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Veronica Alfano’s IRCI seminar on the Neologistic Imagination

On Tuesday IRCI Research Fellow Dr Veronica Alfano, who is also Assistant Professor in the Institute for Languages and in the Philosophy department at Delft University of Technology, immersed IRCI researchers and other ACU colleagues in the world of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ neologisms – especially those used in his dark sonnets.

The seminar examined the neologisms or coined words or expressions – often used by Manley Hopkins in his poetry – such as “twindles”, “selfyeast”, and “flake-doves”. Dr Alfano raised questions as to their function in cloaking mystery or defamiliarising the familiar, and suggested they might point to things ultimately unutterable. To the discussion that followed, colleagues brought the lenses and tools of their own field, making it a rich ground for a cross-fertilisation of ideas. Some of the interdisciplinary fields represented included philosophy, literary studies, religious studies, biblical studies, and history.

The monthly interdisciplinary seminar was established to encourage collaboration and critical conversation among the Institute’s researchers. Every month a different IRCI researcher presents their current work to be discussed collegially across fields.

If you are interested in attending the interdisciplinary seminar, contact the co-convenors, either Alda Balthrop-Lewis or Robyn Horner, for further information.