Jhumpa Lahiri’s In Altre Parole / In Other Words (2015) describes switching from one language to another as crossing from one side of a body of water to its opposite shore. Inspired by this metaphor, this special issue invites essays that examine Romanticism’s movements across oceans and seas, as well as languages, genres, and genders.
This special issue seeks to reevaluate popular conceptions of Romantic aesthetics, recover authors who continue or call into question Romanticism’s continued salience, detail the circulation of texts across oceans and borders, and strike connections between authors of different countries and cultures. Joselyn Almeida, Manu Chander, Bakary Diaby, Tim Fulford, Paul Giles, Evan Gottlieb, Samantha Harvey, Nikki Hessell, Kevin Hutchings, Peter Kitson, Deanna Koretsky, Tricia Matthew, Omar Miranda, César Soto, Helen Thomas, The Bigger 6 Collective and others have reassessed traditional conceptions of Romanticism(s) and Romantic figures by challenging hitherto limited aesthetic, cultural, and geographical borders.
Rather than view Romanticism primarily as an insulated phenomenon born out of a few European countries—as has generally been the case—this edition seeks to offer transatlantic, transpacific, and even transnational Romanticisms. Taken as a whole, this special issue will stretch the bounds and time period of Romanticism, better reflecting the development of Romantic aesthetics and their manifestations and subversions across the globe.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Revisionary analyses that account for a global framework and decolonise texts, authors, and Romanticism as a field of study;
- Romantic networks connecting authors and ideas across space and time;
- Critical race theory and non-binary & genderqueer readings of underrepresented and canonical texts, art, music, performances, and oral traditions;
- BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ authors and artists;
- History of the book and transnational reception histories of underrepresented as well as canonical works of literature, specifically works that reached different parts of the globe by either book, newspaper, broadsides, handbills, and other print ephemera; and
- Comparative analyses connecting authors using similar forms (e.g., ballad romance), genre (e.g., Gothic), or allusions (e.g., Paradise Lost) across nations and languages.
Successful proposals will suggest articles that enrich our understanding of Romanticism by expanding its literal and metaphorical borders. Abstracts are due by 15 August 2023 and should be no longer than 600 words in length. Essays that grow out of accepted abstracts will undergo peer review and are due by 31 January 2024. Please email submissions and enquiries to Christopher Stampone (CStampone@SMU.edu). Papers will be published in a special issue of Romantic Textualities (Winter 2024), guest edited by Christopher Stampone and Joel Pace.
