Annual 18th- and 19th-century british women writers conference: Design
British women writers association
Palm springs, CA
march 24-27, 2027

 Abstract Deadline: October 18, 2026

In a review of Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament (1856), George Eliot writes, “There is a logic of form which cannot be departed from in ornamental design without a corresponding remoteness from perfection; unmeaning, irrelevant lines are as bad as irrelevant words or clauses, that tend no whither.” The ethics of design–whether ornamental, architectural, characterological, or psychological–were under consideration in much 18th- and 19th- century British literature and culture. From “demoniacal design[s]” in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to romantic designs in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to drawing room designs in Ada and Rhoda Garrett’s Suggestions for House Decorating in Painting, Woodwork, and Furniture, women writers were clearly preoccupied with the various possibilities and risks associated with design. Where good design promised harmony, efficiency, and pleasure, bad design portended artifice, cunning, and conflict. In novels, characters who acted with design were represented as suspect, but in natural histories, forces that acted with design were represented as evidence of God. In art and ornament, design represented order and meaning; the lack of design represented chance and irrelevance. The process of designing also offered opportunities for individualism and collaboration and for thinking about the logic of aesthetics versus function.

The organizers of the 35th annual 18th- and 19th-century British Women Writers Conference invite proposals for papers on the theme of “Design” in texts authored by women, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming writers of the long eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The organizers also invite applicants to propose papers that challenge and query the boundaries of British literature by engaging with texts situated within transatlantic and global contexts. In addition to presentations on 18th- and 19th-century literature, presentations on history, art history, architecture, and related fields are welcome.

Participants may use the following topics as general guidelines for considering the conference theme of design:

Visual media, including architecture, fashion and clothing, sculpture,
decor and furniture, sewing and weaving
Futurism and Modernism/modernism
Urban planning and transportation
Designing public and private spaces
Movements, trends, imitation
Innovation and novelty
The process of design (vision, creation, public response)
Functionality
Accessibility
Sustainability
The home and interior design
Cookbook and menu design
Family planning, anatomy, and reproductive health
Social design (community, romance, friendship)
Aesthetic design, including plot and form
Literary forms/formalism
Nature, landscape, and ecological design
Patterns/motifs/shapes
Intention and purpose
Scheming and cunning
Style(s)
Artifice
Modernism/modernities
Course and syllabus design, institutional design

Proposals for individual papers and panels are due October 18, 2026. For paper proposals, please submit a 300-word abstract and short CV (no more than 2 pages). For panel proposals, please submit a short description of the panel, a 300-word abstract for each paper, and a short CV (no more than 2 pages) for each participant. Instructions for submission can be found here: https://britishwomenwriters.org/. Please note that registration will be due in January 2027.

The conference will be held at the Hilton Palm Springs. The hotel is centrally located in Downtown Palm Springs with shopping, restaurants, and coffee shops within walking distance.