The English department at the University of New Mexico is pleased to host the 2013 British Women Writers Conference. The conference will be April 4-6, 2013 at the Hyatt in downtown Albuquerque, NM. The conference theme is “Customs,” and we look forward to a wide range of unique presentations on the topic.

Customs are often thought of as the habits or social norms that dictate behavior, sometimes so rigidly that they appear to be laws. Conversely, though, “custom” can refer to a product or service tailored to the “customer’s” individual specifications, or the taxes or duties on imports/exports, the governmental department charged with implementing such fees, or the place in which all items entering a country from foreign parts are examined for contraband.  Regardless of its particular connotation, “custom” denotes a sense of rigidity, restriction, or control; it is these forms of social, economic, and/or personal limitations that we wish to explore with this year’s conference. Prospective panelists are encouraged to think of “customs” broadly as the term might apply to British and Transatlantic women writers and their often-underrepresented contributions to literary studies.

Potential topics related to this theme might include but are not limited to the following themes in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British women’s writing: