CALL FOR PAPERS - UPDATE WITH KEYNOTE/extended deadline
2015 VICTORIANS INSTITUTE CONFERENCE
VICTORIAN WORK AND LABOR
OCTOBER 2 – 3, 2015
CONVERSE COLLEGE
SPARTANBURG, SC

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
SUSAN FRAIMAN, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Author of "X-treme Domesticity: Desperate Housekeeping from Robinson Crusoe to Martha Stewart" (forthcoming from Columbia UP)

The concept of personal, as well as societal, industry was essential to the Victorian sense of self. The idea of work as a virtue, a duty, and a privilege was widespread (and sometimes mocked). For the 44th annual meeting of the VICTORIANS INSTITUTE, we invite proposals from a variety of disciplines addressing issues of Victorian work and labor. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

magic/invisible/fairy workers
illegal work and black markets
labor in public and private spheres
new professions and professionalization
middle-class work and occupations
play and amateurism in an age of work
art and authorship as labor
intellectual vs. physical labor
Crystal Palace: showcasing production
the work of conquering the Empire
the work of teaching Vic lit and culture
industrialization
work in the Empire
work and gender
child labor
calling vs. toil
servants and servitude
prostitution
the work of childbirth
work and welfare of animals
agrarian vs. city labor
man and machine
disabled bodies and work
industry and environment
the work of criminals
“dirty” work

Papers or panels on poetry, prose, nonfiction, visual art, or historical context are welcome, as are presentations on the pedagogy of teaching Victorian literature. Selected papers from the conference will be refereed for the Victorians Institute Journal annex at NINES.

Send 200 – 250 word proposals and a brief one-page CV to Anita Rose, anita.rose@converse.edu, by June 15, 2015. Proposals should include contact information. Panel proposals should provide contact information for all participants, a synopsis of the panel and abstracts of all papers to be included.

Limited travel subventions will be available from the VI for graduate students whose institutions provide limited or no support. More information about the travel awards and the application process will be posted to www.vcu.edu/vij. Please visit www.vcu.edu/vij for registration and hotel information.