"Keywords in Religion and Victorian Studies"
A Special Issue of Victorian Studies
NAVSA Religion and Spiritualities Caucus
Abstract Deadline: July 31, 2026
At the invitation of Victorian Studies, the NAVSA Religion and Spiritualities Caucus is organizing a special issue devoted to fifteen keywords that illuminate the interdisciplinary dimensions of nineteenth-century religion. Contributors are invited to take up a particular keyword and make a pointed, argumentative case for what that keyword makes newly visible— historically, methodologically, or theoretically—in Victorian studies.
We seek short essays (2,300-word maximum, inclusive of endnotes and bibliography), each taking its own distinctive approach to its keyword.
The aim is not for a dictionary definition or encyclopedia-style entry but instead a polemical short-form argument about why the keyword matters now and what it makes newly visible in the study of Victorian religion. The collection as a whole aspires to serve as both a methodological resource and teaching tool, while showcasing some of the exciting work currently happening in our field.
Possible keywords might include:
- Affect
- Archives
- Class
- Disability
- Ecocriticism
- Empire
- Form
- Gender
- Industry
- Lyric
- Materiality
- Politics
- Print Culture
- Race
- Syncretism
- Technology
- Translation
- Transnational
Contributors are warmly encouraged to propose keywords not on this list.
To submit: Please email proposals of a keyword with a 300-word abstract to the Steering Committee of the Religion and Spiritualities Caucus at vs-rel-keywords@outlook.com by July 31, 2026. Abstracts should include your name, institutional affiliation, and a brief indication of your proposed essay’s central argument. Decisions on the abstracts will be communicated in September 2026, and final submissions will be due April 30, 2027 for peer review.
Image Source: The Lord Gave and the Lord Hath Taketh Away, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord by Frank Holl, 1868
