Acts of Sincerity: Authenticity and Identity in the Romantic Era
15 July 2005
University of the West of England
Hosted by UWE in association with
The Centre for Romantic Studies,
University of Bristol
This one-day multidisciplinary symposium proposes an innovative forum
for discussing the modes, acts and meanings of sincerity and
authenticity in the late eighteenth century. While its focus will be
on the latter part of the long eighteenth century, its concerns with
philosophy, religion and sentiment, as well as with the various
generic forms in which individuals articulated sincerity, will
inevitably draw on the wider period and its cultural currents. The
issue of sincerity is one which is particularly challenging to
scholars of the eighteenth century: we grapple with spectacular
literary forgeries (Macpherson and Chatterton), that are based on the
very premise of authenticity; we engage with antiquated modes of
individual expression such as diaries, letters and spiritual journals,
often written by those who deviated from the principles they
articulated; we attempt to read a range of material within the context
of a moral sensibility that placed truth and authenticity at the core
of its values at the time when imperialism and a burgeoning economic
climate posed serious challenges to this morality. As philosophers
bemoaned the plasticity and theatricality of identity in the public
sphere, authenticity and sincerity, paradoxically, increased in
cultural currency. This symposium proposes to engage with many of the
theoretical conundrums surrounding these areas across a variety of
disciplines and, most importantly, to bring us closer to eighteenth-
century notions of sincerity and authenticity. Thus a key focus of the
symposium will be on how to read forms of sincerity that are becoming
increasingly challenging to identify with.
Speakers will be asked to participate in a day with a two-
part structure: for the first half of the symposium speakers will
present points for discussion arising from the many critical and
theoretical interventions current in this area. This format will allow
for full discussion among all delegates and encourage a workshop
approach, pooling knowledge and ideas. It is hoped that this round-
table approach will lead to a more stimulating discussion for all
involved. The second half of the day will allow speakers to present
their research on primary material in the Romantic era. It is
anticipated that the theoretical issues raised in the first half of
the day will then be discussed in relation to research practice and to
critical application. These presentations will be rounded off by a
plenary address.
Please forward topics and abstracts for papers of 200-300 words to:
[log in to unmask] by 17 March 2005.
John Halliwell,
Research Assistant,
Centre for Romantic Studies,
Department of English,
University of Bristol.
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http://www.bristol.ac.uk/romanticstudies
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