19 – 22 November
at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Iași, Romania
About the conference
Welcome to the 7th edition
Over the past two decades C. S. Lewis has not only persisted as a cultural icon, and his writings as cultural touchstones, but the impact of both his person and his work continues to reach into new mediums and find new expressions in fields he himself could not have imagined. Film, theatre, video games, board games, dance, sculptures, paintings, book illustrations, fanfiction – all join the continual burgeoning of academic papers and theses, biographies, monographs, personal blogs.
Since their publication, Lewis’s writings have attracted a wide range of readership and thus an ever-widening range of interpretive responses, such as reading a Narnia novel as basic religious allegory, medieval cosmology, or covert criticism of communism. The process goes both ways, for there is a consistent acknowledgment that these works can, in turn, change perceptions, perhaps even entire worldviews. Of particular interest is how his works – and those of the Inklings in general – have been received, reflected or re-invented through different cultural lenses, societies, languages, and the varying resulting impacts on readers; the variances in apprehension and (re)interpretation in literary criticism and literary history.
Keynote speakers
Meet this year's special guests
Call for papers
Submit your paper
We invite papers that are explorations of:
the various ways in which Lewis's writings of various genres are both reflective of and reinvent literature and in other arts and media
how his work has been reflected and/or reinvented in both literature and other art media
variances in their apprehension and (re)interpretation in literary criticism and literary history
e.g. visual arts (book illustrations, painting, sculptures), music, drama, film, gaming, etc.
the ways in which translations of his work have been variously received and reflected in different languages and the consequences thereof
how Lewis's work has been received and expressed through different cultural lenses (e.g. English-speaking countries.vs Eastern and Western Continental countries vs African countries etc.) and the varying resulting impacts on readers
the way many of Lewis's kindred spirit writers have transposed his images, ideas, and words into their own transformative articulations
We invite papers in the fields of literary history and literary criticism, cultural studies and arts studies, linguistics and applied linguistics, aesthetics, theology, history, ethics, and education sciences but proposals on any other topics directly connected to the conference theme are welcome.
It is our hope that the discussions and explorations occasioned by this conference will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the work of Lewis, the Inklings and other kindred spirits, and how and why they continue to impact both academic thinking and popular culture today.
Conference presentations should be in English and will be allocated 25 minutes each, plus 10 minutes for discussion.
Participants are invited to send a 250-300-word abstract, mentioning the section that their presentation is related to, and a brief bio-note (around 100 words)
Deadline for abstract submissions:
Regular submission: July 20th, 2025
Notification of acceptance: July 31st, 2025
A selection of papers from the conference will be published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Linguaculture – listed on ERIH PLUS and DOAJ. Also, it is our intention to publish a follow-up volume.
Submissions are welcome from scholars at every career stage, and we will organise a special section for young academics as MA and PhD students.
Limited scholarships are available for students from Central and Eastern Europe.
Questions or inquiries prior to submission may be directed to Dr. Daniela Vasiliu: agorachristi17@gmail.com
Further information to follow shortly.
Call for artists
The stage is set
This year we plan to develop the emerging arts contribution to the conference so that it becomes a festival which runs in, through and around the event.
Building on the successful impact of our last event, some of the papers submitted will be art works, performance art, music or spoken word. Also, contributions such as these will punctuate and shape the lecture sessions and so enable reflection, fresh perspectives and playfulness to be woven throughout each day.
There will also be a fine art exhibition once more; an evening of theatre, music and dance; late night cafe sessions for music, poetry and comedy; and artistic interaction and seminars with students at the university and high schools.
So, this is a call to creatives, to respond to the theme of Receive, Reflect and Reinvent, and bring your contributions to some or many of these moments of expression and exploration. Painting, sculpture, dance, music, song, theatre, film, poetry, improv, stand up, spoken word, as well as craftsmanship and making in all kinds of creative disciplines.
Martin Young
Creative Director
C.S. Lewis Conference Iași