CFP: Past and Present: New Directions in Victorian Studies

October 29, 2016, 8:00am - 5:15pm 4th floor

Information Commons, Lake Shore Campus, Loyola University Chicago

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Elaine Hadley, The University of Chicago

Introductory Speakers: Anna Kornbluh and Benjamin Morgan, V21

In Past and Present (1843), Thomas Carlyle states, “The condition of England, on which many pamphlets are now in the course of publication, and many thoughts unpublished are going on in every reflective head, is justly regarded as one of the most ominous, and withal one of the strangest, ever seen in this world.”

The Victorians were deeply invested in establishing the historical importance and future significance of their own time. If thinkers like Thomas Carlyle read the past as a means to critique and shape the present, how do our own interpretations of the Victorian period reveal our understanding of contemporary society? Why do we recall and historicize certain aspects of Victorian life and culture in the present day? How should scholars in the 21st century understand the Victorian preoccupation with history? Finally, can readings of the Victorian period provoke examination of the reasons behind the development of our own interpretative lenses?

LUCVS solicits paper proposals addressing these questions. Possible CFP categories include, but are not limited to the following: Nineteenth century, Gothic, Textual Studies, Queer theory, Women and Gender Studies, Art History, Marxist theory, Narrative theory, Post-colonialism, Religious studies, Theology, Poetics.

Please send abstracts no longer than 300 words to lucvictoriansociety@gmail.com no later than July 1, 2016.