Traveling
does not necessarily imply actual physical movement anymore. Thanks to modern
technologies, one can discover the world in an afternoon from the comforts of
one’s home. It is possible to escape into literary and virtual worlds to
satisfy one’s “Wanderlust” by perusing the internet to plan for trips, or
diving into remote cultures through books. Not only do we travel for pleasure,
but also out of necessity, e.g., to escape life threatening conditions, or to
optimize our lives, a trait we share with migratory birds, for instance. Humans
have been following the urge to move since prehistoric times, and thus are
constantly altering locations, languages, and living conditions.
This
urge for travel and migration entails mass movements as well as introspective
and solitary travel. Those fortunate enough to choose to travel, push personal
boundaries, while exploring new cultures and encountering new foods, languages,
and customs/traditions. Postcards, snapshots, and blogs, for instance, provide
glimpses into many individual – and thus greatly varying – experiences.
Imagined travel through reading or other technological means enables the lone
explorer to leave the familiar and encounter the unknown, either adapting to it
or manipulating it to fit one’s individual worldview.
Travel
is not necessarily motivated by the wish to encounter new countries and
cultures, but is often propelled by wars, social and political injustices, and
disease. Hazardous living conditions drive refugees and emigrants, who hope to
establish new lives elsewhere, out of their countries, carrying only small
bundles of belongings; however, neither the exorbitant transportation fees
traffickers assess, nor the wish to relocate, guarantee successful emigration
and immigration. Even upon successful arrival, bureaucratic, linguistic, and
cultural barriers and boundaries complicate new beginnings or render them
impossible.
Every day, either by desire or
necessity, humans travel all over the globe. Whether it is through books, the
internet, language, cars, or planes, we find a way to venture out and change
our world.
We
invite graduate students from all disciplines to present papers on any aspect
of travel or emigration in English or German (with an English summary for
non-German speakers). While this conference is being hosted by the Department
of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia, students
in other fields, including social sciences, anthropology, sociology, history,
natural sciences, literary and media studies, art, and architecture, are encouraged
to submit an abstract.
Possible topics
include, but are not limited to:
·
Terra Incognita
·
Language shift – dialect – creole/pidgin
·
National Identity
·
Immigration – Emigration - Refugees
·
Colonization - Imperialism
·
Leaving home/Heimat
·
Translation – “Survival language”
·
Literature as time/space travel
·
Virtual World as time/space travel
Urbanization -
Suburbanization
·
Travelogues – Diaries – Postcards
·
Tourism - Ecotourism
·
Travel within Literature – Travel Novel
·
Icons of Travel: Explorer, Cowboy, etc
·
Imagined Travel – Escapism – Fantasy
·
Virtual Tours – Blogs – Photo Sharing
·
Real World vs. Virtual World
·
Plant/Animal migration
·
Disease Vectors
Cell Migration 