REINVENT 

The conference REINVENT – Representing Ecolinguistic Identity through Narratives: Voices for ENvironmental Transition will take place on May 20–21, 2027, at the University of Piemonte Orientale (Vercelli). The event aims to provide a forum for dialogue on the profound and multifaceted relationship between language and the environment, particularly in light of the challenges posed by climate change.

There is growing consensus that the urgency of the ecological crisis calls for synergistic and transdisciplinary approaches capable of expanding both our analytical perspectives and our capacity for action. Linguistic research – particularly, though not exclusively, within the field of ecolinguistics – plays a crucial role in this endeavour. The ways in which environmental issues are narrated contribute significantly to the (re)construction of ecological identity, understood as individuals' awareness of their beliefs, values, and actions in relation to environmental concerns. From this perspective, linguistic and discursive practices have a tangible social impact: they can guide individual behaviours towards more sustainable lifestyles while also fostering new, more respectful ways of imagining and inhabiting the places we live in.

The conference is organized as part of the research project RINATA – Riscoprire la nostra Identità ecolinguistica: NArrazioni su Territorio e Ambiente, funded by the University of Eastern Piedmont (S-SHINE – SSH InitiativE 2025 funding program).

INVITED SPEAKERS

MARIA BORTOLUZZI

(Università di Udine)

VALENTINA BAMBINI 

(IUSS Pavia)

EDOARDO LOMBARDI VALLAURI 

(Università degli Studi Roma Tre)

DOUGLAS PONTON 

(Università di Catania)

ARRAN STIBBE 

(University of Gloucestershire)

The conference will be preceded by a one-day Spring School on Research methods for linguistic and discourse analysis on environmental issues, which will be held on May 19, 2027 in the same venue as the conference. Please refer to the dedicated page for further information. 

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Maria Napoli     Irene De Felice     Stefania Ferrari     Carla Ferrario     Elena Zanet