We are now accepting abstracts for “O’ you wonder!”: Worldviews in Pre-1750 Literature.  This virtual conference will take place on 17th and 18th April 2021.

The early modern period witnessed unique and rapid epistemological expansion, as the world was ‘discovered’, colonised and conceptualised. Literature became a portal by which to experience this ever-expanding world and wonder at it. Our conference brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on the worlds and wonders being written before 1750.

We will be joined by our keynote speaker, Dr. Liza Blake, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. She will present on her in-progress monograph ‘Early Modern Literary Physics’, examining how early modern literary authors used literary form to invent and work through a multitude of worldviews.

We invite submissions on pre-1750 literature to be presented at our virtual conference. These papers may contextualize the worldviews that animate, or give shape to, a text and its contemporary interpretations — with an eye to how these are often imbued with a sense of wonder or inspiration. Our tentative subtopics encourage submissions on worldviews concerning, but not limited to; faith and devotion; the natural world and discovery; classical and ‘foreign’ influence. We hope the variety of available responses to our theme will invite lively and cross-period discussion, and will illuminate new connections between areas of pre-1750 culture.

A 250-word abstract and 50 word biography should be submitted to englishgradconf@gmail.com by 26th March 2021. Complete presentations should not exceed 20 minutes.

For more information, please visit our webpage: https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/grad-conference/.

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