University of Cagliari
Faculty of Humanistic Studies
Department of Education, Psychology, Philosophy
Campus Sa Duchessa, Aula Magna Motzo
PRIN PNRR CONFERENCE
METAPHOR AND EPISTEMIC INJUSTICE IN MENTAL ILLNESS
Cagliari, October 22-24, 2025
We are pleased to announce the International Conference “Metaphor and Epistemic Injustice in Mental Illness” organized in the framework of the PRIN PNRR 2022 project having three research units (University of Cagliari, University of Messina and University of Chieti).
Call for Papers
The epistemic capacities that people possess are necessary for interpreting the experiences that occur in life. However, when people are not believed and/or are considered unable to interpret their experience due to reasons related to social background, an instance of epistemic injustice occurs, which can severely harm their existence. This might be even more evident in the context of mental illness, when people, due to negative stereotypes or prejudices associated with their social group, are considered lacking in credibility, and their testimony is ignored (testimonial injustice); in addition to being marginalized in the ability to interpret their own experiences (hermeneutical injustice).
To mitigate the epistemic harm, a bridge between speaker and interpreter can be created using figurative language, such as metaphorical language. As is well known, metaphor arises from a cognitive process that highlights the connection between conceptual domains belonging to different spheres, usually a concrete source domain and a more abstract target domain. This rhetorical device can offer an epistemic means to understand the experience of mental illness, overcoming the ineffability of the experience of illness and offering a tool through which people with mental illness can express aspects of their “inner life” that do not find words in literal language. Although people with mental illness have shown reduced abilities in understanding metaphors, pragmatic skills – and specifically, metaphor comprehension – are associated with an improved quality of life.
Therefore, the conference aims to explore possible ways to promote epistemic justice that improves relationships between speakers with mental disorders and people who care for them in society. It will investigate solutions to ensure that those suffering from mental illness are recognized as persons and will examine communicative gaps as well as strategies that can be applied to foster sustainable behaviors that meet the needs of an inclusive society.
Keynote Speakers
Valentina Bambini (IUSS Pavia)
Lisa Bortolotti (University of Birmingham and University of Ferrara)
Francesca Ferri (University of Chieti)
Giulia Frezza (Imperial College, London)
Shaun Gallagher (University of Memphis)
Submission details
We invite the submission of papers which should be preferentially in – but not limited to – one of these issues:
1) Metaphors in/and/for mental illness;
2) Epistemic injustice in mental illness;
3) Cognitive processes and social relationships in mental illness;
4) Ethical and anthropological-cultural approaches to mental health care;
5) Language and communication in mental health settings;
6) The impact of stigma on mental health;
7) Philosophical accounts of patient experiences and testimonies;
8) Therapeutic practices and innovations;
9) Policy and mental health advocacy;
10) Embodied approaches to attunement in mental illness.
Please submit abstracts, written in English and prepared for blind review, of no more than 500 words. Submissions are made electronically by email attachment to meimi.conference2025@gmail.com by May 15th, 2025 May 25th, 2025.
The file formats .pdf, .rtf and .doc are preferable. Please specify on a separate page name, affiliation, e-mail address, and section in which the paper is to be presented. Successful applicants will be informed on June 15th, 2025.
Key Dates
May 15th, 2025: May 25th, 2025: Deadline for submission of abstracts
June 15th, 2025: Notification of acceptance
Further Information
For further information, please contact the organizers of the conference at: meimi.conference2025@gmail.com.
Organizing Committee
Mariangela Albano (Università di Cagliari)
Valentina Cuccio (Università di Messina)
Francesca Ervas (Università di Cagliari)
Francesca Ferri (Università di Chieti)
Alice Guerrieri (Università di Cagliari)
Lucienne Huby (Università di Cagliari)
Lina Lissia (Università di Cagliari)
Martina Montalti (Università di Messina)
Scientific Committee
Ines Adornetti (Università Roma Tre)
Mariangela Albano (Università di Cagliari)
Cristina Amoretti (Università di Genova)
Sarah Bigi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano)
Marianna Marcella Bolognesi (Università di Bologna)
Marta Bosia (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano)
Domenica Bruni (Università di Messina)
Vinicio Busacchi (Università di Cagliari)
Federico Cella (Universitat de Barcelona)
Anna Ciaunica (University of Lisbon)
Alberto Colombo ((University of Lisbon)
Valentina Cuccio (Università di Messina)
Federica Ferrari (Università di Bologna)
Francesca Ferri (Università di Chieti)
Federico Frau (Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia)
Elisabetta Gola (Università di Cagliari)
Alice Guerrieri (Università di Cagliari)
Bipin Indurkhya (Jagiellonian University, Krakow)
Elisabetta Lalumera (Università di Bologna)
Diego Lasio (Università di Cagliari)
Sonia Maria Lisco (Università di Padova)
Lina Lissia (Università di Cagliari)
Diego Nicolas Monasterio Lopez (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
Martina Montalti (Università di Messina)
Oriana Mosca (Università di Cagliari)
Joao Alves Maciel Neto (Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brasil)
Juan Jonathan Oyarzo Alvarado (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
Donatella Petretto (Università di Cagliari)
Martina Rosola (Universitat de Barcelona)
Maria Grazia Rossi (Ifilnova, Lisbon)
Zsuzsanna Schnell (University of Pécs)
Francesco Serri (Università di Cagliari)
Acknowledgement of funding
The conference organizers acknowledge financial support by the Department of Education, Psychology and Philosophy of the University of Cagliari, and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) for the project “Metaphor and Epistemic Injustice in Mental Illness: The Case of Schizophrenia” (CUP F53D23011250001).