Biennial London Chaucer Conference: Chaucer and Europe
Friday 28th– Saturday 29th June 2019
Hosted by the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
Keynote addresses by Professor Laura Kendrick (University of Versailles) and Professor David Wallace (University of Pennsylvania).
Call for Papers:
The Biennial London Chaucer Conference 2019 seeks proposals for 20-minute papers, or for panels (consisting of three 20-minute papers), on any topic related to this year’s conference theme: ‘Chaucer and Europe’. Papers should primarily address issues relating to Europe and its influences, ideas, and traditions in the age of Chaucer and his contemporaries, or in later works which engage with Chaucer’s literary afterlife. The conference aims to explore not only how the works of such great European writers as Dante, Boccaccio, Machaut, and Froissart influenced Chaucer and his contemporaries, but also how European literary traditions, forms, and styles informed the literature produced in England during the later Middle Ages. The conference also welcomes papers which explore, or engage creatively, with ideas of place, travel, and commerce in Europe, as well as issues of identity (regional, national, and international), otherness, and borders and boundaries. Interdisciplinary topics and approaches are most welcome as the conference hopes to bring together scholars and postgraduate students working in a range of disciplines and departments.
Possible topics might include:
The influence of European works and writers on Chaucer and/or his contemporaries
European literary traditions (including genres, forms, styles, and themes)
European settings, geographies, and landscapes
Europe and the global
Place and identity
National and international identities
Transport, mobility, and migration
Pilgrimage, war, and crusading
Translation, languages, and multilingualism
Borders and boundaries
Modern ideas of Medieval Europe
Proposals for single 20-minute papers should include a 250-word abstract (as well as name and affiliation). Proposals for three-paper panels should take the form of three separate abstracts as well as a brief discussion of the rationale behind the session (the name of the three speakers and, if possible, an appointed chair, should also be included). Proposals should be sent to Alastair Bennett, Hetta Howes and Natalie Jones, at londonchaucer2019@gmail.com by January 31st 2019.
