University of Siedlce
Institute of Linguistics and Literary Studies
and
University of the Balearic Islands
Faculty of Philosophy and Art
would like to kindly invite all scholars from across the Humanities to take part in the
10th Annual Siedlce Forum for Contemporary Issues
in Language and Literature
to be held online for the purpose of presenting unpublished research findings in English on November 13th-14th, 2025.
The leitmotif of the conference is:
Totality and fragmentation
in literature, linguistics, philosophy and culture
Totality and fragmentation are ideas that shape how we think about literature, language, and philosophy. In literary works, unified narratives often coexist with fragmented imagery and scattered structures, reflecting the complexity and diversity of human experience. Language, inherently dynamic, follows rules for clarity while also evolving through different dialects, new words, and changing contexts—showing both order and chaos. In philosophy, the tension between holistic, totalizing systems and fragmented, context-specific insights challenges traditional notions of truth, knowledge, and reality. Recognizing both totality and fragmentation invites us to rethink what it means to be whole, suggesting that completeness comes from a lively mix of different, sometimes conflicting parts. This perspective encourages scholars to question established binaries, ultimately enriching our understanding of cultural and intellectual evolution. Postmodern thought rejected the modern search for one grand narrative, instead seeing broken fragments as a true reflection of contemporary life;whilerecently coined metamodernism seeks to integrate the aspects of both modern and postmodern thought, clearly demonstrating the tension between totality and fragmentation. In Literature Studies, through postmodernism’s embrace of discontinuity which is embodied in the developing literary theories, there have opened up fresh interpretive possibilities; however, some critics contend that too much emphasis on fragmentation can undermine efforts to discern enduring patterns and collective insights.
Totality and fragmentation tcan also be observed in numerous linguistic phenomena are linked to the fact that people in their reasoning need to conceptualize and categorize part-whole relationships. Consequently, these relations are reflected and coded linguistically, for example in the language grammar or lexis. Still, despite the many interconnected aspects between wholes and parts in language, at times linguists tended to overlook this reciprocal relationship. Nowadays, however, fragmenting and unifying practices in linguistics more and more often assist the research into language from various perspectives in areas such as spoken and written discourse, translation, corpus studies, dictionary making as well as language learning and teaching. Each and every aspect can be viewed through the prism of a whole or a unit of analysis, making the studies fuller and more thorough. What is more, the progress in information and communication technology, including Artificial Intelligence or the Semantic Web, facilitates and encourages analyses of various relations between parts and a whole on a scale never seen before.
The issue of totality and fragmentation in philosophy revolves around the tension between seeing reality as a unified whole (totality) and recognizing its diverse, disconnected parts (fragmentation). Thinkers like Hegel emphasized totality, arguing that reality unfolds as a rational, interconnected process where contradictions resolve into a higher unity. Marx extended this idea, viewing history and society as structured by overarching systems like capitalism. In contrast, postmodernists such as Lyotard and Foucault reject grand narratives, emphasizing fragmentation, difference, and localized truths. Existentialists like Sartre also challenge totality by emphasizing individual freedom and subjective experience. This debate appears in epistemology, where rationalists seek unified knowledge, while pragmatists accept fragmented, context-dependent understanding. In political philosophy, totalitarianism can be seen as a dangerous pursuit of totality, whereas pluralism values fragmentation and difference. The Frankfurt School criticized capitalist fragmentation, advocating for a more holistic, emancipatory totality. In art and literature, modernists sought unified meaning, while postmodernists embraced disorder and multiplicity. Ultimately, this issue questions whether we should strive for unity in knowledge, society, and existence or accept and even celebrate fragmentation.
Suggested Research Areas
Literature:
- Narrative Structures: Unity versus Disruption
- Totalizing Worldviews versus Fragmented Realities
- Narrative Structure and Coherence
- Fragmentation in Poetic Form
- Temporal and Spatial Fragmentation
- Postmodernism and the Aesthetics of Fragmentation
- Identity and Subjectivity in Fragmented Narratives
- Intertextuality and Mosaic Narratives
- Genre Studies: Fragmentation Across Literary Forms
- Postmodern Literary Theory and Its Critics
- Digital Narratives and the Fragmentation of Form
- Historical Evolution of Totality and Fragmentation
Linguistics:
- Totality and Fragmentation in a Language and across Languages
- Unity and Division in Languages for Special Purposes
- Totality and Fragmentation in Translation Practice
- Lexicographic and Terminographic Fragmentation and Fusion Practices
- Corpus Studies and AI – Unifying and Fragmenting Practices
- Integration and Detachment in Discourse Studies across Various Genres
- Incompleteness and Fragmentation in Spoken Language
- Translanguaging in Language Learning and Teaching: Implications for the Classroom
- Semantic Fragmentation and Conventionalisation
Philosophy:
- Philosophical Reconceptualizations of Truth
- Metaphysical Conceptions of Wholeness and Division
- Epistemology and the Limits of Totalizing Knowledge
- Dialectics and the Synthesis of Opposites
- Structuralism vs. Poststructuralism
- Existential and Phenomenological Perspectives on Selfhood
- Ethics: Universal Moral Systems versus Contextual Morality
- Political Philosophy and Ideological Totalization
- Language, Discourse, and the Construction of Reality
- Synthesis and Integration in Contemporary Philosophical Thought
Plenary Speakers
Prof. Aled Llion Jones, University of Bangor
The conference will be a virtual event. The organizing committee will do their best to ensure that all participants have the IT support they need to access the conference.
Oral Sessions
Each presentation will be scheduled for a 20-minute slot, followed by a 10-minute discussion.
Conference Fee
All participants are requested to return the registration form and pay the conference fee by November 5th, 2025. The fee is EUR 50 or PLN 230.
Abstract Submission
An abstract of 200-300 words (including a bibliography) should be submitted by September 15th, 2025 via conference website https://annualsiedlceforum.uws.edu.pl/ Your abstract must be accompanied by the following information: name of the author, title of the paper, affiliation, academic degree, research area and a biographical note of 60-80 words in length. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by September 20th, 2025.
The registration form is available on our official site. If you wish to receive an invoice, please tick off the Invoice Box in the registration form.
Publication
Submitted text proposals will be considered for publication either in the journal Forum for Contemporary Issues in Language and Literature or in a peer-reviewed volume. The texts will need to be submitted by February 15th, 2026 to
The fee should be transferred to one of the following bank accounts:
Institution Name
Uniwersytet w Siedlcach
ul. Konarskiego 2
08-110 Siedlce, Poland
Bank Account for Payments in EUR
PL 84124026851978001014643201
SWIFT BIC: PKOPPLPW
Bank Pekao S.A. O/ Siedlce
Wojskowa 24, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
Bank Account for Payments in PLN
19124026851111000036563195
Bank Pekao S.A. O/ Siedlce
Wojskowa 24, 08-110 Siedlce
Title for the payment: Name, Surname 10th Annual Siedlce Forum
Please note that participants will cover all the costs associated with money transfer services.
Organising Committee
Edward Colerick (University of Siedlce)
Sergio García-Rodríguez (Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia)
Andrés L. Jaume (University of the Balearic Islands)
Katarzyna Kozak (University of Siedlce)
Katarzyna Mroczyńska (University of Siedlce)
Vicente Raga Rosaleny (University of Valencia)
Agnieszka Rzepkowska (University of Siedlce)
Magdalena Wieczorek (University of Siedlce)