Description: Since the 1990s, there has been an ever-growing list of adaptions on early modern women, from Elizabeth (1998) to The Tudors, to Reign, to Mary Queen of Scotts (2018), to the countless depictions of Anne Boleyn. Each of these productions attempt to negotiate a happy medium between maintaining historical accuracy and entertaining a modern audience who may not be familiar with or care about the complicated politics of the early modern world. Adaptions of early modern women are not limited to the screen, but can also be found in music, art, and pop culture. While the folk song “The Death of Queen Jane” and the art exhibit on Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle & Gardens consider two of Henry VIII’s wives, countless other women are revived across social media from feminist content creators desiring to give a modern voice to women of the past. While adaptations do not always preserve strict historicity, through modern retellings, early modern women are sometimes transformed from states of passivity to having active agency within their communities; in other instances, adaptations further disenfranchise women.

This traditional panel session seeks proposals on representations of early modern women in film/tv, art, music, and pop culture. Presentations may consider contemporary adaptations that empower early modern women but may also offer criticisms of adaptations that seem to disempower and further marginalize women.

Submissions from Ph.D. candidates and early career scholars are especially encouraged.

NOTE: This call is for papers to be presented at the conference.

 Abstracts are due by 30 September 2026. To submit an abstract, please log into the NeMLA Online Submission System at: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/Login

Abstracts must include:

●      Title (80 characters or less)

●      Abstract (200 to 300 words)

●      Brief Bio

●      Media Needs (project/screen/laptop)

Please direct all questions to Jennifer Topale at Jennifer.topale@du.edu. Do not send any abstracts to this email. Abstracts must be submitted through NeMLA’s online system.

Further details and information about this particular session can be found at the official CFP page for the session: https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22451