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
Zuzanna Witt
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
“If God is for us hoo can be a gainst us” – God and Faith in the Civil War Letters
The American Civil War, marked by suffering, death, and separation, led soldiers and their families to seek solace in faith. Religion, often invoked in personal letters, became a source of hope amidst the trials of war (Miller 2007: 14). However, faith also played a role in the ideological conflict, as abolitionists framed slavery as a moral sin demanding divine justice (Miller et al. 1998: 76). This dual role of faith shaped both personal experiences and the larger war narrative.
This paper uses a corpus-driven approach to examine religious faith in the writings of Civil War soldiers and their families from the Confederacy and Union. Drawing from letters in the Private Voices (Ellis and Montgomery 2023) repository, we utilize LancsBox X software for keyword and frequency analysis. Our study compares how correspondents from both sides expressed religious beliefs, invoked prayer, and appealed to divine guidance, expecting linguistic differences in how faith framed personal suffering and the war.
By analyzing these letters, we aim to uncover subtle variations in the religious expression between the Union and Confederate correspondents, providing insights into how faith shaped personal perspectives during the conflict.
