The British Association for Romantic Studies International Conference 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romantic Retrospection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In-person Conference Keynote Speakers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruth Abbott (University of Cambridge) *<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online Conference Keynote Speaker<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nikki Hessell <\/em>(Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Romantic period has frequently been associated with newness, yet one of the abiding instincts of Romanticism is to turn to the past. The writers, artists, and thinkers of the period often looked and moved forward by glancing and turning back. Romantics saw and even defined themselves in relation to what had come before, tried to understand and explore the present by means of the past, contemplated their own past lives and selves as well as cultural and national memory, shaped their works out of traditions and inheritances to which they remained admiring and indebted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the Romantics sometimes register the burden of the past, they equally express and find in it forms of license and freedom. The influence of the Romantics, in turn, cast a spell over subsequent generations, who wrestled with their powerful artistic legacy. Literary criticism, meanwhile, has long been embroiled in reevaluating Romanticism, and its continuing relevance to or place within the academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We invite contributions on any aspect of Romantic Retrospection in relation to the writing, culture, institutions, practices, and criticism of the Romantic period. Topics that papers might address could include (but are not limited to):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conference Exhibition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2026 marks the centenary of the publication of the thirteen-book version of William Wordsworth\u2019s The Prelude<\/em>. The poem, completed by the poet in 1805, was unearthed and edited by the University of Birmingham Professor, Ernest de Selincourt. Its appearance in 1926 has shaped a century of Romantic studies. The conference will feature an exhibition of de Selincourt\u2019s papers from the University of Birmingham\u2019s Cadbury Archives, which will also be made available online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excursion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference will include an optional excursion to The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum and Bookshop, just north of Birmingham at Lichfield: https:\/\/samueljohnsonbirthplace.org.uk\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Further Particulars and Paper Proposals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference invites both in person and online participation. There will be a three-day in-person event at the University of Birmingham with a digital event the following week. The in-person conference will not be streamed, but participants will be encouraged to upload recordings of their papers, which will be made available in a digital archive accessible to both in-person and online participants for a limited time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We invite two kinds of proposal: for individual papers and for full sessions. We are also happy to facilitate session calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Session Proposals<\/strong>: sessions may take the form of traditional 3-4 person panels, with papers of 15-20-minutes each, or a series of shorter contributions in the form of a roundtable. To submit a proposal for a full session, please send the following information to bars2026@contacts.bham.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Session Calls:<\/strong> Current Session Calls may be found at the link here: https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=6199<\/a>. Bursaries:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Charles Lamb Society have very kindly agreed to provide three bursaries for papers relating to the life and work or Charles and Mary Lamb. If you would like to be considered for one of these bursaries, please indicate as much on submission of your abstract. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The deadline for submissions for individual papers and full panels is Sunday 30<\/strong>th<\/sup><\/strong> November 2025. <\/strong>Delegates will be notified of acceptance in January 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further updates will be posted on the conference website: https:\/\/www.birmingham.ac.uk\/events\/arts-and-law\/british-association-of-romantic-studies-conference-2026<\/a>. General enquiries may be directed to the conference email account: bars2026@contacts.bham.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The British Association for Romantic Studies International Conference 2026 Romantic Retrospection In-person ConferenceWednesday 29th\u2013Friday 31st July 2026University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Campus, Birmingham Keynote Speakers Ruth Abbott (University of Cambridge)Richard Cronin… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6101"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6226,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101\/revisions\/6226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Wednesday 29th<\/sup>\u2013Friday 31st<\/sup> July 2026
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Campus, Birmingham<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Richard Cronin (University of Glasgow)
Mary Favret (Johns Hopkins University)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday 6th<\/sup> August 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nIndividual Papers: <\/strong>to submit a proposal for a 15-20-minute paper, please send the following information to bars2026@contacts.bham.ac.uk<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Please check the list of session calls before submitting your paper to check if your research fits into any of the accepted proposals. Potential participants for these panels should get in touch directly with the panel facilitator via the contact details attached so that full details of the panel can be submitted ahead of the conference deadline (Sunday 30 November). <\/p>\n\n\n\n