Alone Together
The 5th International Pandisciplinary Conference on Solitude in Community
April 23-25, 2026, Savannah, US
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John Macmurray
“We must meet; we must communicate with one another; we must, it would seem, be alone together”
Invitation
As organizers of the conference, the International Society for Research on Solitude (ISRS) welcomes contributions to the 5th International Pandisciplinary Conference on Solitude in Community: Alone Together which will take place between 23.04 and 25.04.2026 at Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus in Savannah, Georgia in the United States.
Hosted by Dr Richard E Cleveland at Georgia Southern University, the conference is also supported by Lincoln Bishop University (UK) and the Institute of Pedagogy at the University of Szczecin (Poland), honoured with the auspices of both rectors.
The ISRS welcomes papers and posters on any issues related to solitude, silence and loneliness, from any discipline and from any professional/practice context, and from researchers from all over the world. The ISRS welcomes presentations focusing on empirical research, theoretical exploration, and/or practitioner-based applications.
The submission of abstracts will be welcome till the 1st November, 2025. (Later submissions will be considered if there is still room on the programme.)
To submit, please fill in the form here: click on the link
To register for the conference and to pay: click on the link
Conference registration requires a fee, approximately 200 USD/ 176 EUR / 148 GBP / 750 PLN for general registration covering participation, refreshments and conference materials. (No accommodation or travel included.) Individuals who are members of the ISRS may register for the reduced fee of $150 USD and students are invited to register at the student-rate of $90 USD.
Exhibitors interested in attending and presenting their materials must register through the same registration portal, paying the fee of $250 USD (Note. Conference planning team will connect with registered exhibitors prior to the conference).
A pre-conference training event is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday April 22, 2026. Individuals are invited to register for the event, but the pre-conference training will be specifically focused on US-based clinical mental health counseling practitioners. The event registration fee of $75 USD covers attendance and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for maintaining national clinical licensure (i.e., NBCC). More information regarding the pre-conference schedule and trainers will be forthcoming.
The conference will be held in-person at the Georgia Southern University Armstrong campus. At this time, no online/hybrid availability is planned. If this changes, the ISRS will update and notify participants as soon as possible.
The ISRS conference organizers welcome your proposals and looks forward to meeting you!
All the best,
The AT5 Organizing Committee Members
Alone Together 5: The Schedule HOSTED AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
Day 1 – Thursday April 23, 2026
1500hrs Registration Opens. Coffee & Collaboration.
1530hrs Welcome to the Conference. Opening ceremony.
1600hrs Keynote Session
-
Seeking More Solitude: Conceptualization and Implications of ‘Aloneliness’ – Robert Coplan
1730hrs Closing words for the day.
1815hrs Conference Gala Dinner.
Day 2 – Friday April 24, 2026
0800hrs Registration Opens. Coffee & Collaboration.
0900hrs Welcome & Remembrance.
- Remembrance and honoring solitude scholars
0900hrs Beginning a day of Dialogue.
- Presentation of University of Szczecin Rector’s Prize.
0930hrs First Round of Parallel Sessions – 25min speaker presentations (2x); 15min discussion
Ballroom A
- Hidden Connections Rethinking Aloneness, Connection, and Healing for Men.
Kimberly Farley-Smith & Jahlil Arness Daniels, Georgia Southern University - Beliminality: Rethinking Liminal Theory Through Relational Time, Learning Disability, and Lived Loneliness.
Lorena Hall, Lincoln Bishop University - Discussion
Ballroom B
- Solitude, Oneness and the Essential Otherness.
Henrietta Serban, Romanian Academy - Emotional Intelligence Level and the Experience of Loneliness and Solitude among University Students.
Monika Garwolińska & Aleksandra Kopko, University of Białystok - Discussion
Ballroom C
- Attachment and Loneliness: The Roles of Spousal Acceptance and Gratitude.
Michal Einav, Peres Academic Center, Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel. - Loneliness– From Digital Exclusion to Legal Exclusion.
Kinga Flaga-Gieruszyńska, University of Szczecin - Discussion
1045hrs Transition time / Break
1100hrs Second Round of Parallel Sessions – 25min speaker presentations (3x); 15min discussion
Ballroom A
- Wrestling with God and Humans: Solitude as Monastic Contestation in Vincent van Gogh.
Ross Hamilton, Tilburg University - Hall of Mirrors: Performance, surveillance, and loneliness at Versailles under Louis XIV.
Olga Szynkaruk, Poland - A Mind-Active State for Loneliness.
Engin Ucar, Turkey - Discussion
Ballroom B
- From Isolation to Flourishing: Rethinking Solitude, Silence, and Loneliness. Felix Olanrewaju Awosika, University of Lagos
- Landscapes of loneliness: Insights from psychiatrist Frieda Fromm-Reichmann’s life and work.
Gail A. Hornstein, Mount Holyoke College - Influence of attachment style on perception of loneliness in a long-distance relationships.
Iga Oliwia Błauź, University of Szczecin - Discussion
Ballroom C
- Can there be a history of solitude?
Julian Stern, Lincoln Bishop University - Marriage as a place of loneliness in later life: Experiences from Eramus+ project “Learning from European Lives”.
Marcin Muszyński, University of Łódź & Artur Fabiś, WSB Academy - The dialogue of one: Understanding solitude in play.
Celeste Fiori & Dakota Burnsed, Georgia Southern University - Discussion
1215hrs Lunch together
1330hrs Transition time / Break
1345hrs Keynote Session
- Exploration of Solitude, Silence, and Loneliness in Bön Buddhist Tradition of Tibet
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
1445hrs Transition time / Break
1500hrs Third Round of Parallel Sessions – 25min speaker presentations (3x); 15min discussion
Ballroom A
- The Value of Quietude: Etty Hillesum’s Keys to Transformational Spirituality and Resilience
Christopher Sink, Western Washington University - Working at the Heart of the Mind. Freeing the imagination in an age of collaborative media: an autoethnographic account of the value of solitary creativity
Gillian Simpson, United Kingdom - Silence in classroom settings: Comparative studies from Australia and Poland
Dat Bao, Monash University and Barbara Źakowska & Małgorzata Wałejko, Wioletta Szóstak, University of Szczecin - Discussion
Ballroom B
- Rural Women’s Associations as instruments for mobilising social potential and mitigating loneliness: the case of small rural communities in Poland
Marcin Janowski & Aleksander Cywiński, University of Szczecin - Isn’t it too late? Fostering friendship mosaic to prevent loneliness in later life
Kamila Witerska, University of Warsaw - Discussion
1630hrs Coffee & Refreshments / Break
1645hrs Fourth Round of Parallel Sessions – 25min speaker presentations (2x); 15min discussion
Ballroom A
- Silence as a Double-Edged Sword – the Use of Silence in Feminist Literature
Oliwia Giergielewicz, University of Szczecin - Loneliness and Well-being: Challenges Among Diverse Older Migrant Groups in the USA
Magdalena Leszko, James Baladi & Aarifa Rabbani, Moravian University - Discussion
Ballroom B
- E-government and the new dimension of social exclusion: between digital agency and citizen loneliness
Ewa Kuzionko-Ochrymiuk, University of Białystok - Analysis of Trust in AI and the Paradox of Loneliness in the Global Village of the Artificial Intelligence Era
Monika Róźycka & Kalina Kukiełko, University of Szczecin - Discussion
Ballroom C
- The Quiet Space: How Solitude Strengthens Professional Counselor Identity and Self-Reflection
Kimberly Farley-Smith & Celeste Fiori, Georgia Southern University - Alienation as a form of solitude. A philosophical perspective
Piotr Domeracki, Nicolaus Copernicus University - Discussion
1800hrs Closing words for the day
1900hrs Dinner
Attendees dine on their own.
Day 3 – Saturday April 25, 2026
0800hrs Registration Opens. Coffee & Collaboration.
0900hrs Panel Session
- What’s the Point? The Value of Solitude Research Beyond the Academic Community
Julian Stern Moderator
1015hrs Transition time / Break
1030hrs First Round of Parallel Sessions – 25min speaker presentations (3x); 15min discussion
Ballroom A
- On the Pilgrimage Trail: A Philosophical Meditation on Being Alone Together
Patricia A. Sayre, Saint Mary’s College Notre Dame - Digital art as a form of creative coping with the feeling of loneliness
Joanna Sikorska, Adam Mickiewicz University - Discussion
Ballroom B
- Trailblazing Wellness: A Female Pioneer Forged by Solitude, Sustained by Resilience
Mandy Nice, United States & Joe Dulla, Georgia Southern University - Loneliness and solitude in law enforcement agencies
Anna Szafranek, University of Białystok - When Solitude Teaches Survival: From Wilderness to Lifelong Resilience
Joe Dulla, Georgia Southern University - Discussion
1200hrs Coffee & Refreshments / Break
1215hrs Closing Words of the Conference
1245hrs ISRS Information & Business Meeting
- Members & Conference Attendees welcome to attend
- Description, history & mission of the ISRS
Conference History and Publications
Conference Organizing/Sponsoring Institutions:
International Society for Research on Solitude
The organization was set up to promote high quality research into all aspects of ‘aloneness’, to encourage emerging researchers to undertake such research, to disseminate the results of such research, and to influence professional and practice settings of relevance to the various aspects of aloneness research.
Georgia Southern University
Transform Your Future at Georgia Southern. Whether you see yourself in the classroom, the C-suite or the OR, a degree from Georgia Southern takes you places.
University of Szczecin
The University of Szczecin is an academic centre focused on innovation, on the implementation of modern research and teaching solutions, on breaking stereotypes and limitations in acquiring knowledge and on solving research problems.
Lincoln Bishop University
Here at Lincoln Bishop University, we’ve been educating students in the historic heart of the City of Lincoln for 160 years.
Alone Together 5: Travel & Lodging Information
Conference Organizing Committee Members:
Prof. Julian Stern
Dr. Malgorzata Wałejko
Assoc. Professor Richard E. Cleveland
Dr. Barbara Żakowska
