RIVER TALKS / Paroles de fleuves

Université d’Angers (France), 17–19 June 2026

The international conference of RIVER TALKS/Paroles de fleuves explores rivers from literary and cultural studies perspectives, considering them not only as geographical entities but as spaces of imagination, communication and cultural heritage. Drawing on approaches from environmental humanities and blue humanities, the conference focuses on river imaginaries, the voice of rivers, and the relationships between human and non-human worlds, while highlighting the diversity of European river cultures.

Topics may include (non-exhaustive):

environmental and blue humanities
ecocriticism and ecopoetics
ecofeminist and postcolonial approaches
cultural heritage, folk cultures and indigenous knowledges
rivers as agents of communication
language, translation and multilingual representations of rivers

Alongside academic panels, the programme will include creative and co-creative workshops, such as creative writing sessions, poetic readings and geopoetic walks along the Loire.

Conference Information

Here you can find the call for papers, information concerning the registration, and the conference programme.

Venue

The conference location is the University of Angers, France. All academic events will take place at the Campus Belle-Beille in the Maison de la Recherche Germaine Tillion (Bd de Lavoisier). The building is marked no 8 in the campus map linked on the right.

Organisers