The Belcher Fellowship colloquium on “Victorian Talk,” scheduled for April 5 at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, has come together nicely, especially considering all that’s happened to the world since we first proposed it in 2019. Yet understandably we have lost a couple of presenters along the way, and would very much like to connect with any scholars working in this area who would be able to attend the meeting in person and give a short talk based on a previously circulated paper.
To that end, we offer this call for expressions of interest, or finished proposals, on topics related to oral culture in Britain in the 19th century, and particularly the part of that culture expressed in conversation. Aspects of the subject to be considered might include
- conversational networks among authors
- literary, political, or scientific salons
- representations of talk in fiction or on the stage
- trial testimony and its representations
- "celebrated talkers"
- the etiquette of conversation
- slander and the policing of talk
- the preservation of regional speech as folk-lore
- pronunciation and its controversies
- coterie speech and the defining of community
...but then they might also include any number of other things that occur to you. If any interesting issues concerning Victorian talk have come up in your work, we'd be glad to hear your proposal to come and talk about it in this group setting.
There is no registration fee, and presenters will be provided with 2 night’s accommodation at St Hugh’s, and all meals and catering, so the only cost would be travel.
The Colloquium is designed as to be a small roundtable event, and so we are not taking registrations from non-presenters.
Deadline for responses (to martin.hewitt@aru.ac.uk) is Thursday 17th February, but available slots might be filled up earlier.
Last modified 16 February 2022