CALL FOR PAPERS: The Afterlives of Eve

9-11 September 2016 at Newcastle University and Durham University

Keynotes: Sandra M. Gilbert (UC Davis), Wendy Furman-Adams (Whittier), John Bothwell (Durham) 

From Genesis to mitochondrial Eve, the idea of a single common foremother has occupied a crucial space in the Western cultural imaginary. Eve, whether as bringer of sin, as life-giver, as burden, curse or saviour, functions as a commentary on maternity, sexuality, creativity and power. This cross-period and interdisciplinary conference will be an opportunity to explore the impact of her varied representations through the centuries and across different genres and media. 

How has this archetypal figure been revised and revisited by conservative and radical thought? 

What personal, polemical and/or creative uses have been made of the figure of Eve?
What persists and what changes in her depictions across time and geographical space?
How have women and men negotiated their shared and different relationships to Eve?
How has Eve been appropriated, neglected or rejected as a foremother?
How does she speak to fantasies of masculine or feminine self-sufficiency?
What cultural, political, literary and/or theological spaces does she occupy now? 

Topics might include, but need not be limited to: 

• Origins of/Sources for Eve 
• Other Eves 
• The absence of Eve 
• Representations and Transformations of Eve 
• Eve as Over-reacher 

We welcome papers from all disciplines in arts, humanities and sciences and covering any historical period. We also welcome panel proposals including PGR panel proposals. Titles and abstracts of no more than 250 words per speaker should be sent to Ruth Connolly (ruth.connolly@ncl.ac.uk) and Mandy Green (mandy.green@durham.ac.uk) by 12 March 2016. 

Panel proposals should also include a title for the panel's programme. Speakers will be notified by March 21st. We gratefully acknowledge support from MEMS at Newcastle, IMEMS Durham and Newcastle University's Academic Conference Fund. A limited number of PGR bursaries may be available. Please indicate when sending your abstract whether you would like to be considered for a bursary.

Montaigne in Early Modern England and Scotland

Dates: Fri.-Sat. 6-7 Nov. 2015

Confirmed speakers:

Warren Boutcher (Queen Mary)
Will Hamlin (Washington State)
Katie Murphy (Oxford)
John O’Brien (Durham)
Richard Scholar (Oxford)
David Louis Sedley (Haverford)

The Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS) at Durham University invites proposals for 20-minute papers on any aspect of the reception of Montaigne’s Essais in England and the larger Anglophone world, including Ireland, Scotland, and North America, during the first two hundred years following their initial publication in French. Any approach to the study of Montaigne’s influence is welcome, including literary criticism, philosophy, theology, psychology, history of science, and history of the book. Authors to consider range from Bacon and Hobbes up to Locke and Hume, and include literary figures, as well, such as Florio, Cornwallis, Daniel, Shakespeare, Jonson, Burton, Browne, Dryden, Johnson, Pope, Swift, and Sterne. Early career academics and postgraduates are encouraged to apply, as well as more established scholars. For consideration, please send a title, an abstract of no more than 200 words, and a one-page CV to montaigneinearlymodernengland@gmail.com no later than 1 August 2015.

http://www.dur.ac.uk/imems