The symposium will be about a subject which, strictly speaking, is not a subject at all. It is the road not taken: an opportunity missed, a word not spoken, a life not lived. One variation on this theme is the story of a middle-aged or old character who looks back on his life, in a more or less melancholy mood,  pondering a career he has not had or a relationship he has not embarked upon (e.g. James, "The Beast in the Jungle"; Beckett, Krapp’s Last Tape; Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day). 

But the road not taken need not always be a good thing missed. It could also be the primrose path of dalliance or any other highroad to ruin avoided by sheer luck, by divine intervention, or because insight came just in time. An example would be Prospero's renunciation of vengeance in The Tempest or Christian's not following the way to Hell in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Another variant of the theme is the treatment of several plot developments that branch off from the same premises, as in John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman (i.e. the roads not taken are treated as more or less equivalent with the one actually chosen).
Questions to be dealt with include the following:
The conference venue will be the beautifully situated Waldhotel Zollernblick near Freudenstadt in the Black Forest, with some  meetings to be held at Tübingen.
Please submit proposals of about 200 words’ length by October 31, 2008, to: 

The Conference aims to give an impetus to the research into universals and typology in word-formation by a joint effort of both morphologists and typologists. Papers discussing correlations between individual word-formation processes as well as between WF processes and genetic types and/or geographically related languages are most welcome.  Space will also be given to any other typologically oriented research into word-formation as well as papers discussing the scope of word-formation and the relation between word-formation and other linguistic disciplines.
Main organizers: Rochelle Lieber, University of New Hampshire, USA, Pavel Stekauer, P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia, Salvador Valera, University of Jaén, Spain and SKASE.
Guest Speakers:
Important deadlines:
All the relevant information copncerning submission of papers, accommodation, registration, travel instructions, and important deadlines, is available on the website of SKASE, The Slovak Association for the Study of English: http://www.skase.sk (follow "Kosice 2009 Conference").

Ford was a major internationalist, and in particular a lover of France, its literature and culture.  He wrote much on France and French writing - wrote in French himself occasionally - and set several of his books in Paris and Provence, where he spent most of his time from 1922 to his death. He also edited the Transatlantic Review from Paris, publishing French writers alongside American and British ones. Yet Ford’s significant relationship to France has scarcely been studied.

This conference aims to mark a new beginning in French Fordian studies, relocate Ford in the cultural setting of Provence, and ensure that his coming out of copyright (in 2009) sees more of his work translated into French.

- Ford's editorial work for the transatlantic review and its supplements;
- Ford's as yet little-researched French network of writers, poets, artists and musicians: Philippe Soupault, Francis Carco, Tristan Tzara, Jules Laforgue, Jean Cassou, René Crevel, Georges Pillement, Valéry Larbaud, Juan Gris, Jacob Epstein, Braque, Brancusi, Nina Hamner, Georges Antheil and Eric Satie;

- Ford's treatment of France in his reminiscences and autobiography;
- Ford's vision of France, from his propaganda books to the French plots and settings in his fiction;
- Ford's views on the giants of French literature and culture – Flaubert, Maupassant, Proust, etc.;
- Ford and Biala in France.

(posted 2 Jul '08)

In his momentous Sorry speech of February 13, 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confidently announced Australia’' firm resolution to /turn a new page in history by writing the wrongs of the past /and find solutions for the future. The overwhelming task at hand for Australians in the 21st century is none but to /close the gap that lies between indigenous and non-indigenous /peoples and /shape the next chapter /of their history by redefining the terms of the country’s foundational myths and (his)stories. Certainly, to quote from Henry Lawson, the country has come a long way since "it began to boomerang". But in order /to take heart for the future/ and for its peoples /to become fully reconciled to their past/ they need to revisit and reassess whole chapters of their history until old lies, myths and stereotypes dissolve and clear the ground for new solutions, aimed at reconciliation but addressing also possible ways of articulating a multicultural Australia.

Across the Tasman they have been clearing the ground for a considerably longer while; nonetheless there are still pending gaps to be bridged, not only between Maori and Pakeha, but with other ethnic and social minorities, in relation to their position and partaking in the diverse national debates in which New Zealand is currently engaged. As the general election approaches in late 2008, this might be a good moment both to discuss possible solutions for old and new problems and to consider the revision, if not the dissolution, of some of the country’s narratives and myths.

As for the wider Pacific region, the challenges faced by its peoples in the 21st century continue to be determined by uninterrupted currents of change. Migration movements, political and economic instabilities and global flows of transcultural exchange have altered the profile of the region, resulting both in the dissolution of local allegiances and traditional values and in the creation of new transnational bonds and interinsular networks, which will inevitably determine the future of the region and the ways in which we choose to undertake any discussion of its past.

Under the same sun, but from the opposite hemisphere, with this conference we propose to light a homely fire, put another billy on and invite boiling academic discussion over the issue of national and cultural (dis)solutions in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Our aim will be to explore to what extent the future of these nations and the region at large will depend on the disintegration of the allegiances and narratives of the past, whether those /old approaches /that have failed so far can really be superseded by new political solutions, new cultural (re)constructions and narrative formulas, and which aspects are involved in the process of (dis)solving the past and the present /to go forward with confidence/.

· The dissolution, reconstruction, faking and performance of cultural, national and ethnic identities.
· The dissolution of History in favour of histories, herstories, stories.
· Dissolutions and new configurations of landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes.
· Dissolutions of gender, racial, social, ethnic and indigenous conflicts.
· Dis/solving multicultural, migration, refugee issues.
· Dis/solving historical mysteries, silences, traumas.
· Dissolving and resolving political and cultural dilemmas of the 21^st century.
· Dis/solving memories. Re/membering stories.
· Dis/solutions and dis/illusions.

· Diasporic, global and local dis/solutions.

Our Association’s inter- and multidisciplinary approach to studies on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific can host presentations from a wide range of disciplines and subject areas such as: Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, Media and Film Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Visual and performing arts, etc
We encourage a liberal and creative approach to the topic.
One day preceding the conference will be devoted to a *Postgraduate Seminar*, where postgraduate/advanced students will be able to discuss their work with experts in their field in a lecture + workshop format.
Please e-mail your 250-word abstracts, marking its subject "10th EASA Conference", by 1st APRIL 2009 to: <paloma.fresno@uib.es>.
Acceptance of papers will be communicated by 1st May 2009.
For further information, please visit: http://www.easa-australianstudies.net/intro.php
Organising Committee: Paloma Fresno, Aurora García, Alejandra Moreno, Eva Pérez, Cristina Suárez, Lucía Loureiro, Marta Fernández, J. Igor Prieto, Marian Amengual, Juana Mª Seguí and Caty Ribas (members of the research group "Cultural Diversity in English-Speaking Countries" (University of the Balearic Islands).