Travel and Wonder, 1450-1750: Call for Papers

Posted on 3 October 2022

Conference 27-28 April 2023 to be held at the University of York

Image from Francesco Negri, Viaggio settentrionale, Forli 1701

We invite proposals for conference papers on wonder in early-modern travel writing. Papers are welcome to discuss any geographical area. They may explore (but are not restricted to) the following questions: how did early-modern travellers express wonder? What is the role of the senses in descriptions of wonder? Did travellers doubt their own senses? How did they address the problem of credibility and readers’ doubts when describing wondrous phenomena in their writing? How does wonder in early-modern travel writing relate to scholarly themes such as race, gender, colonialism, material culture, religion, knowledge or scientific discourse?

Keynote speakers are Joan-Pau Rubiés (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona) and Lauren Working (University of York).

While preferring in-person presentations, we welcome a limited number of online papers. Please indicate in your proposal whether you plan to present in-person or online.

Please submit a brief CV and proposal of 250-300 words for 20 minute papers to Dr Jaska Kainulainen, Docent of history at the University of Helsinki and a research associate at the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies (CREMS) at the University of York, at jaska.kainulainen@helsinki.fi by 20 November 2022.

The conference is generously supported by the KONE FOUNDATION in association with CREMS, University of York.