‘Charles Ignatius Sancho: A Black British Man of Letters and His World’
‘Charles Ignatius Sancho: A Black British Man of Letters and His World’
13-14 March, 2026
Northeastern University London
This conference will bring together international scholars and practitioners for the first time in 25 years to interrogate the life, work, impact, and social contexts of the late-18th-centuryBlack British polymath Charles Ignatius Sancho. Sancho is a foundational figure in Black British history; a recent upsurge in scholarly discoveries of his life has occurred in parallel with films and television shows like Bridgerton and Harlots which have sought to offer more diverse representations of the eighteenth-century and Regency worlds. Consequently, it is a highly apposite moment to convene a conversation amongst scholarly, community, and cultural organizations to analyze Sancho anew, from perspectives including print culture and literary genres, to historical, social, musical, and theatrical contexts. In so doing, the conference will address urgent questions about how Sancho’s life and times force us to re-evaluate contemporary debates centred on race and national belonging in the United Kingdom.
We welcome up to 250-word proposals for/abstracts of short, 10-15 minute remarks.
Deadline for proposals: 14th July 2025
Decisions will be emailed by 15th August 2025