Lived
Experiences

International
PhD
Conference

7–8 June 2024

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
and online

This conference aims to create a platform for doctoral students specializing in literary studies, literary translation studies, and theatre studies to showcase their research and engage in discussions about the profound impact of personal narratives and lived experiences in shaping creative works.
About
We are pleased to invite you to Lived Experiences, the international two-day PhD conference.
It will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on June 7th, and online on June 8th, 2024.
It provides an excellent opportunity for emerging scholars to actively participate in scholarly dialogues, share their findings, and contribute to the broader academic discourse.
The conference is organized by the PhD students of CLIC, the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Day 1: June 7
9:45–10:45, E.0.04
Prof. Anneleen Spiessens, Ghent University
COFFEE BREAK (10:45–11:00)
11:00–12:30, E.0.04
Chair: Elisabeth Bekers, VUB
11:00–12:30, E.0.08
Chair: Inge Arteel, VUB
LUNCH BREAK (12:30–13:45)
13:45–15:15, E.0.04
Chair: Ioannis Tsitsovits, KU Leuven
13:45–15:15, E.0.08
Chair: Ann Peeters, VUB
COFFEE BREAK (15:15–15:45)
15:45–17:15, E.0.04
Chair: Marcela Scibiorska, VUB
15:45–17:15, E.0.08
Chair: Bénédicte Ledent, VUB/ ULiège
COFFEE BREAK (17:15–17:30)
17:30–19:00, E.0.04
Chair: Eva Ulrike Pirker, VUB
CLOSING REMARKS (19:00–19:15)
DAY 2: June 8
10:15–11:15 CET
Prof. Nassim Balestrini, Karl-Franzens University Graz
COFFEE BREAK (11:15–11:30 CET)
11:30–13:00 CET
Chair: Cedric Van Dijck, VUB
11:30–13:00 CET
Chair: Mathias Meert, VUB
LUNCH BREAK (13:00–14:00 CET)
14:00–15:30 CET
Chair: Iana Nikitenko, VUB
14:00–15:30 CET
Chair: Cedric Van Dijck, VUB
COFFEE BREAK (15:30–16:00 CET)
16:00–17:30 CET
Chair: Arvi Sepp, VUB
16:00–17:30 CET
Chair: Benoît Crucifix, KU Leuven
CLOSING REMARKS (17:30–17:45 CET)
Prof. Dr. Nassim W. Balestrini: Contemporary Poetry as Relational Life Writing and Historiographic Intervention
Keynote Speakers
Full Professor of American Studies and Intermediality,
University of Graz
Nassim Winnie Balestrini is full professor of American Studies and Intermediality at the University of Graz, Austria, where she also serves as director of the Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG). In 2022/23, she served as Lorand Chair for Intermediality at the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossing at VUB. She has published monographs on Vladimir Nabokov and on opera adaptations of nineteenth-century American fiction, essays on hip-hop life writing and rap poetry (e.g., in Popular Music and Society and in the Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Music Studies), on intermediality theory and practice (e.g., a special issue on “Depicting Destitution Across Media” for the Journal for Literary and Intermedial Crossings), on American poetry, fiction, and drama, especially on climate change theater. She has edited collections on Adaptation and American Studies (Heidelberg: Winter, 2011) and on Intermediality, Life Writing, and American Studies (Berlin: DeGruyter, 2018, with Ina Bergmann). Her current research focuses on contemporary poetry and on climate change theater.
Assistant Professor, Department of Translation, Interpreting, and Communication,
Ghent University
Anneleen Spiessens is an Assistant Professor at Ghent University. She is affiliated with the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Communication, where she teaches both translation practice (French-Dutch) and theory. Her research focuses on ethical, political and mnemonic aspects of translation, and resulted in publications on museums, news translation and ideology, perpetrator testimony (Quand le bourreau prend la parole: témoignage et fiction, Droz, 2016), and testimonial literature more generally (including a chapter in Translating Memories of Violent Pasts, Routledge, 2023). Anneleen Spiessens is also co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Memory (2022, with Sharon Deane-Cox) which sets out to chart the intersections between translation and memory as they operate together in the reconstruction, transmission and repurposing of the past.
Prof. Dr. Anneleen Spiessens: Stories of Violence across Time, Space and Genre: How Translation and Translators Shape (Trans)Cultural Memory
Registration
Please register for the conference by clicking the button below and completing the Google form if you plan to attend one or both days. Please complete the form by June 3rd to confirm your registration for the conference.
Location
The conference will be held at the VUB Main Campus in Etterbeek (Boulevard de la Plaine 2), Building E, rooms E.0.04 & E.0.08.
Practical Info
Directions
The VUB Main Campus in Etterbeek is within walking distance of the train station and is also easily accessible by bike, bus, tram and metro. You can reach the centre of Brussels, the capital of Europe, in less than 20 minutes by public transport.
Suggested accommodations
Organising Team
The conference is organised by Alice Königstetter, Anthony Manu, Iana Nikitenko, Sofie Vandepitte and Tara Brusselaers, with the support of CLIC (Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings) and the VUB Doctoral School of Human Sciences.
For further inquiries or additional information, please contact us at lived.experiences2024@gmail.com
Contact us