated for an individual paper presentation, including 20 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. Titles and abstracts of individual paper presentations need to be submitted.

• Poster Presentations

Please submit titles and abstracts.

Proposals

• Proposals for individual paper presentations and poster presentations should include a title and an abstract (no more than 250 words). Information about authors should include: name, title, education, affiliation, email and mobile phone number.

• Symposium proposals should include the symposium title and a 300-word description, the title and abstract (no more than 250 words) of each presentation in the symposium.

All proposals should be sent to the conference mailbox: ice7@bnu.edu.cn

Deadline for submissions: 30 April 2024

Notification of acceptance: 20 May 2024

IV. Registration

Registration Fee:

Overseas delegates: USD$150

Domestic delegates: CNY1000

Full-time postgraduate students: 50% off  (with valid document)

The online registration and payment service will start from 25 May 2024.

V. Consultation

Conference website: to be announced.

Information website: http://www.sfll.bnu.edu.cn (Website of School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University)

Contact:

E-mail: ice7@bnu.edu.cn (recommended)

Tel:

Regarding registration and payment: 86-10-58807678（DONG Ying）

Regarding program, venue and accommodation: 86-13863914987（DAI Fei）

References

Alexander, R. J. & A. Stibbe 2014. From the analysis of ecological discourse to the ecological analysis of discourse. Language Science 41: 104-110.

Carbaugh, D. 2001. “The mountain” and “the project”: Dueling depictions of a natural environment. In A. Fill & P. Mühlhäusler (eds.), The Ecolinguistics Reader: Language, ecology and environment (pp. 124–42). London: Continuum.

Douthwaite, J., D.F. Virdis & E. Zurru (eds.). 2017. The Stylistics of Landscapes, the Landscapes of Stylistics. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Kidner, K. 2016. Neutral ground and naming: The implications of Tar Sands and Oil Sands for environmental debates in Alberta. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines, 8(2), 1–18.

Nash, J. & P. Mühlhaüsler 2014. Linking language and the environment: the case of Norf’k and Norfolk Island. Language Sciences, 41, 26–33.

Poole, R. 2022. Corpus-Assisted Ecolinguistics. London: Bloomsbury.

Snyder, G. 1995. A Place in Space. Washington, DC: Counterpoint.

Steffensen, S. V. & A. Fill 2014. Ecolinguistics: The state of the art and future horizons. Language Sciences 41: 6-25.

Stibbe, A. 2010. The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a cChanging world. Cambridge: Green Books.

Virdis, D. F., E. Zurru & E. Lahey (eds.). 2021. Language in Place: Stylistic Perspectives on Landscape, Place and Environment. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.