2nd Global Conference:
The Changing Faces of Evil
An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

Saturday 9th March - Sunday 10th March 2019
Prague, Czech Republic

Evil – the things we do as well as the things that happen to us – continues to be a stubborn and destructive presence in our lives. Despite often repeated slogans of ‘never again’ and ‘lessons will be learned’, and in the face of all of the monuments, memorials, speeches and books designed to keep the ills of the past ever in our thoughts, the sheer savagery of the evils we are individually and collectively capable of performing is writ seemingly larger every day.

Evil continues to leave enduring scars on life in the 21st century, despite knowledge of the Holocaust, the Rwandan and Armenian genocides, the events of Darfur and more. Contrary to what might be expected, these events have not served as sufficient warnings to save the global community from enduring new humanitarian catastrophes. Geopolitical power struggles resulting in poverty, violence and devastation for affected communities continue to leave a legacy of suffering in many parts of the world. The economies of the world embrace deregulation, protectionism and austerity, bringing financial crises which devastate individuals, families, communities and states. And despite advances in understanding psycho-social influences and reasons behind crime, we have not been able to prevent horrific acts of killing and violence in our communities.

People increasingly feel we have entered a time of ‘big’ evil – actions and events which play out on national, international and global stages, using the tools and machinery of the state and supported by the deliberate and cynical manipulation of all forms of media. The re-emergence of slavery, the continued growth of trafficking, the apparent invulnerability of corporations and the unaccountability of political actors create a rising sense among us all of injustice, powerlessness, indifference, irrelevance, hopelessness, resignation and despair.

Our second meeting of this inclusive interdisciplinary conference will explore four main areas with a view to forming a publication to engender further collaboration and discussion;
1) What does evil look like in the 21st century?
2) Are we seeing the (re)emergence of strains of evil and wickedness particularly in relation to governments, the State and nations?
3) How do and how can we ‘see’ evil? How is it possible to represent and portray evil?
4) What is our capacity to manage, confront, contain and overcome evil?

Evils operate across numerous levels and layers, inviting responses from people from all disciplines, professions and vocations. This inclusive interdisciplinary conference will open a space for us to come together in dialogue and wrestle with questions that cross the boundaries of the intellectual, the emotional and the personal. Underlying these efforts is the sense that in grappling with evil we are in fact grappling with questions and issues of our own humanity.

Proposals are invited for presentations, papers, panels, workshops, readings, performances, screenings and installations on any aspect of evils, including but not limited to:

1. Evil in the 21st Century

~ How (if at all) are the evils of today different from the evils of previous centuries?
~ What are the causes, sources and catalysts of evil in 21st century?
~ Whose Evil? Naming and owning evil. The status and responses to actions considered justified by some groups and evil by others
~ Evil by name or evil by nature: Considering the use and implications of the rhetoric of evil in relation to social, political, religious and cultural issues
~ The uses, benefits and disadvantages of using ‘evil’ as a label, description or classification
~ Evils, law and order (including immigration, asylum, human rights, slavery, trafficking)
~ Evils and Geopolitical issues
~ Evils, cultural and social customs, practices, traditions
~ Evils in business and corporate environments
~ Evils, religion and religious movements
~ Health, medicine, pharma, mental health, pain and suffering
~ Technology and Evils
~ Evils, animals and non-human entities
~ Evils and the planet

2. Evil, Government, the State and Nations

~ Are governments, states and nations necessarily or accidentally evil?
~ The legitimisation of authority and power
~ The state and elitism
~ The state and policing
~ Evil in relation to public and social policies
~ Anarchy and other solutions
~ Legitimate and illegitimate protest
~ Rioting, looting and banking
~ The state and oppression
~ News, fake news and misinformation: free speech
~ The State and surveillance; privacy
~ Terrorism, war, civil war, social conflict
~ torture, rendition
~ Communities and leaders

3. Seeing and Portraying Evils

One of the ways people have historically responded to evil has been through representation in visual media, storytelling, music, and other forms of art. What is the value of such a response? How are evils portrayed in fictional and non-fictional contexts and how do those types of representation impact our understanding of evil? Should evil be portrayed? Issues to be explored include evil in:

~ film, radio, television and theatre
~ literature
~ social media
~ news and information outlets
~ music, opera, ballet and the performing arts
~ art, sculpture, graffiti, street art

4. Confronting, Containing and Overcoming Evils

~ How do we respond to evil? What are best ways of confronting and preventing evil?
~ the roles of activism, protest, dissent and rebellion
~ the roles of education and research
~ activist and NGO-driven responses
~ corporate and philanthropic responses
~ responses by local, national and international governments
~ ethical choices and lifestyles/personal development responses
~ professional protocols/best practice

What to Send
The aim of this interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring people together and encourage creative conversations in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, storytelling, performances, poster presentations, panels, q&a’s, roundtables etc.

300 word proposals, presentations, abstracts and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 12th October 2018. Other forms of participation should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chair.

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Development Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 26th October 2018

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 25th January 2019.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: Evil 2 Submission

The Interdisciplinary Foundation
We are pleased to announce that thanks to the generosity of a private sponsorship donation, we are able to offer 2 places on the conference to early career researchers or proposals which the Board believes to exhibit exceptional interdisciplinary merit. The foundation will cover the registration costs associated with the event. Travel and accommodation will remain the responsibility of the attendee. If you would like to attend the conference in one of the two places available you will need to complete an application statement. Please contact the Organising Chair for further details. Submission of this statement does not guarantee you a free place. All applications will be considered by Evil Development Team and members of the Progressive Connexions Advisory Board and you will be informed if you have been successful.

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Dr Natalia Kaloh Vid: natalia@progressiveconnexions.net
Project Administrator: pragueevil@progressiveconnexions.net

What’s so Special About Progressive Connexions Events?
A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos
Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

For enquiries please email: pragueevil@progressiveconnexions.net

For further details and information please visit the conference web page: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/evil/the-changing-faces-of-evil/conferences/

Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions