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Departamento de Filología Inglesa. Literatura Inglesa y Norteamericana

International Margaret Cavendish Society Conference 2024

"Absence and death are much alike" FAME by Margaret Cavendish

Early forms of human symbolic communication testify to pre-literate notions of fame, which Homer metaphorised in Mount Ossa, while Virgil, in the Aeneid, posited «no evil faster than [fame].” Plato and Aristotle took fame seriously as the pursuit of honour and glory, while the Stoics tended to view it as a by-product of living in harmony with nature and virtue. As a result, during the classical revivals, the concept of fame was often associated with notions of honour, virtue, and achievement. Petrarch’s sonnets, Chaucer’s dream, Shakespeare’s plays or Pope’s vision concretized the humanist tradition of seeking immortality through renowned literary works. But how women were portrayed, or women writers dealt with it? We might then turn to the University of Seville’s emblem, which features a coronary statue of Fame, as a female “public messenger.”

Across her career, Cavendish was obsessed with fame. While she was critical of the pursuit of fame for its own sake, and expressed reservations about the vanity, wealth, or false learning that might lead to “bastard fame,” she nonetheless devoted her writing career to the pursuit of a “true fame” that might be earned through virtue, originality, wit, and wisdom. She also recognized, as an early female author and iconoclast, that fame was her only avenue to a more sympathetic future audience. Indeed, her work abounds in haunting expressions of her desire for longevity. As she frequently expounded, she sought to climb “Fames Tower” and “Live in Many Brains.” Now, in 2024, the world is finally listening. 

Keynotes

Cavendish offers a unique opportunity to discuss fame, its impact on individuals and societies, and its continuities with concepts of immortality. More broadly, she offers valuable insights into the human condition and the power of public perception. Of course, the trope of fame continues to resonate today, as we explore the human complexities of ambition, desire, vanity, and identity.

We warmly invite papers from any discipline that touch—explicitly or implicitly—on the topic of fame, as we meet in Seville, December 12 and 13 2024 to discuss Cavendish. We especially encourage papers from postgraduate students and scholars not adequately represented in the academy. The event will be held in person, although online options might be available (TBA).

Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words and a brief (100-word) bio to the Conference Committee by July 15, 2024  (EXTENDED TO August 31st, 2024) to imcsconf24@us.es

NOTE: All attendees can present one regular paper in addition to one roundtable or lecture.

James Fitzmaurice

University of Sheffield

Plenary Speaker

 
Kristin Girten

Univ. of Nebraska Omaha

Keynote Speaker

 
 
Francesca Peacock
University of Oxford

 

Life Writing Speaker and Q&A on commercial publishing

 
 

James Fitzmaurice
University of Sheffield

Sara Jayne Steen
Plymouth State University

Fame Reimagined: Creative Approaches to Margaret Cavendish and Early Modern Women Writers with Naomi Miller (Smith College), Mariah Spencer (Northern Illinois University), and Sarah Gristwood (independent scholar and novelist)

David Cunning

The University of Iowa

Philosophical and physical roundtable with Marcy Lascano (Kansas), Daniel Whiting (Southampton), Lisa Walters (Queensland), and Colin Chamberlain (University College London)

Julia Urabayen
Universidad de Navarra
 
Sergio Marín Conejo
Universidad de Sevilla

Writing, Fame, and Gender in Margaret Cavendish: Paper bodies as forms of gaining public visibility and perseverance with Jorge Figueroa Dorrego (University of Vigo), Ruth Breeze (University of Navarra), Isabel Calderón (University of Cádiz), Julia Urabayen (University of Navarra) and Sergio Marín Conejo (University of Sevilla).

Min Eun Kyung

Seoul National University

Cavendish Style roundtable with Anne M. Thell (University of Singapore), Lara Dodds (Mississippi State University) and Mary Baine Campbell (Brandeis University , Boston) 

 
 
María Isabel Porcel García

Universidad de Sevilla

Subversive Voices: Exploring Madness in its various artistic representations (Español/English). PhD programme with Maria Antònia Martí Escayol (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), José de María Romero Barea [Independencia (en el Mundo Resplandeciente)] and Inmaculada Caro Rodríguez

Venue

The University of Seville, founded in 1551, is one of the leading institutions of Spain’s higher education system.

Located in the downtown area, the University’s main building is bordered by the Maria Luisa Park and the Guadalquivir River. This building, the completely remodeled historic Tobacco Factory, houses the Schools of Philology, Geography and History, and the main administrative offices.  It is an imposing 18th Century building immortalized by Bizet’s opera “Carmen” and by 19th Century travellers in search of Romantic Spain.   

More info: https://filologia.us.es/

More on Seville: This is Edmondo de Amicis’s experience translated by Stanley Rhoads Varnall (1895): https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50727/50727-h/50727-h.htm#SEVILLE 

Board

Board and Scientific Committee:

Delilah Bermudez Brataas (NTNU)

Anne M. Thell (University of Singapore)

Juan Antonio Prieto Pablos (US) 

Organization and Scientific Committee:

Ana Luisa Martín Bejarano (Dpto. Filología Inglesa: Literatura Inglesa y Norteamericana, US)

Maria Antònia Martí Escayol (UAB)

Julia Urabayen (Universidad de Navarra)

Victoria Priscila Echegaray Mitar (US)

Eneas  Caro (US)

Sergio Marín Conejo (US)

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