Registration via https://event.ugent.be/registration/symposiumpoetics from 14-01-2026 08:36 until 07-05-2026 08:39
Belgian scholars of all levels (PhD, postdoc, ZAP) are invited to present their research on poetry and poetics, and literary studies more generally, and to reflect on the social and political forces within their work. Symposium presenters may be drawn from attendees of the Classes of Excellence at each of the four partner universities (see below), but participation (as a presenter or simply as an attendee) remains open to members of any Belgian institute of higher learning.
To maximize the long-term value of the symposium, we plan to publish the contributions to the symposium in a peer-reviewed special issue of an academic journal (more details to follow).
Please use this form to register your attendance at the symposium as either a presenter or an attendee.
To submit a proposal for the symposium, please use this form by March 27: https://forms.gle/B59dDFEprQQ8sqEV8
The closing symposium is linked to Prof. Roland Greene's Francqui International Chair.
Inaugural Lecture: "Literary Studies After Universalism: A History and a Manifesto"
Greene’s lecture will trace the decline of universalism: the idea that certain themes, experiences, or values in literature are common to all humans, transcending specific cultural, historical, or geographical contexts.
Classes of Excellence: “On Universalism"
The “Classes of Excellence” will build on ideas that will be first explored in Prof. Greene’s inaugural lecture, and will further plumb the many dimensions and consequences of universalism, its rise, and its fall, exploring along the way the present and future of literary studies broadly conceived: what it can do, what it should do, and how literary criticism might serve many diverse audiences in the twenty-first century.
For more information, contact Prof. Andrew Bricker (Andrew.Bricker@UGent.be)