Pausing Time/Timing the Pause: sayability in the arts, philosophy, and politics

In his acceptance speech for the Nobel prize in literature Jon Fosse only half jokingly referred to himself as the master of silence: how else, he asked, can we bring the unsayable out in language than through “long pause, short pause, or, simply, pause.”

This year’s Ereignis conference seeks to bring the relation between speech and silence into further focus. Our key questions are:

  • What kind of speech, or speech event, enables the silent to come forward?
  • How can that which cannot be said be alluded or referred to in speech?
  • How is the relation between speech and silence challenged by the an increasing awareness of non-human speech?
  • What are the socio-political ramifications of these relations?

The 4th interdisciplinary Ereignis conference will take place on August 10 and 11, 2024 at Hotel Nadmorski in Gdynia, Poland, with a hybrid option for those unable to attend in person. Registration will be required.

Image by Holger Feulner. Used by permission.

Conference Programme

All times CET (Warsaw). The programme may be subject to change.

Time

Content

Friday 9 August: on-site in Gdynia, Poland

18h00

Meet-and-greet at the rooftop Vinegre bar in Gdynia. All is welcome!

Saturday 10 August: on-site in Gdynia, Poland

09h00

Welcome

Dr. Torgeir Fjeld, Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts

09h30

Keynote

Prof. Matthew Goulish, School of the Art Institute of Chicago: “Seven short lectures on silence” Abstract

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

10h30

Session 1

Priya Carol, Assistant Professor, The American College, Madurai, India: “Ricochets of Reality: Gila Almagor’s Holocaust Narratives, Cinematic Postmemory, and the Socio-Political Nexus” Abstract Jørgen Veisland, University of Gdańsk, Poland: “The silence of the black guitar. Pathos in Jon Fosse’s Stengd gitar” Abstract

Moderator: Anda Pleniceanu.

11h30

Session 2

Aleksandra Holubowicz, UHK: “Daring to Sing: (Re)Gaining Your Voice in Activism” Abstract Milena Merhoutova, Charles University: “The Art of Silence: Spotlighting the Strategic Power of Pauses in Communication” Abstract Ejvind Hansen, Danish School of Media and Journalism: “Freedom of Silence as a Means to Freedom of Thought” Abstract

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

13h00

Lunch

14h00

Session 3

Dan Degerman, Bristol University: “Mania, history, and the sense of silence” Abstract Jae Ryeong Sul, Bristol University: “A Phenomenological Reflection on Silence and Its Relevance to Psychopathology” Abstract

Moderator: Jørgen Veisland.

15h00

Keynote

Dr. Anda Pleniceanu, Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts: “Voices from the void: working to not work with Adorno and Blanchot” Abstract

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

16h00

Roundtable: What is the name of silence?

We may imagine an economism that would posit a language in which every signifier had a signified and vice versa. In this world language would be so perfectly streched over its objects that no word would be without its thing, and no thing without a word. Confronted with such a sceniaro, we may pertinently ask how to approach silence. What is it that silence “points to”, or references, and, conversely, what word can be given to silence?

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

17h00

Day 1 proceedings end

18h30

Informal conference dinner at Hotel Nadmorski in Gdynia. Please indicate your presence and dietary preferenes ahead of time in this form.

Sunday 11 August: online on Zoom videoconferencing platform

(link and passcode will be sent by email to registered attendees in the morning)

09h45

Welcome

Dr. Torgeir Fjeld, Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts

10h00

Keynote

Prof. Ronny Miron, Bar Ilan University: “The Inceptive Silent Saying of the Nothing (or: The Inceptive Silent Saying)” Abstract

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

11h00

Session 4

Elaine Cagulada, Queen’s University: “Flower Interrupted: The Ineffable Sayability of Death and the Silence of Life Entangled” Abstract Dror Pimentel, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem: “Odradek: Kafka’s Name for the Nameless” Abstract

Moderator: Sharif Abdunnur.

12h00

Lunch break

13h00

Session 5

Cameron Vaziri, Duquesne University: “Press Pause to Play: Stopping the Videogame as Poststructuralist Engagement” Abstract Jytte Holmqvist, University of Central Lancashire/ Hebei University: “Clare Keegan: Expressing truths in the silence between the words” Abstract

Moderator: Torgeir Fjeld.

14h00

Keynote

Prof. (Em.) Christopher Norris, University of Cardiff, Wales: “Language and sayability” Abstract

Moderator: Anda Pleniceanu.

15h00

Concluding words: Silence and meaning

Dr. Torgeir Fjeld, Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts closes the conference.

15h30

Conference ends