Type: Paper Session

Session Abstract: The 1588 wreck of the Spanish Armada off the coast of Ireland was an English naval victory aided by strong winds and, what we now call, the Little Ice Age, yet the early modern English saw it as divine providence—of God’s intervention aiding Protestants and destroying Catholics. This destruction caused by natural disaster but attributed to the preternatural was not exceptional but commonplace in the period. This Oecologies-sponsored panel invites scholars thinking about early modern natural and preternatural disasters as they appear in literature, history, and art.  We invite proposals for papers in progress that are interested in exploring natural and preternatural Renaissance disasters. Panelists will have 15-20 minutes to present their papers in traditional panel format. Some of the topics of interest are, but are not limited to:

-Ecological implications

-Response to the Little Ice Age

-Climate change

-Weather events and the divine

-Human responses to disaster

-Ecological trauma

-Floods, earthquakes, fires, and other extreme natural disasters

-Ship wrecks and the destruction of property

Please submit your paper title (15 words maximum), abstract (200 words maximum), 2-page CV including affiliation and Ph.D. completion year in a single PDF file by August 9, 2025. Accepted presenters will be notified by the beginning of August.

Disciplines: English Literature, History, Art

Organizer: Kirsten Schuhmacher

Contact Email: kirsten.schuhmacher@uconn.edu

CFP Deadline: July 28

Session Sponsor: Oecologies