The 22nd Annual Dickens Symposium: “Interdisciplinary Dickens”
College of General Studies, Boston University
July 14-16, 2017
The 2017 Dickens Symposium is co-sponsored by the Dickens Society and The Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at CGS, Boston University.
Charles Dickens was the ultimate interdisciplinary thinker. The encyclopedic quality of his writing, his incorporation of characters from all classes and walks of life, his genius at being “a special correspondent for posterity,” and his interest in reforms in prisons, the treatment of the insane and urban design all result in works that reflect on a wide range of disciplines and that can be effectively illuminated by interdisciplinary approaches. Yet these approaches are complicated by the fact that Dickens’s career coincided with the emergence of modern disciplines of knowledge, and the nature and definitions of these disciplines has shifted. The organizers of this conference invite one-page abstracts that explore some aspect of Dickens’s oeuvre in light of another discipline: e.g. Dickens and art, Dickens and biology, Dickens and law, Dickens and medicine, Dickens and philosophy, Dickens and political science, Dickens and religion, etc. How does Dickens shed light on these disciplines, and/or how do their epistemological perspectives illuminate his works?
One-page (250-300 word) abstracts for papers deliverable in 20 minutes should be submitted to https://dickenssociety.submittable.com/submit before November 1, 2016. On-campus housing will be available as well as blocks of rooms at local hotels. Details about accommodations and conference sessions will be posted on the Dickens Society website: dickenssociety.org.
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 (Natalie McKnight, njmck@bu.edu) by November 15, 2016. Should the paper be of publishable quality, Dickens Quarterly shall have first right of refusal.