“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is He neither able nor willing? Then why call Him God?”
Epicurus (270 BC)
Evil seems to be everywhere we look. The arts and other forms of human creation have explored the many faces of evil and human malevolence. Throughout History, philosophers, artists, writers, filmmakers, religious men have questioned evil, its possible origin but also its purpose in society. The topic of evil has motivated scholars and artists to represent it, embody it and, ultimately, come to understand it. From the folk tale of Faustus, to Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, to A Clockwork Orange, malevolence continually garners curiosity from people of all disciplines. The subject of malevolence epitomizes an artistic spectrum with depths that remain unexplored.
Finally, violence, wars, injustice, and all sorts of prejudice also find their roots in evil and malevolence. Therefore, is it realistic to believe in the eradication of evil? Is malevolence not part of human nature? If so, what good are ethics and ideas of justice? Is political malevolence different from individual malevolence? Do malevolent actions keep a society balanced? And, finally, as questioned by John Stuart Mills, could the “ideal perfection of utilitarian morality” exist?
This Young Researchers Conference is a multidisciplinary event. We invite proposals exploring themes such as (but not limited to):
Good vs. evil
Evil and society / life
Language of evil / evil in language
Religion and the representation of evil
Space and the representation of evil
Time and the representation of evil
Violence (both symbolic and physical)
Power, greed and money
Prejudice and its shadows
Gender: the good, the bad and the ugly
Satan as hero
Representation of evil in art
This Young Researchers Conference will be held next Fall at the University of Calgary. We welcome all students of any graduate-level degree and encourage everyone to present during a twenty-minute period followed by a ten-minute discussion.
Please send a 200-word abstract in a PDF or .doc file including the title of your work to the following email address: revilationsyrc@gmail.com by July 30th 2014.
We accept abstracts in English however you may present in English or in French.
Keynote Speakers
We are pleased to announce the participation of three guest speakers:
· David Bershad (University of Calgary) TBC
· Dominique Perron (University of Calgary)
· Ronald Shusterman (Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne)
Scientific Committee
Ozouf Sénamin Amedegnato (FIS); Darren Bender (Geography); Nayibe Bermudez-Barrios (FIS); David Bershad (Fine Arts); Reyes Bertolin Cebrian (GRST); Kenneth Brown (FIS); Estelle Dansereau (FIS); Cheryl Dueck (LLC); Lorry William Felske (Communication and Culture); Jacqueline Jenkins (English); Kibeom Lee (Psychology); Charles Mather (Anthropology); G. Francine Michaud (History); Anne Moore (Religious Studies); Mary O’Brien (LRC); Jean-Jacques Poucel (FIS); Kathryn Reese-Taylor (Archeology); Joanne Roberts (Economy); Friedemann Sallis (Music); Anthony Sayers (Political Science); April Viczko (Drama); Anthony Wall (FIS); Stephen Winters (Linguistics).
Organizing Committee
Víctor Bedoya
Juanma Martínez
Montse Niño
Daniela Spago
Annemie Treier
For more information, please check the conference’s website @