On October 8, C.IAS organized a symposium dedicated to Hermine Penz and her scholarship in (Eco)Linguistics. Representatives of the University of Graz, the Stadt Graz, and the International Ecolingusitcs Association provided welcoming remarks about Hermi's academic contribution: Eva Bauer (Organizer, University of Graz, Austria), Peter Riedler (Rector of the University of Graz, Austria) Sarah Mercer (Head of the English Department, University of Graz, Austria), and Arran Stibbe (Convenor of the International Ecolinguistics Association, UK).
In addition, long-time friends and colleagues provided honoring words about Hermi, reflecting on their shared research and teaching: Elisabeth Schlocker (Austrian Association of the European Centre for Modern Languages, Austria), Wilhelm Trampe (Osnabrück University, Germany), Georg Marko (University of Graz, Austria), and Roberta Maierhofer (University of Graz, Austria).
The event also introduced the special issue (Festschrift) Ecolingugistc Entanglements: Exploring Contemporary Trajectories (ed. Eva Bauer), dedicated to the notable contributions of Hermi to the field of ecolinguistics. It will be published in Bloomsybury Advances in Ecolinguistics early 2028.
After a short break, the event continued with three keynote talks by researchers in ecolinguistics:
Plants as Teachers: Raising Awareness on Plant Discourse
Maria Bortoluzzi, University of Udine, Italy
Enlanguaging Climate Change Futures: Place and the Relevance of Ecolinguistics for Analyzing Climate Change Imaginaries
Martin Döring, University of Hamburg, Germany
Stories We Learn By: A Corpus-Aided Approach to Ecoliteracy and Critical Pedagogy in Higher Education
Cinzia Bevitori, University of Bologna, Italy
Martina Russo, University of Leicester, UK
The event concluded with a reception and celebration over food and drinks. On behalf of the C.IAS team, we wish Hermi all the best in her retirement!
