International Conference
Image and appearance
Murcia, November 19-21, 2008

Organized by
Seneca Foundation. "Imagen y Apariencia" Project

Organizing Committee
Concepción de la Peña Velasco (PhD), Director
Manuel Pérez Sanchez (PhD), Director's Assistant
Juan Miguel González Martínez (PhD), Secretary
María Teresa Marín Torres (PhD), General Assistant
María del Mar Albero (PhD), Assistant

Manners and behaviour, facial expressions, gestures, clothes, ornaments, the
house were they live, their circle of people, the animals and objects that
surround them. They all offer glimpses into the every day life of people from
the Ancient Regime to our days. They tell us about the social structure,
culture, technology, taste, gender roles and aspirations of the individuals
and the societies they are part of Literature, music and art give testimony
to these questions, as do documents about dowry, inventories, parties,
funerals, fairs and markets. Together, they offer a picture of the human
being - be it at the top or at the bottom of the social hierarchy - and his
most intimate convictions.

Section 1: PHYSIOGNOMY AND THE EXPRESSION
OF THE PASSIONS
Director: Victor Stoichita, PhD. University of Friburg (Switzerland)
Speakers: Cristina Torres Fontes, PhD (University of Murcia)
Maria del Mar Albero, PhD (University of Murcia)

Physiognomy and pathognomy. The soul's passions. Gesture and expression in
literature and in art. Age and gender. Decorum and composure as containment
of sentiments. The eloquent body. Seduction through personal image. The
gallant smile and melancholy as a source of inspiration. The portraits of
power and the symbolic codes. The religious image. Declamatory art. The
representation of good and evil. Vice and virtue.

Section 2: THE DIALOGUE OF APPEARANCE.
ANSWERS AND EXPECTATIONS ABOUT
THE BODY AND ATTIRE
Director: Antonio Cea Gutiérrez, PhD (CSIC)
Speakers: Ma Isabel Montoya Ramírez, PhD (University of Granada)
Ma Dolores Vila, National Musseum of Decorative Arts

Being and seeming. Functional and symbolic values of appearance. Verbal and
musical speech. Manners and politeness. Costumes, hairstyles and accessories.
Clothes, textiles and colours according to dignity, rank and status.
Religious and military uniforms. Symbols of social status. Search of
identity. Status and privilege. Fashion. The influence of other cultures.
Cosmopolitanism and regionalism. Marginalization. Uniformity. Signs of
distinction. The ordinary and the extraordinary. Truth and falsehood, secrets
and lies. The disguise and the mask. Protocol and etiquette. Galas and
ceremonies. Ornaments. Furniture and decoration. The world as a theatre.
Scenography, machinery, light and sound. Treaties and discourse on behaviour.
Laws about luxury. The necessary, the useful and the presumptuous.

Section 3: ART COLLECTING AND PATRONAGE
Director: Cristóbal Belda Navarro, PhD
Speakers: Jesús Rivas Carmona, PhD (University of Murcia).
Isabel Gómez de Rueda, PhD, Fundación Cajamurcia

The wish to possess as the expression of personality, wisdom and taste. The
collector's image. The desire to show one's possesions. Commissions,
purchases, sales and gifts. Accumulating or collecting? Chambers of wonders,
studies and galleries. The institutional collector. Cathedral's treasures.
Museums and collections.

DATES

January 22nd, 2008. Opening date for registration and payment by bank
transfer.
June 15th, 2008. Deadline for the submission of abstracts.
October 10th, 2008. Deadline for the reception of papers.
November 3rd, 2008. Deadline for participants registration.
* November, 2008. International Conference: Image and Appearance.

LOCATION

Faculty of Letters. University of Murcia.

REGISTRATION FORM
- Website of the Congress: http://www.um.es/imagenyapariencia
- Send to : mperezsaum.es

Participants without paper: 60 €
Participants with paper: 120 € (Includes minutes)
Payment may be made by bank transfer to the following account:
Cajamurcia: 2043 0133 7502 0000 3744.
Identifying Congress Image and Appearance

CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION

http://www.um.es/imagenyapariencia
Information about the congress: mperezsaum.es
Sending for papers: mmalberoum.es

List of hotels and place of celebration of the congress on the website:
http://www.um.es/imagenyapariencia