Topic

        In the past as in the present, in the arts as in the humanities, the concept of “myth” transcends time and space in offering limitless points of contact between diverse disciplines. Before its reframing by Plato, the word muthos denoted a speech or narrative. For him, muthos, concerning fables and legends, opposed logos, which evoked logic and rationality. Subsequently, in his Poetics, Aristotle defined muthos as an essential narrative component to tragedy. In the two millennia since, notions of myth and mythology have developed into polymorphic referents, serving the fields of history, anthropology, psychoanalysis, sociology, and literature today. 

In his work Mythologies, Roland Barthes attributes to myth the ability to turn ordinary objects and ideas into powerful cultural and ideological symbols. Claude Lévi-Strauss's four-volume work, Mythologiques, explores the universality of myths as they contain semiological systems which allow reality to be translated into recurring motifs, pointing to a universal consciousness. This observation is shared by Mircea Eliade, who insists that the sacredness of myth signifies a religious and existential meaning transcending profane reality. Carl Jung, meanwhile, speaks of a “collective unconscious” which inscribes shared ancestral experiences into the human mind, allowing for shared myths found across cultures. According to his theory, contact with myth leads to self-actualization, or what he called “individuation.” In summary, the concept of “myth” is at the same time universal and multidisciplinary, offering fertile ground for research and interrogation. 

This conference aims to facilitate interdisciplinary reflection and exchange to expand the horizons of its participants in rethinking myth in the contemporary period. 

Propositions for this conference could explore (but are not limited to) the following themes: 

• National myths and emblematic figures  

• Myth and the collective unconscious  

• Origin myths and religious myths 

• Mythic spaces and geocriticism 

• World myths and legends 

• Myth and embodiment  

• Myth and Media 

Each of these themes could be examined separately or together, according to different approaches and methodologies (literary, sociological, historical, cinematographic, psychoanalytic, etc.) on the sole condition of treating a corpus or field of study in connection with the francophone world. 

This event is free and includes all meals. We are unfortunately unable to provide financial aid for travel and lodging. Lafayette is at the heart of Cajun and Creole country (one hour from Baton Rouge, and two hours from New Orleans) and sits at the crossroads of multiple francophone cultures sharing the same historical and linguistic roots. 

Submission of proposals to : conference.spring2025@gmail.com

 Location : Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

For more informations, please contact the committee members at the following address :  : conference.spring2025@gmail.com