A conference entitled 'Before Depression, 1660-1800' is to being organised
by the Universities of Northumbria and Sunderland on 19, 20 and 21 June.
The main theme is depression and its representation in Britain and Europe in
the long eighteenth century (1660-1800).
The meeting is part of a series of events arranged in connection with the
Leverhulme-funded research project, ‘Before Depression, 1660-1800’, which is
exploring the question of what was depression like before it was called
depression, and how was the experience represented.
A full description of the project, the people involved and the activities
and aims are on the project website: www.beforedepression.com
<http://www.beforedepression.com/>. There are also podcasts of the seven
public lectures held so far held. You will also find a conference page,
with a printable call for papers and a booking form, together with a link
for booking accommodation in Newcastle.
Our plenary speakers are Elaine Hobby (Loughborough), Madeleine
Descargues-Grant (Valenciennes) and Peter Sabor (McGill), who between them
will cover material from the Restoration period through to the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The conference includes a viewing
of the art exhibition, ‘Eighteenth-Century Blues’, a collection of period
works that deal with melancholia etc, which we are organising at a local
gallery to open as the conference takes place. There is also a wine
reception and buffet supper at Sunderland Glass Centre, an optional
conference dinner at the Mansion House, Newcastle, and an optional guided
tour to Hadrian’s Wall on the day after the conference for those delegates
who wish to stay on.
We have already received offers of papers, but are keen to attract as wide a
range of contributors as possible from around the world. We are also very
ready to accept papers from postgraduate students working in fields relevant
to the conference. (There is a special postgraduate rate, as shown on the
website.) Selected papers (subject to refereeing) will be published in a
special number of the journal The European Spectator, with the collaboration
of our European partner, Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier (the Institut
de Recherches sur la Renaissance, l’Age Classique et les Lumières – IRCL).
Any questions please contact:
Dr Leigh Wetherall Dickson, Leverhulme Research Fellow ‘Before Depression
1660-1800’
Division of English and Creative Writing, School of Arts and Social Sciences
Lipman Building, Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE 1 8ST
Tel: 0191 227 3277
Fax: 0191 227 4630
|