time for teaching
Victorian interdisciplinary studies association of the western United states
virtual roundtable series
fall 2026
Abstract Deadline: June 15, 2026
This virtual roundtable series, organized by the Victorian Interdisciplinary Studies Association of the Western United States (VISAWUS), is dedicated to the problem and practice of teaching Victorian studies in an era marked by retrograde policies and techno-optimistic imperatives. It asks, how do educators teach nineteenth-century literature and culture, while remaining present to the challenges of the twenty-first century university? And what might educators gain by employing Victorian modes of embodied learning—such as object lessons and recitation assignments—in the contemporary classroom?
This virtual series will take place over several dates in Fall 2026 and will be geared toward resource sharing and community building. Participants will be invited to share a 6-8 minute presentation, as well as a tangible part of their classroom practice: an assignment, exercise or activity. The organizers invite proposals from contingent faculty, graduate students, early career scholars, and senior faculty alike.
Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Teaching reading and writing in the age of LLMs and AI
- Navigating contemporary politics in the Victorian classroom
- Forms of attention and distraction and/or strategies for cultivating focus
- Object lessons, especially models for hands-on engagement and approaches to teaching material culture
- Structures for formative feedback, rubrics, and assessment
- Approaches to “ungrading” and labor-based grading practices
- Cultivating reflective practices (as educators and with students)
- Multimodal learning and assignments
- Using digital tools to facilitate material gains (online archives, course blogs, annotation software, etc.)
- Experiential learning and service learning
Please submit a presentation title and brief abstract of no more than 200 words along with a one-page CV to visawus2026@gmail.com by June 15, 2026. Panel proposals are also welcome. Questions should be directed to Ashley Nadeau (Utah Valley University) via visawus2026@gmail.com.
