6th BOREDOM CONFERENCE
June 26-27, 2025 (Online)
#BoredomConference
PROGRAM
June 26, 2025 (CEST)
June 27, 2025 (CEST)
11:00-13:00
PHILOSOPHY & HISTORY
Moderator: Josefa Ros Velasco
Thomas G. M. Blank (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany)
«If you don’t have anything to write to me, write that.» The ostentatious boredom of the ‘political animal’ in Cicero’s Letters.
João Miguel Alves Ferreira (University of Coimbra, Portugal)
The theory of boredom as a sign of existential disconnection – Alves Ferreira’s theory of subjective anomie.
Jyun-Tang Lai (Adrian) (National Taiwan Normal University)
“Bored and dead and dull”: Ernest Hemingway’s existential boredom in The sun also rises.
Isabel Argüelles Rozada (University of Oviedo, Spain)
Idle strolls: The role of boredom in Western urban narratives.
14:00-15:45
PSYCHOLOGY
Moderator: James Danckert (TBC)
Johannes P.-H. Seiler (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany)
Low sensory information affects cortical activation and drives boredom-related behavior in humans and mice.
Wijnand van Tilburg (University of Essex, UK)
Nature adds color to life: Less boredom in natural versus artificial environments.
BOOK PRESENTATION
Routledge International Handbook of Boredom.
Corinna Martarelli (UniDistance Suisse) and Wanja Wolff (University of Hamburg)
+ Discussion with the editors: Future Boredom Research.
12:00-14:00
SOCIOLOGY
Moderator: Mariusz Finkielsztein
Joydip Dutta (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)
The profound boredom and refugee camp: Exploring indeterminateness, emptiness, and silence.
Johanne Miller (University of the West of Scotland)
Killing time: Introducing destructive boredom as a typology of youth boredom in Scotland.
Sergio Pirla (University of Zaragoza, Spain)
Income and boredom: Evidence from 30 countries.
Jimena Mazzucco (UNED, Spain) and Josefa Ros Velasco (ESIC University, Spain)
The induction of boredom through the clothing of people in prison.
16:00-17:15
KEYNOTE
Moderator: Wijnand van Tilburg
JOSEFA ROS VELASCO (ESIC University, Spain)
Diets that bore older adults
BOOK PRESENTATION
Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors.
Josefa Ros Velasco (ESIC University, Spain) and Christian Parreno (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador)
15:00-16:30
KEYNOTE
Moderator: Andreas Elpidorou
MARIUSZ FINKIELSZTEIN (University of Gdańsk, Poland)
Sociology of boredom: The relational-expectational theory of boredom
LARS SVENDSEN (University of Bergen, Norway)
Recollections of a former boredom scholar
17:30-19:30
CULTURE
Moderator: Annie Runkel
Busra Copuroglu (Western University, Canada)
The art of killing time: Boredom, work, and not-doing.
Christian Parreno (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador)
Bodies, boredom and the architecture of home in the adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Julia Köwitz García (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain)
Between Kant and Schopenhauer. Romantic boredom as nuntius of an existence within the realm of art and pure cognition.
Julian Jason Haladyn (OCAD University, Canada)
Bored with history: Art and post-modernism.
16:45-18:45
OPEN
Moderator: Christian Parreno
Sierra Sheard (University of Louisville, USA)
Racialized boredom: Exploring the affective consequences of racial marginalization.
Álvaro Artaza (Independent Scholar, Spain)
Understanding boredom through Ortega y Gasset’s moral philosophy.
Lídia Vinczéné Fekete and Judit Sass (Corvinus University of Budapest / Pannon University, Hungary)
How to make instructional videos more student-friendly? Effects of multimedia principles on boredom and emotions.
Martin Weiner (Independent Scholar / Architect, USA)
Plastic: The banal and the «interesting.»
CALL FOR PAPERS
Following the successful launch and development of the cross-disciplinary Boredom Studies and in accordance with previous editions, the Boredom Conference aims to attract specialists on boredom from a wide range of disciplines to expand the knowledge we have already achieved concerning its nature, history, causes, and consequences. The goals of this encounter are to 1) gather together boredom researchers from various academic disciplines worldwide; 2) make new and develop existing connections between them; 3) create the venue for interdisciplinary boredom-oriented academic discussion; 4) promote Boredom Studies as a justified, significant, and needed domain of scientific research; and 5) establish recurrent organizational and social structures that enable further development of Boredom Studies.
We look forward to proposals addressing the following areas of interest:
- Philosophy, Theology and History of Boredom
- Psychology and Psychiatry of Boredom
- Anthropology and Sociology of Boredom
- Animal Boredom, Evolutionary and Neuro-Boredom
- Boredom in Culture (Literature, Art, Cinema, etc.)
- Boredom in Education and Pedagogy
We would also like to encourage contributions outside that list for an open session.
Please, send proposals (in English) between 250-500 words using the registration form no later than MARCH 30, 2025. Those selected will be notified on 17 March 2025. The participation in the Boredom Conference is free of charge. It will be held online and all presentations will be recorded. The language is English only. The proceedings will be published in the Journal of Boredom Studies.
Link to registration form: https://forms.gle/E1UZZuE8E1gzxPLUA
Contact: www.boredomsociety.com | contact@boredomsociety.com
Organizers: Josefa Ros (UCM, Spain) | Mariusz Finkielsztein (University of Gdańsk, Poland)
CONFIRMED GUEST SPEAKERS
+ FORTHCOMING
Lars Svendsen
University of Bergen
Josefa Ros Velasco
Complutense University of Madrid
Mariusz Finkielsztein
University of Gdańsk, Poland
Book Presentations
Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors.
A Lifelong Research by Dr. Augustin de la Peña
Augustin de la Peña (Author)*
Josefa Ros Velasco (Editor) – Presenter
Christian Parreno (Editor) Springer – Presenter
9783031326844
Buy the book here.
Read the review here.
The Routledge International Handbook of Boredom
Maik Bieleke (Editor) – Presenter
Wanja Wolff (Editor) – Presenter
Corinna Martarelli (Editor) Springer – Presenter
9781032221861
Buy the book here.
