NVSA CFP 2019 - WordPress.com · Victorian studies and the scope of NVSA in particular. We welcome...
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Featuring keynote panelists Sukanya Banerjee (U Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Ankhi Mukherjee (Wadham College, Oxford U) Tim Watson (University of Miami) CFP: NVSA 2019 Latitudes University of Massachusetts, Amherst April 12-14, 2019 “‘Let me see, that would be four-thousand miles down, I think—...—yes, that’s about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to?’ (Alice had not the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but she thought they were nice grand words to say.)” —Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland The Northeast Victorian Studies Association invites papers for its annual conference. The topic for this year’s conference is “Latitudes,” which we hope will help to expand the Pield of Victorian studies and the scope of NVSA in particular. We welcome papers that challenge the limits of what has been typically considered “Victorian” — geographically, demographically, temporally, and methodologically. Latitudes is a term that imagines a global nineteenth century and invites critical approaches to imperialism, colonialism, travel, emigration, translation, technologies, and international exchanges. At the same time, it embodies an attitude of openness that encourages borrowing laterally from, and thinking with, other disciplines, time periods, and places, thus stretching the capacity of NVSA as a scholarly community. What are the latitudes and longitudes for our scope of study as Victorianists? And how might we wish to reposition this orientation onto a global scale in our future scholarship? The theme allows for a strong historical focus that considers nineteenth-century exploration around the world, shifting the locus of Victorian studies from the British Isles to Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. How would the use of other languages inject new life, through comparative approaches, into our traditionally Anglocentric Pield? Can we escape or upend the models of center and periphery in empire studies? We especially encourage papers that consider how the framing of our Pield has inscribed lines of separation, sectioning off Victorian scholars from larger conversations in postcolonial and global nineteenth-century studies. A pointed challenge here is to approach island studies that are neither insular nor exoticizing. The early ethnographic projects of missionaries, explorers, pioneers, and naturalists often led to juxtapositions that resulted in discourses of racism or primitivism. What do we do with this? Formally, nineteenth-century authors and philosophers no doubt experimented with generic delineations and expectations. What texts push the limits of genre to their breaking point? We want to consider hybrid genres that seem to cross or blur lines of distinction: fantasy and science Piction; the verse novel; innovative dramatic productions; travel narratives, memoirs, and tourism; anthropological, journalistic, scientiPic and medical writing. We invite explorations of new formalisms and alternative modes of measurement. But “Latitudes” does not only embody a celebratory spirit of expanse, of liberty from slavery, religious conventions, or a host of supposedly strict Victorian mores. Negative associations of latitude suggest an indecorous overstepping of bounds. What are the aesthetic failures of authors who take too much latitude? How much latitude is too much, in terms of laxity, looseness, and leeway from convention or law? Longitudes, conceived temporally, pushes us beyond 1830-1901 to consider neo-Victorianism, a long durée, presentism, and a nineteenth century that is at once long, deep, and wide. We welcome papers that exemplify creative ways of confronting the limits, coordinates, and the latitude and longitude of our discipline, suggesting freedom from our traditional national, temporal, or disciplinary borders, and exploring stylistic and formal liberties as well. 1902 British cable telegraphy
Transcript of NVSA CFP 2019 - WordPress.com · Victorian studies and the scope of NVSA in particular. We welcome...
FeaturingkeynotepanelistsSukanyaBanerjee(UWisconsin-Milwaukee)AnkhiMukherjee(WadhamCollege,OxfordU)
TimWatson(UniversityofMiami)
CFP:NVSA2019Latitudes
UniversityofMassachusetts,AmherstApril12-14,2019
“‘Let me see, that would be four-thousand miles down, Ithink—...—yes, that’sabout the rightdistance—but then IwonderwhatLatitudeorLongitudeI’vegotto?’(Alicehadnot the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitudeeither,butshethoughttheywerenicegrandwordstosay.)”
—LewisCarroll,Alice’sAdventuresinWonderland
TheNortheastVictorianStudiesAssociationinvitespapersforitsannualconference.
Thetopicforthisyear’sconferenceis“Latitudes,”whichwehopewillhelptoexpandthePieldofVictorianstudiesandthescopeofNVSAinparticular.Wewelcomepapersthatchallengethelimitsofwhathasbeentypicallyconsidered“Victorian”—geographically,demographically,temporally,andmethodologically.Latitudesisatermthatimaginesaglobalnineteenthcenturyandinvitescriticalapproachestoimperialism,colonialism,travel,emigration,translation,technologies,andinternationalexchanges.Atthesametime,itembodiesanattitudeofopennessthatencouragesborrowinglaterallyfrom,andthinkingwith,otherdisciplines,timeperiods,andplaces,thusstretchingthecapacityofNVSAasascholarlycommunity.
WhatarethelatitudesandlongitudesforourscopeofstudyasVictorianists?Andhowmightwewishtorepositionthisorientationontoaglobalscaleinourfuturescholarship?Thethemeallowsforastronghistoricalfocusthatconsidersnineteenth-centuryexplorationaroundtheworld,shiftingthelocusofVictorianstudiesfromtheBritishIslestoAfrica,Asia,theAmericas,andAustralia.Howwouldtheuseofotherlanguagesinjectnewlife,throughcomparativeapproaches,intoourtraditionallyAnglocentricPield?Canweescapeorupendthemodelsofcenterandperipheryinempirestudies?WeespeciallyencouragepapersthatconsiderhowtheframingofourPieldhasinscribedlinesofseparation,sectioningoffVictorianscholarsfromlargerconversationsinpostcolonialandglobalnineteenth-centurystudies.Apointedchallengehereistoapproachislandstudiesthatareneitherinsularnorexoticizing.Theearlyethnographicprojectsofmissionaries,explorers,pioneers,andnaturalistsoftenledtojuxtapositionsthatresultedindiscoursesofracismorprimitivism.Whatdowedowiththis?
Formally,nineteenth-centuryauthorsandphilosophersnodoubtexperimentedwithgenericdelineationsandexpectations.Whattextspushthelimitsofgenretotheirbreakingpoint?Wewanttoconsiderhybridgenresthatseemtocrossorblurlinesofdistinction:fantasyandsciencePiction;theversenovel;innovativedramaticproductions;travelnarratives,memoirs,andtourism;anthropological,journalistic,scientiPicandmedicalwriting.Weinviteexplorationsofnewformalismsandalternativemodesofmeasurement.
But“Latitudes”doesnotonlyembodyacelebratoryspiritofexpanse,oflibertyfromslavery,religiousconventions,orahostofsupposedlystrictVictorianmores.Negativeassociationsoflatitudesuggestanindecorousoversteppingofbounds.Whataretheaestheticfailuresofauthorswhotaketoomuchlatitude?Howmuchlatitudeistoomuch,intermsoflaxity,looseness,andleewayfromconventionorlaw?Longitudes,conceivedtemporally,pushesusbeyond1830-1901toconsiderneo-Victorianism,alongdurée,presentism,andanineteenthcenturythatisatoncelong,deep,andwide.
Wewelcomepapersthatexemplifycreativewaysofconfrontingthelimits,coordinates,andthelatitudeandlongitudeofourdiscipline,suggestingfreedomfromourtraditionalnational,temporal,ordisciplinaryborders,andexploringstylisticandformallibertiesaswell.
1902 British cable telegraphy
Potentialtopicsmightinclude,butareinnowaylimitedto,thefollowing:
GertrudeBell,withWinstonChurchillandT.E.Lawrence,1921
GeographicalLatitudesandLongitudesArchipelagoes,Oceans,HemispheresOrientation,Cartography,Measurement,Maps,Navigation,
Compasses,StratigraphyTemperate,tropical,polar,northern,southernlatitudesor
“zones”:SirRichardFrancisBurton’s“SotadicZone”Africa,Asia(China,WestAsia,India,Russia,Japan),
Australia,NewZealandandthePaciPic,theAmericas,theCaribbean,ContinentalEurope,theArctic&Antarctic
EastandWestvs.theGlobalSouthSouthernHemisphericstudiesThevalueofframeworkslikehemispheric,oceanic,
transimperial,andtransatlanticCharlesDickens,AmericanNotes,PicturesfromItalyRobertLouisStevenson,TreasureIsland,IntheSouthSeasJosephConrad;MaryCarpenterWilkieCollins(andDickens),TheFrozenDeep
MethodologicalLatitudesNewFormalismsandnewmodesof
measurementDigitalmapping;Graphs,Maps&Trees;distant
readingNewOrientalismsFantasygenresGlobal&WorldLiteratures;rethinkingcenter
andperipheryPresentismTranshistorical&transdisciplinaryworkLatitudeasform(alism):lines,maps,zonesTranslation,transliteration,transculturationMethodologicalstretches,Victorianand
contemporary“Long,”“wide,”and“deep”nineteenthcentury“Exposurelatitude”inphotography
Linguistic&NationalBordersEnglishtranslationsandusesoftextsfrom
other“latitudes”:TheThousandandOneNights,TheRubaiyat,TheTaoteChing,etc.
ComparativeliteraturesExilesandexpatriatesSettlercolonialismMigration,Immigration,DiasporaPermissions,permitsCanon-busting;establishingnewcanonsBlackandBrownVictoriansGlobalandWorldLiteraturesAnglocentrismandglobalismAamirMufti,AgainstEnglishEmilyApter,AgainstWorldLiteraturesNgũgĩwaThiong'oonThomasBabington
MacaulayC.L.R.James,BeyondaBoundary
“AndoftheinPluenceofclimateandtemperatureinforming the nature ofman, (a conception perhapspressed too far in modern days when the ‘rice-theory’issupposedtobeasufPicientexplanationofthe Hindoo, and the latitude and longitude of acountry the best guide to its morals,) Aristotle iscompletely aware. [Cousin errs a gooddeal in thisrespect:tosaylikehedid‘givemethelat.long.ofacountry, its rivers and its mountains and I willdeducetherace’issurelyaglaringexaggeration.]”
—OscarWilde,“HistoricalCriticism”
“IwassurprisedtoobservehowgreatachangeofclimateadifferenceofonlythreedegreesoflatitudebetweenthisplaceandBuenosAyreshadcaused.Thiswasevidentfromthedressandcomplexionofthemen—fromtheincreasedsize of the ombu-trees—the number of new cacti andotherplants—andespeciallyfromthebirds.Inthecourseof an hour I remarked half-a-dozen birds, which I hadnever seenatBuenosAyres.Considering that there isnonatural boundary between the two places, and that thecharacter of the country is nearly similar, the differencewasmuchgreaterthanIshouldhaveexpected.”
—CharlesDarwin,VoyageoftheBeagle
Explorers,Pioneers,Naturalists,Missionaries&Journalists:EarlyethnographyandanthropologyVictorianracismandtheoriesofbarbarismDemographicsTimetravel;polarexplorations;sciencePictionGeology,Botany,NaturalhistoryTravel(forholidays,health,education)anditsgenres
(travelogue,tourism,travelguides,etc.)Objects:souvenirs,luggage,trains,ships,cameras(latitude
isalsoaphotographyterm)“ThingTheory”(silk,opium,feathers,tobacco,ivory)MariannePostans,WesternIndiain1838MaryKingsley,TravelsinWestAfricaMarySeacole,WonderfulAdventuresofMrs.SeacoleinMany
LandsIsabellaBird,UnbeatenTracksinJapan,YangtzeValleyand
BeyondGertrudeBell,PoemsfromtheDivanofHaWizCharlesDarwin,VoyageoftheBeagleAlfredRusselWallace,MalayArchipelagoOliveSchreiner,StoryofanAfricanFarmGeorgeEliot,TheSpanishGypsyHenryMortonStanley,ThomasCook,FlorenceNightingale,
W.H.Hudson,MariaGraham,DavidLivingston
Latitudeasleeway,looseness,orfreedomLaxityofbehavior,morals,rules,conductmanualsRangeofmovement;freedomforactionorthoughtDecadenceDeviationsfromnormsVictorianconceptionsofdisabilityandimpairmentNonsenseandtheoriesofmeaningAdaptations,prequels,andsequelsGenericplay;hybridityinclassiPicationsofgenre
orform(versenovels,children’sliterature)HenryJames;LewisCarrollFrancesTrollope,DomesticMannersofthe
AmericansCharlotteBrontë&JeanRhys,WideSargassoSea
Exileorescape;exceedinglimitsSlaveryandimperialismDiscoursesoflibertyandemancipationAbusesofpower&scopesoflibertyRecursiveformsTechnologies:railways;telegraph,hotairballoonsSlavetrade,indenturedlabor,abolitionismGeorgeOrwellElizabethBarrettBrowning,“TheRunawaySlaveat
Pilgrim’sPoint”
FormalLatitudesFormalaberrationsEscapefromrepetitiveorcyclicformsVersenovelFantasticliteratureThomasHardy,TwoonaTower
TemporalLatitudesSciencePictionAfrofuturismNeo-Victorianarisesandsteampunkculture
ReligiousLatitudesLatitudinarianism(BroadChurch)vs.religious
formalismSpiritualismandmediumsMissionaryandconversionnarratives
AndtheiroppositesRigidity,narrow-mindedness,PixitySeeminglyPixedpoeticformsandgenres,such
asthesonnetortheparableDidacticwritingsuchasthepamphletand
educationaltexts
“Howcouldhehavesomisunderstoodher?Shehadbeensointimatewithhim,hadallowedhimsuchlatitudeinwhathehadchosentosaytoher,hadcompliedwithhisideas,cherishedhisviews,fosteredhisprecepts,caredforhiscomforts,mademuchofhimineverywayinwhichaprettywomancanmakemuchofanunmarriedmanwithoutcommittingherselforherfeelings!Shehadbeendoingthis,andwhileshehadbeendoingithehadregardedherastheafPiancedwifeofanotherman.”
—AnthonyTrollope,BarchesterTowers
Proposals(nomorethan500words)byOct.15,2018(emailsubmissionsonly,inWordformat),submittedto:OliviaLoksingMoy,Chair,NVSAProgramCommittee:[email protected].
Pleasenote:allsubmissionstoNVSAareevaluatedanonymously.Successfulproposalswillstaywithinthe500-wordlimitandmakeacompellingcaseforthetalkanditsrelationtotheconferencetopic.Pleasedonotsendcompletepapers,anddonotincludeyournameontheproposal.
Pleaseincludeyourname,institution,emailaddress,andproposaltitleinacoverletter.Papersshouldtake15minutes(20minutesmaximum)soastoprovideampletimefordiscussion–apriorityatNVSAevents.
TojoinNVSA,ortorenewyourmembershipfor2018-2019,pleasevisitourwebsiteatnvsa.organdclickon“Membership.”
JonathanFarina,President,NVSAEnglishDepartment365FahyHallSetonHallUniversitySouthOrange,[email protected]
TheCoralLansburyTravelGrant($100.00)andGeorgeFordTravelGrant($100.00),giveninmemoryofkeyfoundingmembersofNVSA,areawardedannuallytoagraduatestudent,adjunctinstructor,orindependentscholarinneedoftravelsupporttodeliverapaperatourconference.Applybyindicatinginyourcoverletterthatyouwishtobeconsidered.Pleaseindicatefromwhereyouwillbetraveling,yourprojectedexpenses,andtheextentofyourfundingfromothersources.
GraduateStudentEssayPrize TheNortheastVictorianStudiesAssociation(NVSA)ispleasedtoannounceanewannualprizeforessaysthatexpandthegeographic,ethnic,racial,andmethodologicaldiversityofscholarshipinthePield.Theawardwillrecognizeworkthatforegroundsnineteenth-centurytexts,contexts,perspectives,andinsightsbyoraboutBritishcolonialsubjectsresidingoutsidethemetropoleorbyoraboutimmigrantsandtheirdescendantsresidingwithinit.Wealsowelcomesubmissionsthatspeakmorebroadlytothecentralityofrace,ethnicity,andimperialismintheshapingofglobalVictorianliteratureandculture.Essaysshouldbe20-30pageslongandauthorsmustbegraduatestudentsatthetimeofsubmission. WinnerswillreceiveregistrationtotheannualNVSAconferenceanda$250check,andtheprizecommitteewillofferhelp,ifwanted,inplacingtheessaywithajournal.Theprizeiscontingentonneitherpublicationnorthepromiseoffuturepublication.SubmitessaystoCarolynBetenskyatbetensky@uri.edubyFeb.1,2019.
Aeronauticsentryfroman1818technicalmanual
