Inaugural Meeting of the Malthus Reading Group

5-7 pm, Friday 16 October 2009, The Anatomy Theatre and Museum, King’s College London

Convenors: Ella Dzelzainis (English, KCL), David Feldman (History, Birkbeck, London), Josephine McDonagh (English, KCL), Niall O’Flaherty (History, KCL)

This multidisciplinary reading group will explore the cultural afterlife of T. R. Malthus’s Essay on Population (1798) in the long nineteenth century. Its ambition is to open up new ways of thinking about the Essay, tracing the uses and abuses of Malthusianism as it traversed the geographical borders of Britain and Empire; reshaped the history of politics, science, and sexuality; and was rearticulated in the realms of literature and art. 

Designated reading for the first session is the 1798 edition of the Essay (available in Oxford World’s Classics). The meeting will begin with Mark Philp (Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford) giving a brief introduction to the text. In the final half hour we will decide the reading and direction of further sessions planned for 4 December, 22 January, 5 March and 14 May. Wine will be served. All welcome!

For further information, contact Ella Dzelzainis  ella.dzelzainis@kcl.ac.uk