MVSA 2015
University of Iowa
May 1-3, 2015
Deadline: October 31, 2014
The Midwest Victorian Studies Association seeks papers for
topics related to the conference theme of “Sense and the Senses.” The committee encourages papers on any aspect of this topic in art, music, history, science, philosophy,
theater or literature: senses and the invisible; sounds and soundscapes; listening/depictions
of listening; the relationship between the body and mind; the five senses; the
representation of sense or reason; rationality and embodiment; the relationship(s)
among sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste; the conflict or accord between
reason and the senses; the scientific, psychological, philosophical, or empirical
study of the senses; the role of the senses in the creation of ideas or
knowledge; the relationship between sense and emotion; empiricism and the imaginary;
the disarray or unreliability of the senses; synaesthesia; mesmerism,
hypnotism, and extrasensory perception; sensory textures of spaces and lived
experiences; sensory extensions/alterations catalyzed by technologies.
MVSA’s 2015 Jane Stedman Plenary Speaker will be Linda M.
Shires (David and Ruth Gottesman Professor of English, Yeshiva University). Her
talk is entitled "Coming to our Senses: Colors in the 19th Century.” She
is the author of Perspectives: Modes of
Viewing and Knowing in 19th-Century England (2009), co-author with Steven
Cohan of Telling Stories, A Theoretical
Analysis of Narrative Fiction (1988; 2002), and editor of Rewriting the Victorians (1992; 2012)
and From Romantic to Victorian: Essays by
U.C. Knoepflmacher (forthcoming).
For the second year, MVSA will feature three seminars open
to graduate students, faculty and independent scholars led by senior scholars
on topics related to the conference theme. Seminar participants pre-circulate
5-to-7 page papers. More information will be available in the seminar CFP on
the MVSA website soon.
Special events include a dramatic performance and a
demonstration of Highland dancing in the Iowa Old Capitol Senate Chamber. A
publication of selected essays from the conference is planned.
The Midwest Victorian Studies Association is an
interdisciplinary organization welcoming scholars from all disciplines who
share an interest in nineteenth-century British history, literature, and
culture. Send a 300-word abstract and 1-page vita (as Word documents) by
October 31, 2014, to conferencesubmissions@midwestvictorian.org. Even if you do
not submit a paper, please plan to attend!
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