Friday 26th June 2026
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill Nineteen research centre is excited to invite you to ‘Placing the Nineteenth Century’, a PGR/ECR conference focused on the North (West) of England in nineteenth-century literature and history. London and the South have often been the heart of discussion about the nineteenth century. However, development in industry during the period brought popularity to cities such as Liverpool and Manchester, which led to a boom of industrial growth in the north of England. In the nineteenth century, the north of England developed like never before, both within cities and in more rural areas.
Following a recent EHU19 research symposium, PhD students from literature and history came together to discuss their emerging research and found a common theme – place. More specifically, the North (and North West) of England was a uniting thread, and so the idea for such a conference was born.
We invite proposals that engage with ‘place’ in the long nineteenth century, with particular attention to the North (West), broadly conceived. Papers may approach place as material, imagined, represented, contested, remembered, or speculative. We welcome MA/MRes students, PhD students, and Early Career Researchers whose research interests focus on the North (West) of England in nineteenth-century literary studies, history, art history and related disciplines, with suggested (but not limited to) topics such as:
- Fictional/fantastical representations of the North (West)
- The legacy of space in the North (West)
- Transnational and postcolonial links to the North (West): colonial, imperial, and transatlantic contexts (e.g, Liverpool as a global port)
- Museums, archives, and collections: regional museums and the afterlives of nineteenth-century places
- Gendered, racialised, and marginalised spaces: who belongs, who is excluded, and how space is policed
- Landscape across disciplines: historical, literary, artistic, and creative engagements with the natural and industrial landscapes of the North (West) in the long nineteenth century
- The North (West) in popular culture, periodicals, visual culture, and performance
- Queer histories and queer readings of place, including non-normative identities & relationships
Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words (including title) for 10–15 minute papers, along with a short biography to ehu19place@outlook.com by 1st May 2026, including name, preferred pronouns, and academic institution.
We are excited to have Dr Claire O’Callaghan giving a keynote address on Top Withens, Wuthering Heights and the impact of literary scholarship. As Dr O’Callagham is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Brontë Studies journal, she has kindly agreed to also run a workshop on publishing in an academic journal.
Given the conference’s emphasis on ‘place’, we are excited to offer an in-person conference gathering in the North West and warmly welcome participants to join us here. However, we are also committed to accessibility needs and widening participation, so please indicate if you would prefer to present online in your application. Please also do let us know about any other access needs or adjustments that can make your experience easier.
Please contact ehu19place@outlook.com if you have any queries or questions.
Conference organisers:
Emma Butler (English Literature PhD student, studying the seaside in 19thC novels),
Laura Granda Mateu (History PhD student, researching 19thC women patrons, collectors, popularisers),
Jessica White (Creative Writing PhD student studying the multiplicity of the writer’s voice),
Liam Pope (English Literature PhD student researching garden spaces in Brontë literature)