cfp.english.upenn.edu

A conference marking the centenary of Forster's writing of the novel

Keynote speakers: Professor Joseph Bristow (UCLA), Dr Finn Fordham (Royal Holloway, London), Professor William Greenslade (University of West England, Bristol), and Professor David Medalie (University of Pretoria, South Africa)

CFP deadline: 1 August

Conference website: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~maurice/index.html

To mark the centenary of Forster's writing of Maurice, this 1.5-day conference, sponsored by the School of English, University of St Andrews, and the Scottish Network of Modernist Studies (SNoMS), aims to bring critical attention to this relatively under-discussed novel. Begun in 1913 after Forster's visit to Edward Carpenter and finished in 1914, Maurice underwent several revisions throughout Forster's life and was only posthumously published in 1971. The complicated formation and revision of the novel, plus its revelation of Forster's homosexuality at its publication, which changed the direction of Forster criticism, confirms the importance of the novel within Forster's oeuvre. The conference will therefore revisit Maurice, re-examining as well as reading beyond its sexual politics, and addressing themes that have, thus far, been overlooked by scholars.

The conference welcomes proposals for papers on any topics related to Maurice, which may include but are not limited to:

* Gender and Sexual Politics
* Social and Cultural Contexts
* Englishness and the Empire
* Education and Bildungsroman: Maurice as a Cambridge novel
* Maurice, London, and the Bloomsbury Group
* Post-Impressionism and Aesthetics
* Maurice and the two World Wars
* Textual Revision and Variance
* Maurice, Forster's Afterlife, and Forster Criticism
* Maurice in Forster's Oeuvre
* Maurice's Influence and Modern Adaptations: the 1987 Merchant Ivory Film, Plays, and Contemporary Literature

Academics and research students alike are invited to submit a proposal. Submissions should include a title together with a 250-300 word abstract for a 20 minute presentation. Please also include your name and affiliation. Proposals should be sent to Tsung-Han Tsai (tt88@st-andrews.ac.uk) by 1 August 2012.