NUMBES Symposium: Numbers, Motion and Multimodality, Cabo de Palos (Murcia, Spain), 28–29 May 2026

/ hace 11 segundos 19 enero, 2026

Os enviamos información sobre el symposium NUMBES, que va a tener lugar en Cabo de Palos (Murcia) el 28-29 de mayo de 2026.

La Junta Directiva de la SEPEX

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We are pleased to announce the NUMBES Symposium: Numbers, Motion and Multimodality, which will take place in Cabo de Palos (Murcia, Spain) on 28–29 May 2026.

The symposium theme, Representing abstract concepts through metaphor, places particular emphasis on the conceptualisation of number, while also fostering interdisciplinary discussion at the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, gesture studies, and cultural analysis. Contributions addressing other abstract domains related to metaphor, motion, and multimodality are also welcome.

Event page: http://eventos.um.es/go/numbes

Overview

Numbers, Motion and Multimodality provides a forum for exploring how abstract concepts—especially numerical concepts—are developed, represented, and communicated across languages and modalities.

Adopting a multimodal and cross-linguistic perspective, the symposium highlights:

  • the role of embodied cognition in numerical understanding,
  • the impact of cultural variation on abstract conceptualisation,
  • the ways in which metaphor, gesture, and spatial reasoning shape how we think and talk about numbers.

While numerical information permeates public and private discourse—from science communication and education to policy and everyday decision-making—research on how numbers are conceptualised remains limited. NUMBES aims to foster reflection, collaboration, and theoretical development to address this gap. A special focus will be placed on the social implications of numerical conceptualisation, including learning, accessibility, and social inclusion.

The event will be held at Sub Up Hostel (Cabo de Palos, Murcia) and will feature invited plenary talks (approximately one hour each) as well as poster sessions welcoming experimental, corpus-based, theoretical, and applied contributions.

Call for Posters

Proposals for posters presenting original research related to the symposium themes are invited.

  • Call opens:1 December 2025
  • Submission deadline:31 January 2026
  • Language: English

Poster sessions are open to research on, among other topics:

  • multimodal approaches to metaphor and number conceptualisation
  • embodiment and numerical cognition
  • experimental approaches to abstract concepts
  • cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences in number concepts
  • numerical cognition in educational settings
  • social impact of number conceptualisation
  • data communication and numerical integration in discourse
  • spatial–numerical associations
  • translation studies on metaphor, motion, or number
  • general magnitude systems (e.g. A Theory of Magnitude)

Plenary speakers

  • Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano (University of Zaragoza)
  • Javier Valenzuela (University of Murcia)
  • Bodo Winter (University of Birmingham)
  • Christopher Hart (Lancaster University)
  • Rafael Núñez (University of California, San Diego)
  • Martha Alibali (University of Wisconsin–Madison) 

Venue

Sub Up Hostel
C/ Amoladeras, 13–15
30370 Cabo de Palos (Murcia, Spain)

We look forward to welcoming participants to the Mediterranean coast for two days of stimulating research exchange and interdisciplinary dialogue.

Best regards,

The Organising Team – NUMBES Symposium 2026

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