"Splendour in the Grass":
2006 Victorian Studies Association of Ontario Spring Conference Call for Papers
(Extended Deadline: 30 January 2006)

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass,
Of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.

- William Wordsworth, "Intimations of Immortality" (1803-06)

Just as Wordsworth's poem opens itself up to numerous interpretations, so too
does the Victorian Studies Association of Ontario wish to open its conference
to the consideration of a range of subjects around Victorian notions of nature,
splendour, spirit, and knowledge.

We are very pleased to announce that this year's keynote speakers and their
topics will be:

Martin Danahay (English Department, Brock University)
"John Ruskin's Garden"

Joy Dixon (History Department, University of British Columbia)
"'Love is a sacrament that should be taken kneeling': sexuality, religion, and
the troubled history of 'secularization'"

For the April 29, 2006 conference, we also invite proposals for a session
reflective of the conference theme. Possible topics include, but are not at all
limited to:

- wonder's role in learning and understanding
- ethical issues in environmentalism
- new knowledge and new sexuality
- places of desire within spirituality
- paganism and attitudes toward nature
- attitudes toward grief, death, or illness
- fairies and other splendid spirits of nature
- Victorian innocence and its loss
- post-Romanticist notions of nature and religion

Please send proposals (1-2 pages) for 20-minute papers and brief bio or cv to
Dennis Denisoff at denisoff_at_ryerson.ca or Dept. of English, Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 30
January 2006. All are encouraged to submit, but presenters must be members of
the VSAO at the time of the conference.

         ==========================================================
              From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
                        CFP_at_english.upenn.edu
                         Full Information at
                     http://cfp.english.upenn.edu
         or write Jennifer Higginbotham: higginbj_at_english.upenn.edu
         ==========================================================
Received on Sat Jan 21 2006 - 13:50:13 EST