18th Century and Romantic Studies Colloquium

William Blake image

18th Century and Romantic Studies Colloquium

The 18th Century and Romantic Studies Colloquium brings together Princeton’s community of graduate students and faculty specializing in the long eighteenth century and Long Romanticism through a forum where we gather to discuss the current work being done in our field.  Though the colloquium has traditionally focused on British literature of the 18th century and Romantic periods, we have recently hosted scholars with trans-Atlantic interests during this time frame.  We invite speakers from around the country as well as international speakers, to share their research and answer questions in an environment that fosters engaged discussion.  Recent speakers include Frances Ferguson, Sandra Macpherson, Marshall Brown, Anahid Nersessian, Wendy Lee, Abigail Zitin, Margaret Doody, Stuart Sherman, Cynthia Wall, Duncan Wu, and Maureen McLane. 

Upcoming Events

Mar 30
Decorative
Lynn Festa
McCosh 40 4: 30 PM

 

Smollett’s Lost Causes: Satire, Practical Jokes, and Eighteenth-Century Warfare

March 30, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in McCosh Hall 40

Past Events

2022 - 2023

Nov 02
Nikki Hessel, Victoria University of Wellington
via zoom 4: 30 PM

Associate Professor School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Her most recent book is Romantic Literature and the Colonised World: Lessons from Indigenous Translations (Palgrave, 2018).

2019-2020

Apr 01
Adela Pinch, Department of English, University of Michigan; Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 2019-20
4: 30 PM

This event has been canceled.

Mar 09
Stephen Fallon, Department of English, University of Notre Dame
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

Milton, Newton, and the Making of a Modern World

Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.

Co-sponsored with the 18th C./Romantic Studies Colloquium.

Feb 26
Susan Wolfson, Department of English, Princeton University
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

Two Wordsworths: Mountain-Climbing, Letter-Writing

 

 

Nov 19
Deidre Lynch, Department of English, Harvard University and Leah Price, Department of English Rutgers University
Rare Books and Special Collecitons, Firestone Library 4: 30 PM

Book Learning

Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.

Co-sponsored with the English Department and the Victorian Colloquium.

2018-2019

Apr 12
Deidre Lynch and Leah Price, both in the Department of English, Harvard University
Rare Books and Special Collections, Floor C, Firestone Library 1: 00 PM

Book Learning

Reception in the Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall, to follow talk.

Oct 16
Ingrid Horrocks (English *06), School of English and Media Studies, Massey University, New Zealand
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

"Willing Wandering: Being mobile between creative and critical imaginaries"

 

2017-2018

Oct 19
Jonathan Kramnick, Department of English, Yale University
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

On Handsomeness, Considered as a Category of Aesthetics

Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.

Sep 28
Anne-Lise François, Department of English, University of California, Berkeley
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

" 'In the cowslips peeps I lye': Romantic Botany and Telling the Time of Day by the Light of the Anthropocene"

Sep 27
Helen Thompson, Department of English, Northwestern University
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 5: 00 PM

Samuel Johnson's Chemical Ethic

Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.

2016-2017

Dec 12
Image: Romanticism in the anthropocene
James Castell, School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

Professor Castell presented his work on Romanticism in the Anthropocene, a uniquely interdisciplinary event that attracted students from various departments (science as well as humanities fields) and put the humanities in conversation with environmental sciences.

Nov 08
Felicia Hemans image
Paul Hamilton, Department of English, Queen Mary University of London
McCosh 16 (Prof. Wolfson's office) 4: 30 PM

The colloquium collaborated with Susan Wolfson to organize an interactive roundtable seminar with Paul Hamilton on Felicia Hemans, in which graduate students in our department had the opportunity to closely read Hemans’ poems along with Professor Hamilton’s expert guidance.

Oct 25
Ian Balfour, Department of English, York University, Toronto, Canada
East Pyne, Room 205 5: 00 PM


This event was a collaboration between our colloquium and Comparative Literature, German, Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and the Theory Colloquium. Professor Balfour gave a lively presentation on the aesthetics of the sublime and inversion.

Sep 15
Anahid Nersessian talk poster
Anahid Nersessian, Department of English, University of California, Los Angeles
Hinds Library (Room B14), McCosh Hall 4: 30 PM

Anahid Nersessian presented a thought-provoking paper on obscurity in Wordsworth, which was followed by a lively discussion with graduate students and faculty.