In order to promote international academic exchanges in the field of ethical literary criticism, the International Association for Ethical Literary Criticism (IAELC) will host “The 10th Convention of the International Association for Ethical Literary Criticism: Ethical Literary Criticism in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” in collaboration with School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of World Literature of Zhejiang University, and scholarly journal Foreign Literature Studies from October 16 to October 17, 2021. All Scholars are welcome.
From the creation of myths to Asimov’s contributions, along with The Three-Body Problem, the exploration of science fiction remains a representation of the trends of thought on the past, present and future, as an expression of social consciousness intertwined with the advancement of science and technology. This is particularly so in the consideration of the numerous questions and the substantial debates which arise as a result of the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. What is the relationship between literary ethics and technology in the age of AI? How should we reconstruct ethics in a broader sense with the advent of robots, cyborgs, and possible trans-humans? How is the high technology represented when AI is about to bring utopia, dystopia or heterotopia into the future of mankind? While transforming the material lives of humans, AI has challenged those human ideals and beliefs, life values, and moral responsibilities, and highlighted problems therein. These challenges and problems constitute the general subject area of “Ethical Literary Criticism in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
1. Topics include but are not limited to the following categories:
a) Ethical literary criticism and artificial intelligence;
b) Ethical literary criticism and reconstruction of contemporary sci-tech ethics;
c) Ethical literary criticism and research on the history of science and technology;
d) Mythology, artificial intelligence and ethical literary criticism;
e) Epidemics, medicine and ethical literary criticism;
f) Ethical literary criticism and the Anthropocene;
g) Ethical literary criticism and the studies on the Belt and Road Initiative and a community of shared future for mankind;
h) Ethical literary criticism and cross-cultural studies;
i) Ethical literary criticism and the development of “New Humanities” and “New Engineering”.
2. Working languages: English, Chinese
3. Abstract submissions: Please send your abstract in either English or Chinese (to be filled in the reply form) to the designated email address iaelc2021ustb@163.com by June 1, 2021.
4. Paper acceptance and conference registration: After the organizing committee sends the abstract for peer review, notification of whether or not the paper is selected will be sent by email before July 1, 2021. As this Conference is to be held online, no fees will be charged. For more details and regular updates on the registration information forthcoming, please refer to the official website of School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing (http://sfs.ustb.edu.cn/en/).
5. The Conference will be conducted online via Zoom or Tencent platform.
The International Association for Ethical Literary Criticism (IAELC)
School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing(USTB)
April 10, 2021