Contemporary Austrian Literature, Film and Culture (CALFAC) International Conference, University of Nottingham
13-15 April 2015
As part of the dissemination activities of my Leverhulme Early Career project, I organised an international conference on 'Contemporary Austrian Literature, Film and Culture', held at the University of Nottingham on 13-15 April 2015.
This international conference examined trends in Austrian literature, film and culture over the past thirty years. The conference was sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust, the Austrian Cultural Forum London and the University of Nottingham. The keynote speakers were Professor Allyson Fiddler (University of Lancaster), Professor Jonathan Long (University of Durham), and Professor Dagmar C. G. Lorenz (University of Illinois at Chicago). In addition to the keynote lectures, a total of twenty-four papers were presented at the conference by speakers from Austria, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the UK and the United States. The conference also featured film screenings and Q&As with two award-winning Austrian documentary filmmakers, Dr Ruth Beckermann (Vienna) and Dr Frederick Baker (Cambridge). The conference programme may be viewed here. The conference abstracts are available in the document below.
An edited volume arising from the conference, entitled New Perspectives on Contemporary Austrian Literature and Culture, was published by Peter Lang Publishing in September 2018. Further details are available on the publisher webpage.
Conference delegate feedback:
‘I was deeply impressed and touched by the wonderful professionalism with which you organised the conference, as well as the warmth with which you welcomed and accompanied us all throughout the conference. Everything was absolutely perfect. […] I will keep your conference in fond memory. It ranks as one of the best experiences of my academic career.’
[German original: ‘Die wunderbare Professionalität, mit der Sie die Tagung organisiert haben, sowie die Herzlichkeit, mit der Sie uns alle willkommen geheißen und durch die Tagung begleitet haben, haben mich beeindruckt und berührt. Alles war absolut perfekt. [...] Ich werde Ihre Tagung in warmer Erinnerung behalten. Sie gehört zu den schönsten Erfahrungen in meiner wissenschaftlichen Laufbahn.’]
‘I very much enjoyed the conference, the papers and the inspiring discussions afterwards!’
‘Thank you for organising a thoroughly enjoyable conference!’
‘I very much enjoyed the conference; in particular the emphasis placed on the importance of film, film studies and documentary. The conference was really superbly organized. […] the transnational and transatlantic perspective is a very important aspect of Austrian Cultural Studies. I hope also to stay in contact with other members of the conference interested in this angle and look forward to hearing about new developments.’
‘Congratulations again on the success of this really enjoyable conference.’
‘Thank you once again for inviting me to the Austrian conference, which was great. I really enjoyed it, and found it quite inspiring.’
‘Thank you very much for your hospitality in Nottingham, for a truly memorable academic conference and the opportunity of participating.’
‘Thank you for organizing the splendid conference on Austrian Literature in Nottingham.’
Further information:
For more information about the CALFAC conference and network please see the conference website, blog and Twitter pages.