Alone Together 5: The Schedule
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
