For its 25th annual meeting, the British Women Writers Conference invites papers and panel proposals considering the theme of “Generations.” As we look back on a quarter-century of feminist scholarship and practice within British Studies, we want to celebrate those who have defined the British Women Writers Association’s past and nurture those who will shape its future. Of course, even within lite
rary traditions or scholarly networks, generational transitions are rarely ever easy or smooth. Such transitions may be accompanied by paradigm shifts, struggles to be heard, or difficulty letting go. We therefore welcome investigations into the complexities of generational exchange and transition in women’s writing. Papers may focus on generation as a biological, cultural, social, historical, or political process as well as on attendant manifestations in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature and contemporary scholarly discourses. In the end, we hope that a comprehensive exploration of generations will help illuminate shifts in literary studies, women’s writing, and critical practice. By February 1, 2017, send 300-word abstracts for paper proposals, along with a brief bio (in one document) to [email protected]. Panel proposals should include individual paper abstracts, short speaker bios, as well as a brief panel description (in one document). All proposals must engage the conference theme and relate to British women’s writing during the long eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. Graduate students are encouraged to apply for a travel grant sponsored by the BWWA. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:
“GENERATIONS AND RELATIONS”
Parents & children
Mentors & mentees
Ancestors & descendants
Inter/extra-generational friendships
Generational conflict
“GROWING PAINS”
Theories of change & the passing of time
Obsolescence of cultural practices & social structures
New technologies & techniques
Biopower, eugenics, social design
“SEASONS”
Weddings, honeymoons, anniversaries
Political & economic phases
Schedules, timetables, deadlines
Geological time, astronomical time, relativity
Retrospectives & futurisms
Literary periodization
“SEEDS”
Horticulture, cultivation, conservation
Cuisine & consumption
Changing landscapes & cityscapes
“GENRES OF GENERATION”
Proceedings, requiems, obituaries
Borrowings, adaptations, revisions
Multi-generational texts
Narrative inventions & residuals
Changing aspects & visual arts
Performing change & changing performances
“PHASES OF HUMAN BODIES”
Reproduction, pregnancy, birth, maternity
Childhood & adolescence
Theories of biological (re)generation & healing
Carework & disability
Discourses of aging bodies or minds & ageism
Death & mourning
“BWWC’S 25TH”
1992-2017: Reminiscences & outlooks
Critical & feminist prehistories
Anxieties of influence
The state of the field
Women’s writing as a category of analysis
Scholarship as pedagogy
Interdiscipinarity
Whither BWWC?
