1st International Egodocumental Network Conference
Vilnius University, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the University of Lodz, and the Egodocumental Research Group (https://egodocuments.umk.pl) organise an international conference focusing on research, development, and changing perceptions of egodocuments in the twenty-first century. The conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines to share their insights and to encourage interdisciplinary studies of egodocuments.
The conference will also be the first meeting of the International Egodocumental Network established in December 2023 by the Egodocumental Research Group (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Lodz) to unite scholars from different disciplines working on egodocuments. It provides a platform for discussion, collaboration, and exchange of information between the participants, as well as online research seminars organized twice a year. In this dimension, our conference continues two editions of the Scientific Symposium "Egodocuments, Life-Writing and Autobiographical Texts..." organized at NCU in Toruń in 2022 and 2024.
Keynote speakers
Dr. Nataliia Voloshkova
Kazimierz Wielki University and Oxford Brookes University
Prof. Leona Toker
Hebrew University and Shalem Academic College
Prof. François-Joseph Ruggiu
Sorbonne Université, CNRS and Oxford University
Filip Wolański
University of Wrocław
The Religious Experience of the Inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Marian Sanctuaries in Italy, France, and Spain in the Light of Eighteenth-Century Travel Accounts
Travel accounts are an important type of egodocuments. Their writing convention allows for insights into the reflections of the traveler regarding their individual religious experiences, which are often deeply personal, and sometimes even intimate. Analysis of the accounts of the residents of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth provides significant information about their religious mentality. Through the lens of descriptions of religious experiences, one can analyze perceptions of the otherness of the Romance countries with their strong cultures and compare the understanding of religious cults, particularly Marian devotion, which is very important for Catholic religiosity.
The aim of the presentation is to highlight these phenomena and issues in the light of the accounts of the 18th-century residents of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including those from sanctuaries in Loreto, Montserrat, and Rome, as well as lesser-known places of the Marian cult in the Romance countries. Accounts from clergy and laypeople (including women) of various ages and social standings will be utilized. An attempt will be made to answer the question of how much the travel accounts of residents of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth can be considered as egodocuments.
