Dickens Society 21st Annual Symposium: “Adapting Dickens”
Iceland University, Reykjavik
11–13 July, 2016
No sooner had Dickens made a name for himself by writing novels than the London theatres began to adapt them to the stage. Indeed, both The Pickwick Papers (April 1836–November 1837) and Oliver Twist (February 1837–March–1838) underwent such adaptations before the serial run of either had come to an end, and the latter was staged in one form or another no fewer than forty times before 1850! Just over half a century later, “The Death of Poor Joe,” a silent film from 1901 initiated a long series of adaptations of his works for cinema, and in 1959, BBC television broadcast adaptations of Great Expectations and Bleak House that proved how well suited his works were to either type of screen. Over four hundred adaptations later, there is no sign that the public’s enthusiasm for adapting Dickens is on the wane. Quite the contrary, audio versions of his works, a mode that can be traced directly to Dickens’s own dramatizations and his celebrated (and much imitated) readings can now be downloaded in a matter of minutes in MP3 format from a large number of internet sources. By the 1840s, his novels had been translated in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Russian, influencing a host of European writers over the following three decades. If we add the visual arts, musicals, graphic novels, video games, and a multitude of objects from Christmas decorations to cigarette cards and figurines, there seems to be no limits to the adaptability of Dickens’s works.
Papers (deliverable in twenty minutes) related to adaptation as well as proposals on all aspects of Dickens and his works are welcome.
Potential subjects related to the symposium theme include:
- Dickens and translation
- Dickens and film
- Dickens and performance
- Dickens and the theatre
- Dickens and television
- Dickens and audio
- Dickens and the visual arts
- Dickens and adaptation theory
Please send one-page proposals (marked DSS2016 plus your surname) by email, as an attachment, to Martin S. Regal <regal@hi.is> no later than 15 October 2015. Scholars at all stages of their careers are encouraged to submit proposals.
The Robert B. Partlow, Jr. Prize
Applications are invited for the Partlow Prize, named in honor of the original Secretary-Treasurer and one of the founding members of the Dickens Society. It may be in the form of EITHER one stipend of $500 OR two of $300 (if two recipients are chosen), and is intended to defray costs of attending the Dickens Symposium, in order to deliver a paper on any aspect of Dickens’s life or work. The registration fee and cost of the Dickens Dinner will also be waived.
Eligibility is restricted to students (graduate or undergraduate), independent scholars, and non-tenured faculty. Candidates should submit a CV, and a completed paper of 20 minutes duration, to the Symposium organizer (regal@hi.is) by 15 October 2015. Should the paper be of publishable quality, Dickens Quarterly shall have first right of refusal. The winner will be informed of the Society’s decision by the end of November 2015.
Information on travel to and accommodation in Reykjavik will be made available on the Dickens Society website at dickenssociety.org