INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HALLOWEEN, UK

[The Madame X]

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HALLOWEEN

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND: 31 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER 2006

Despite its increasing importance as both a cultural and an economic
phenomenon in a growing number of countries, Halloween remains a
surprisingly under-researched and under-theorised topic in academic
writing. Seen by some as originating in the Celtic festival of
Samhain celebrating the Celtic new year in Ireland and Scotland,
Halloween moved from there to America in the nineteenth century with
Scottish and Irish emigrants, only to return to Europe towards the
end of twentieth century as a not universally welcome guest (it was,
for example, condemned by the French bishops in 1999 and now exists
in some degree of tension with traditional religious days such as
All Saints and All Souls). It has also become a high-profile media
topic, not only in films such as the Halloween series, but also
featuring in television news and in (often scare-mongering) stories
in the press, and even in cartoons, and its growing economic
importance as a source of merchandising and even of tourism-related
activities is increasingly in evidence. In Scotland and Ireland,
where Halloween in its modern form has been celebrated for well
over a century, changes in the form of those celebrations are only
too apparent.

This conference brings together speakers from twelve countries who
will be exploring the origins and transformations of Halloween,
the "arrival" of Halloween in a range of European countries, the
various ways in which Halloween is celebrated and how these are
changing, the link between Halloween and tourism, and how Halloween
is represented in literature and the media (radio, film and
television). The four keynote speakers are:

Salvador Cardús, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Jonas Frykman, Lunds universitet, Sweden

Lothar Mikos, Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen "Konrad Wolf",
Potsdam,
Germany

Jack Santino, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA

The early-bird registration fee of £195, which includes lunch both
days as well as the conference dinner on 31 October - which will
itself be preceded by a performance of The Cauldron by the Port
Seton Dramatic Society - is available until 30 September.
Registration is via the conference website:

http://www.caledoni an.ac.uk/ halloween/

The full conference programme and abstracts are also available on
this site.

For registration enquiries please e-mail
Halloweenregistrati ons@gcal. ac.uk
<BLOCKED::mailto:Halloweenregistrati ons@gcal. ac.uk>

For general enquiries e-mail Halloweenenquiries@ gcal.ac.uk

Or contact:

Prof. Hugh O'Donnell

Cultural Business Group

Glasgow Caledonian University

Cowcaddens Road

Glasgow

G4 0BA

Scotland (UK)

Tel: +44 (0)141 331 3262

Fax: +44 (0)141 331 3264

e-mail: hod@gcal.ac. uk

[Alterra Von Feuers]

Now wouldnt that be interesting to attend.
~A