The VIII International Congress of the Portuguese Association of Comparative Literature, with “Olhares Cruzados: Representations of Epidemics in the Arts. From Catastrophe to Resilience” as its motto, will take place between the 12th and 14th of October.

The event is organized by the University of Évora and the University of Madeira, with the collaboration of several other entities, including the Institute of Comparative Literature Margarida Losa). It intends to contemplate the research interests fundamentally centred on the theme of different epidemics such as the black plague, the Spanish flu, cholera and AIDS, and the way in which they have been conceived as catastrophes that have caused profound changes in the ways of existence and in the forms of human relationship.

Noteworthy is the panel Contagion and Influence: definitions and declinations, which is scheduled for 3:15 pm on October 13th (auditorium’s annexed room 007). Following the thematic axis “Representations and reinterpretations of the different epidemics”, Fátima Outeirinho (ILCML|FLUP) will be presenting the lecture Entre o contágio e a Influência. Algumas considerações teóricas sobre a prática do ILCML, Ana Margarida Fonseca (ILCML e Instituto Politécnico da Guarda) the lecture Representações pós-pandémicas: a construção do futuro e a salvação da memória em O Último Gozo do Mundo de Bernardo Carvalho, José Domingues de Almeida (ILCML|FLUP) the lecture Anticiper le pire. De Profundis d’Emmanuelle Pirotte: pandémie et résilience and Maria Luísa Malato (ILCML|FLUP) the lecture Do contágio viral à influência política: uma utopia portuguesa no contexto bélico da Gripe Espanhola.

The VIII APLC Congress’s complete program can be consulted here.

The abstracts’ book can be consulted here.

For further information, visit the event’s website.