North American Society for the Study of Romanticism

NASSR/BARS Joint Conference 2022 - New Romanticisms || Tuesday 2nd - Friday 5th August 2022

Registration now open: https://www.nassr.ca/conference_registration 

Note that only paid NASSR members can access conference registration. If you're being denied access, it could mean that your membership has lapsed. If you have issues, please do contact Chris Bundock at [email protected] for help.  

An updated programme (4 July 2022) can be viewed here.

'New Romanticisms' invites explorations of both the concept of newness in and about the Romantic period and new approaches to Romantic Studies today. The title for the conference also plays on the term 'New Romantics', referring to post-punk bands of the late 1970s and 1980s influenced by Romantic-period aesthetics, especially 'dandy' fashions (roughly equivalent to 'new wave' artists in America). The conference organisers are therefore particularly interested in responses to the call for papers which think about Romantic legacies and receptions in music, theatre, pop culture, and beyond. We would also welcome areas of research distinct from literary and cultural studies, which might include, but is not limited to: art history, material culture, cultural heritage, public engagement, and knowledge exchange.

This conference has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and, therefore, its focus on the new feels more urgent than ever. What does it mean to study Romanticism today? How can Romantic Studies appropriately and effectively respond to current debates about the relevance and future of Higher Education, social justice, climate change, and contemporary culture more generally? Papers reflecting on the pressures on research, teaching, and service intra- or post-pandemic are particularly welcome. The conference aims to be an open, inclusive, accessible, and diverse space for the discussion of newness in Romantic Studies and its legacies and impact today.

The conference will take place in hybrid format, with physical panels, keynotes, and workshops, also available in digital format, taking best practice from online events into the running of the joint conference.

The physical event will take place at Edge Hill University, with Thursday 4th August devoted to an exploration of Liverpool and its Romantic history and legacies. As Liverpool was a hub for both advocates of slavery and abolitionists, as well as radical political agitation more generally from Dissenters to Chartists, papers which respond to the history of slavery and abolition, maritime and radical cultures, and the wider significance of England's North-West on the Romantic period, will also be welcome.

Please submit abstracts of 250 words, panel proposals of 750 words (including details of individual papers plus a rationale for the panel), or innovative presentation formats of 500 words (including, for example, poster presentations, pedagogical workshops, salons, and dramatic and/or musical performance pieces) to [email protected].

Please include an indication of whether your presentation / panel / innovative presentation format is intended to be hosted online (and asynchronous or synchronous).