Call for Papers
Networks of Antiquity
University of Copenhagen, 7–8 May, 2026
‘In remote ages prior to history, and the improvements of science, the bounds and limits of each nation were but faintly distinguished.’
––– Amos Cottle, Icelandic Poetry, or the Edda of Sæmund, 1797, iv.
‘The [idol temple] resembles the Egyptian, for the towers are always pyramidical, and the gates and roofs flat and without arches; but these [Pagodas] approach nearer to the Gothic taste, being surmounted by arched roofs or domes that are not semicircular…’
––– William Chambers, ‘An Account of the Sculptures and Ruins at Mavalipuram,’ 1792, 10.
Keynote Speakers
Nick Groom, University of Macau
Jon Mee, University of York
The antiquarian networks of the eighteenth century and Romantic era contributed to a fascinating constellation of multicultural, multilingual, exchange across the globe. The study of antiquarianism was a vastly popular pastime and scholarly pursuit in Europe, especially as a way of mapping ancient world cultures, religions, and politics onto contemporary society. The circulation of knowledge within local, national, and global networks paradoxically consolidated independent national exceptionalisms, as well as contributing to a budding multicultural globalism. Texts such as James Macpherson’s Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1763) prompted a revival of vernacular traditions across the British Isles like ballad imitations and Norse translations, while the establishment of the Society of Antiquaries in Britain encouraged the circulation and study of material culture.
With the various inventive reimaginations of world mythologies, and as an oppressive vehicle for European imperial agendas, the study of vernacular antiquities during the long eighteenth century formed the critical foundations of contemporary worldviews via the lens of the past. Pre-dating Herder’s thesis about Volksgeist, these antiquarian practices already constituted a rewriting of histories, memories, and cultures, and brought to the fore questions of heritage, identity, empire, trade, as well as the value ascribed to language. Through this global trade of antiquity in all its forms—material, textual, visual—both national and local European perspectives were brought into dialogue with alternate histories and the legacy of bygone eras.
‘Networks of Antiquity’ is a two-day interdisciplinary conference that aims to bring together scholars of Eighteenth Century Studies, Romanticism, and Reception Studies to examine how antiquarian networks across Europe and beyond created porous cultural borders during the long eighteenth century.
We welcome proposals for 20-minute papers that consider how European communities, networks, and individuals of the long eighteenth century engaged with antiquarian studies and cultural contexts regarding and those external to their own geographical borders.
Papers may explore topics including, but not limited to:
- Circuits of communication, letters, and objects
- Material culture and its popular or localised consumption
- Antiquarianism and visual culture
- Nordic antiquity, Northern antiquarianism, the Gothic
- The relationship and tensions between (neo-)Classical antiquity and vernacular traditions
- National vs local networks, the circulation of knowledge production
- Recollecting, reconstituting, and reinventing the past
- Adaptations and appropriations
- The Antiquarian as a figure/character
- Antiquarian Spaces: The Society of Antiquaries, libraries, museums, private vs. public exchange
- Exchange and Encounters: Transatlantic, Anglo-Nordic, Asiatic, etc.
- Geographies of antiquity, landscapes, scientific antiquarian travel
- Empire, trade, race, imperial and postcolonial perspectives
- Antiquarianism as a literary form and genre
- Stadial theory, Translation theory, Reception Studies, Memory Studies
The conference will be held in person and in English at the University of Copenhagen. To apply, please submit a 250-word abstract and 150-word biography to Sharon Choe (sharon.choe@hum.ku.dk) with the subject line: “Networks of Antiquity Conference Submission.”
We are keen to encourage the participation of PhDs, early career researchers, and scholars on precarious employment contracts and so will be offering bursaries to contribute towards travel to and accommodation in Copenhagen. Priority will be given to those without access to institutional financial support or external grant funding. To be considered for a bursary, please also provide a short 100-word application alongside your proposal, including your current institutional position and any research projects.
Application deadline: 31 January 2026
Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by 10 February 2026
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Sharon Choe