The Midwest Conference on British Studies is proud to announce that its 63rd Annual Meeting will be hosted by Iowa State University in Ames, September 16-18, 2016. The keynote speaker will be Susan Kingsley Kent of University of Colorado Boulder, and the plenary address will be given by Ian Archer of the University of Oxford.
The MWCBS seeks papers from scholars in all fields of British Studies, broadly defined to include those who study England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Britain's Empire and the Commonwealth from Roman Britain to the modern age. We welcome scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including but not limited to history, literature, political science, gender studies, and art history. Proposals for complete sessions are preferred, although proposals for individual papers will be considered. We welcome roundtables (of four participants plus chair) and panels (of three participants plus chair/commentator) that:
- offer comparative analyses of different periods of British Studies, such as comparing medieval and early modern issues in context
- situate the arts, letters, and sciences in a British cultural context
- examine representations of British and imperial/Commonwealth national identities
- consider Anglo-American relations, past and present
- examine new trends in British Studies
- assess a major work or body of work by a scholar
- explore new developments in digital humanities and/or research methodologies
As the result of positive responses to professional development sessions at recent conferences, we encourage proposals for sessions that discuss collaborative or innovative learning techniques in the British Studies classroom and for sessions on the topics of research, publication, or employment. This year the Program Committee will also entertain proposals for poster sessions and for panels featuring the pre-circulation of papers among participants and audience members.
The MWCBS welcomes presentations by advanced graduate students and will award the Walter L. Arnstein Prize for the best graduate student paper(s) given at the conference. A limited number of graduate travel scholarships will also be available, and all graduate students are encouraged to apply. Further details will be available on the MWCBS website: http://mwcbs.edublogs.org/
Proposals must:
- Include a 200-word abstract for each paper and a brief, 1-page c.v. for each participant, including chairs and commentators.
- For full panels, also include a brief 200-word abstract for the panel as a whole.
- Please place the panel abstract, accompanying paper proposals, and vitas in one file and submit it as a single attachment. Also identify the panel’s contact person within the email.
All proposals should be submitted electronically by March 15, 2016, to the Program Committee Chair at christinehaskill@ferris.edu