Memory, Melancholy and Nostalgia - 11th International Interdisciplinary Conference

Conference:2-4 December 2026

Gdańsk (Poland) and online

CFP:

In our modern world, which some have argued to be disjointed while immersing itself ever deeper in crisis, the turning back to “the olden days” and the ensuing nostalgia constitute anoticeable phenomenon, both individually (the memory of biography) and collectively (the memory of history). Another important – and equally noticeable – phenomenon is the longing for something vague, indefinite or never existent.
Hence, during our interdisciplinary conference we would like to concentrate on the phenomena of nostalgia and melancholy. We are interested in all expressions of longing forthe past, from the reassuring and action-propelling ones to those which paralyze us, leading to despair and utter dejection.
We aim to explore the experience of nostalgia and melancholy in its multifarious manifestations: psychological, social, historical, cultural, philosophical, religious, economic, political, artistic, and many others. We will also devote considerable attention to how these phenomena appear and transform in artistic practices: literature, film, theatre, and visual arts. This is why we invite researchers representing various academic disciplines: anthropology, history, psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, politics, philosophy, economics, law, literary studies, theatre studies, film studies, memory studies, nostalgia studies, migration studies, consciousness studies, dream studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, medical sciences, psychiatry, cognitive sciences, design, project management and other disciplines.
Different forms of presentations are encouraged, including case studies, theoretical investigations, problem-oriented arguments, and comparative analyses.
We will be happy to hear from both experienced scholars and young academics at the beginning of their careers, as well as students. We also invite anyone interested inparticipating in the conference as listeners, without giving a presentation.
We hope that due to its interdisciplinary nature, the conference will bring many interesting observations on and discussions about the role of memory, melancholy, and nostalgia in the past and in the present-day world.

Our repertoire of suggested topics includes but is not restricted to:

I. Memory and Affects

unwanted memory
nostalgia or melancholy?
non-melancholic nostalgia
nostalgia and longing
the healing power of nostalgia
nostalgia as an illness
nostalgia and depression
nostalgia and psychoanalysis
collective nostalgia
anticipatory nostalgia
memory and emotions
memory, trauma and resilience
ecological grief/ solastalgia
memory and wellbeing
nostalgia and identity formation

II. Common Experiences

nostalgic epochs
nostalgic nations
nostalgic generations
nostalgia and the myth of eternal return
nostalgia, melancholy and totalitarianisms
nostalgia and war
nostalgia and melancholy of the expelled
nostalgic patriotism
nostalgia and nationalism
nostalgia and gender
nostalgia and religion
nostalgia and language
nostalgia and melancholy in the postmodern world
nostalgia and postmemory
digital nostalgia
platform nostalgia
social media and nostalgia
nostalgia and populism
memory politics
cultural memory
prosthetic memory
diasporic nostalgia
transnational memory
memory and decolonization
nostalgia after pandemics

III. Individual Experiences
return to childhood
nostalgia for something indefinite
nostalgia for the future
nostalgia for a traumatic experience
nostalgia, melancholy and old age
nostalgia, melancholy and death
nostalgia, melancholy and mourning
nostalgia, melancholy and love
nostalgia, melancholy and imagination
nostalgic phantasms
nostalgic dreams
identity and memory
false memories
memory reconstruction
memory and ageing
nostalgia and life transitions
memory and mental health
embodied memory
everyday nostalgia
family memory
intergenerational memory

IV. The Arts
nostalgia and melancholy as a theme in literature, film, and theatre
nostalgic literature
nostalgic cinema
literature and the arts as a vehicle of memory
literature, theatre and film in search of lost time
nostalgic literary genres
melancholic artists
nostalgia in digital art
nostalgia in video games
virtual reality and memory
memory in interactive media
AI-generated memories
photography and memory
music and nostalgia
museums and memory
architecture and memory
material culture and nostalgia
digital archives
memory and digital storytelling

V. Society
nostalgia and political movements
nostalgia, melancholy and memory places
nostalgia, melancholy and memorials
nostalgia, melancholy and community development
nostalgia, melancholy and migration
nostalgia, melancholy and meaning-making
nostalgia, melancholy and drive to change
nostalgia and travelling
nostalgia and food
nostalgia and climate change
social media memories
algorithmic nostalgia
AI and collective memory
digital heritage
memory activism
urban memory
memory and place-making
nostalgia and consumer culture
brand nostalgia
food heritage
migration and belonging
memory and reconciliation
memory and human rights
memory of pandemics
memory of ecological crises
climate grief
memory and resilience

VI. Memory and Emerging Technologies
artificial intelligence and memory
algorithmic remembrance
digital afterlife
nline mourning
virtual memorials
memory in the age of big data
digital storytelling
social media archives
nostalgia in streaming culture
synthetic memories
AI-generated heritage
virtual identities and memory


VII. Environmental Memory

climate memory
environmental nostalgia
memory of landscapes
environmental humanities
memory of natural disasters
memory of extinction
memory in the Anthropocene
nostalgia for nature
environmental justice and memory


Please submit abstracts (no longer than 300 words) of your proposed 20-minute presentations, together with a short biographical note to: [email protected] or by REGISTRATION FORM :
onsite presenters - by 30 September 2026
online presenters - by 31 October 2026

The conference language is English.
Our email: [email protected]