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
Izabela Olszewska
University of Gdańsk
Holocaust Testimony from the Perspective of Emotion Linguistics: An Analysis Based on Jewish Diaries
Jewish diaries from the Holocaust period serve as a valuable source for research on the emotional dimension of Holocaust experiences. The aim of this paper is to analyze Jewish Holocaust diaries from the perspective of emotion linguistics, with a particular focus on the linguistic means used to express affective states in extreme situations. The study identifies specific lexical and syntactic structures that reveal predominant emotions – fear, despair, hope – as well as the adaptive mechanisms recorded by the authors, allowing for a deeper understanding of linguistic strategies for describing trauma.
The empirical material consists of diaries from the collections of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, including diaries preserved in the Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, as well as the so-called ‘elicited collection’ created in response to an appeal by the Central Jewish Historical Commission, encompassing texts from Holocaust survivors. Additionally, the material includes a collection of Jewish diaries written during the war and occupation period.
