Literary London 2008

Brunel University, West London
Liminal London: Country/City, Work/Leisure, Past/Future, and States Between.

The 7th Annual Literary London conference will be hosted by the Department of English, School of Arts, Brunel University, London, at the Uxbridge Campus. The Conference will begin on the evening of Wednesday 2nd July with an opening event featuring Iain Sinclair; keynote, plenary and panel sessions will take place 3rd-4th July. (The conference is partly organised by Brycchan Carey from FASS. For more information, you can email me direct: b.carey@kingston.ac.uk)

CALL FOR PAPERS

(Deadline extended to 1st June 2008)


Proposals of approximately 300 words are invited for 20-minute papers which consider any period or genre of English literature about, set in, inspired by, or alluding to central and suburban London and its environs, from the city's roots in Roman times to the present day.

This year, the conference theme is 'Liminal London: Country/City, Work/Leisure, Past/Future, and States Between'. Please note that the headline theme of the event does not exclude other proposals concerning any other aspect relevant to Literary London themes and contexts, which are most welcome, as are complete panels (subject to final approval by the conference organizers). Additionally, while the main focus of the conference will be on literary and cultural representations of London, the organizers actively encourage interdisciplinary contributions relating to film, architecture, geography, theories of urban space, etc.. Papers from postgraduate students are welcome for consideration.

Originally founded in the 1960s expansion of Higher Education in Britain, Brunel’s Uxbridge campus lies four miles and twenty minutes taxi ride from Heathrow Airport, and is a reasonable journey by underground to central London (King’s Cross and Piccadilly approx. 50 minutes; Waterloo approx. 55 minutes; Kew Gardens and Tower of London approx. just over an hour – estimated timings Transport for London). Participants staying longer can avail themselves of various research libraries including the British Library, London’s theatreland and all of the city’s historical and architectural sights. Both Oxford and Cambridge can be visited easily in a day from Uxbridge.

London is one of the world's major cities with a long and rich literary tradition reflecting both its diversity and its significance as a cultural and commercial centre. Literary London 2008 aims to:

Read literary and cultural texts in their historical and social context and in relation to theoretical approaches to the study of the metropolis;
Explore the relationship of margins, the central and spaces between;
Investigate the changing cultural and historical geography of London;
Situate Londoners, the city’s visitors and their various psychogeographic spaces;
Consider the social, political, and spiritual fears, hopes, and perceptions that have inspired representations of London;
Trace different traditions of representing London and examine how the pluralism of London society is reflected in London literature and its cultural narratives; and,
Celebrate the contribution London and Londoners have made to English and World literature. This should be an occasion for productive dialogue between scholars of literary and material culture. Papers on any literary, theoretical, narrative and material aspects of London and its representation are anticipated. Proposals for comprised panels of three (or four) speakers are also welcome.

Nick Hubble; Nick.Hubble@brunel.ac.uk

Philip Tew; Philip.Tew@brunel.ac.uk

Lawrence Phillips: contact@literarylondon.org

Brycchan Carey: b.carey@kingston.ac.uk

Note that your subject line must include the phrase ‘LITERARY LONDON BRUNEL 2008’ since your message will be initially retrieved and sorted automatically. If you do not do so it may well be lost in this process.

Deadline for submissions: Sunday 1st June 2008.

Conference website at Brunel: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/sa/artsub/english/engresearch/literarylondon

Literary London Web site: www.literarylondon.org

The Annual Literary London conference is mutually supportive of the

e-journal of the same name.