CFP | FORD MADOX FORD: AT THE DAWN OF AN ERA
Ford Madox Ford was born Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer on 17 December 1873 in Merton, Surrey. His name runs through the fabric of the modern novel as he tackled different genres and topics in his vast production of works, namely: The Shifting of the Fire (1892), his first novel; The Inheritors (1901), the first of the three novels he wrote in collaboration with Joseph Conrad; fairy tales such as The Brown Owl or The Feather (1892); a historical trilogy of Henry VIII’s fifth queen, published under the titles The Fifth Queen (1906), Privy Seal (1907), and The Fifth Queen Crowned (1908) which, according to the critics of his day, raised the genre of historical fiction to new heights; his opus magnum, The Good Soldier (1915), and also the Tetralogy Parade’s End (1924) brought the author worldwide literary recognition insofar as they showcase how he had perfected his technique of point of view, time-shift, le mot juste, selection and progression d’ effet. These more mature works also addressed the author’s anguished weltanschauung. However, his production is not limited to the novel, but extends to poetry, essay writing, journalism and memoirs, leaving ground for the exploration and analysis of a myriad of research possibilities.
150 years have passed since his birth and because of the importance of Ford’s writings at the end of the Victorian Era and during the Edwardian period, providing insightful representations and descriptions of the political, social and cultural status quo of his time (mainly before and after the 1st World War), it is then paramount to celebrate Ford’s valuable contribution to early twentieth century’s (British) literature and culture.
With this in mind, this symposium seeks to give due recognition to Ford Madox Ford’s works and his role as a writer and cultural/social and literary critic during the late Victorian age and the first three decades of the twentieth century. Therefore, participants are invited to present proposals that explore, analyse and problematise cultural, literary, political and social issues that gravitate around Ford’s works.
As such, topics and themes of interest include, but are not restricted to, the following:
- Modernism
- Liberalism, nationalism and cosmopolitanism
- Ideological and economic doctrines
- The Great War / World War I and narrative
- Crossroads between the American, British and (continental) European cultures
- Cultural memory
- Identity and gender in the “small circle novels”
- Victorian Woman/ New Woman
- Mental health
- Utopia, dystopia and heterotopia
Deadlines and other information
- In order to participate you should proceed to Registration.
- 31st July 2023: final deadline for submission of paper presentations
- The publication of the selected papers will be done at Anglo Saxonica (indexed in scopus), in the form of a Special Issue
- Languages of the event: Portuguese and English
- Both remote (online) and onsite presentations will be accepted
- Further information through the following e-mail address: fordmadoxfordsymposium23@gmail.com or here
Date: 9-10 November 2023
Convener: University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies (ULICES)
Venue: Faculty of Arts and Humanities-Lisbon University