The Lithic Gathering: shifting temporalities and mythologies of ritual stone structures.

This one-day symposium (9:30-4:30 h) invites Arts and Humanities scholars working in relation to Neolithic or other ancient stone structures to submit an abstract for a short presentation (15 minutes) or a longer presentation/paper (25 minutes) on the themes of materiality, mythology, affect and temporality.

Ritual/sacred stone structures, such as henges, dolmens and cairns of the Neolithic and Mesolithic era have been (re)visited, (re)used and (re)invoked by societies over the centuries in relation to spiritual, cultural and functional needs and desires. In the 20th century, within a British context, Stonehenge featured prominently in visual and popular countercultures, whilst in the 21st century, stone-specific or folklore zines and wanderlust communities have emerged in relation to these stone sites. We are interested in the ways in which these structures and/or the materiality of the stone/the lithic itself merges, redefines or shifts historical and mythological narratives, particularly in relation to their manifestations within global visual cultures and artistic practices.

Scholarly and artistic approaches to stone sites may include but are not limited to the fields, concepts and methodologies of: art, affect studies, archaeology, anthropology, art history, ceramics, cultural studies, craft, creative writing, design, decolonisation, drama, film, folk studies, folk horror, history, gaming, gender, gothic studies, literature, material culture, new materialism, photography, queer studies, reindigenisation, screen studies, site-writing, social geography, social media, sociology, walking and visual culture.

This call for papers is organised by The Stones Project, based at Manchester Metropolitan University. The research collective examines how we represent and experience ancient and modern British and Irish standing stones and ritual stone structures in their contemporary contexts, through a sensory and embodied research approach.

Please indicate your preference regarding presentation length (15 minutes or 25 minutes) and what your preferred delivery style is; this might include a PowerPoint presentation, spoken paper, performance, film, artefact or artwork show and tell. We reserve the right to direct on timing allocations. We plan to publish selected presentations from the symposium within a special edition journal.

There will be time chaired for questions at the end of each panel session.

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Deadline for applications: Friday 28th March

I Guidance on submission
Please include:

- Your Name
- Job Title / University/institution if you are affiliated to one
- Title of your presentation/paper/artefact/artwork
- Preferred format: 15 minute presentation / 25 minute paper / presentation / displayed artefact or artwork (limited space, so please provide dimensions) with 15 minute or 25 minute presentation.
- An Abstract of 300 words maximum
- Any requirements: equipment / access

Email to send submissions to scholarsofthestonesgmail.com