British Association for Victorian Studies Conference 2019
Victorian Renewals
University of Dundee
28-30 August 2019
Hosted by the University of Dundee and the Scottish Centre for Victorian and Neo-Victorian Studies, BAVS 2019 will take place on the University’s city centre campus in Dundee, a city known for its contributions not only to Victorian trade and industry, but to popular culture, through its status as a leading centre for the newspaper press. Dundee’s Victorian heritage and influence is visible throughout the city, but our theme also celebrates the ongoing renewals and renovations of this heritage, most notably embodied in the £1bn renewal of the waterfront and its flagship building, the V&A Museum of Design, opened in September 2018. Dundee is an easily walkable city, and attractions for Victorianists also include the McManus Gallery, Verdant Works (the Jute Museum), HMS Unicorn, and the rich research materials held by Dundee Central Library and Dundee City Archives. It has a thriving arts and creative scene and there are numerous entertainment and eating and drinking venues within a short walk of the conference location. The city is readily accessible by train from either the West Coast (Glasgow- c.1.5 hours to Dundee) or East Coast (Edinburgh – c.1-1.5 hrs to Dundee) main lines. It is also accessible by bus or train from Edinburgh or Glasgow airports, which are served by most major airlines, and limited flights are available from London Stansted to Dundee Airport (Loganair) around the conference dates.
We are happy to invite paper, panel, workshop, or roundtable proposals for BAVS 2019. We welcome proposals that speak to any interpretation of the conference theme. Themes linked to ‘renewals’ might include:
- Victorian reworkings of or revivals from earlier periods, across fields and disciplines
- Neovictorian reworkings of Victorian culture, history and literature
- Renewed engagement with particular topics, themes, genres or forms within the Victorian period
- Renewed interests in particular topics, themes, genres or forms in scholarship on this period
Individual proposals should be no more than 250-300 words long, accompanied by a 1 page CV. Panel, workshop, roundtable or ‘strand’ proposals should be submitted in the format below. This year, in response to members’ feedback, the committee particularly invites collaborative proposals that include presenters from more than one disciplinary background, and from different career stages.
Collaborative proposals should be submitted as follows:
- Panel proposals for three linked papers: these should include individual abstracts and CVs, plus a 200 word note on the overarching theme(s) of the panel.
- 'Strand’ proposals for 2 or more panels on a connected theme: these should include individual abstracts and CVs, plus a 200 word note on the rationale for this strand.
- Workshop proposals for a hands-on session featuring 2 or more leaders, focused on interactive discussion of a topic. These should include one 250-300 word proposal and the CVs of workshop leaders.
- Round-table proposals, involving 4-5 short 10 minute position papers on a given topic. These should include one 250-300 word proposal and the CVs of all speakers.
Please send all proposals as Word attachments to the conference email address: bavs2019@dundee.ac.uk by 1 March 2019. Decisions on acceptance will be made by 1 April 2019, with registration opening in May. For further information please see the BAVS 2019 page at www.scvs.ac.uk.