Call for Papers Nineteenth Century Studies Association
23nd Annual Conference New Orleans, March 6-9, 2003

" Feasts and Famine"

What theme could be more appropriate for a conference in New Orleans, the
city inextricably linked with Mardi Gras and fine food
Dickens is but one
of many 19th century writers who created both heartrending stories of
poverty and hunger and convivial scenes of eating, drinking, and making
merry. Much of the century's real feasting took place under huge still lives
of luscious fruits or dead game. Dances, music, and theatrical
entertainments were as relevant to feasts as dress, manners, and fêtes for
travellers abroad. The technological revolution in the 19th century changed
the production, availability, preparation, and consumption of food, as well
as affecting where and when one could eat. The railroad promoted cheap day
excursions to the beach and into the countryside, while the steamship and
the spreading power of the British Empire made tea from China, India, and
Ceylon a staple of British society, creating a market for other commodities
like tea gowns, tea sets, and cucumber sandwiches. Barons of industry on
either side of the Atlantic adopted a life of opulence that dramatized the
link between class and conspicuous consumption.

Disraeli's famous reference to Queen Victoria's sovereignty over "Two
Nations" characterized a world truth. The new wealth generated by
industrialization depended upon cheap labor, workers whose bodies and souls
were "eaten" by greedy capitalists and voracious machinery. Philosophers,
economists, moralists, and popular writers debated the merits and effects of
public versus private agencies for social relief and philanthropy. The
tropes of excess and scarcity are found in such contrasting topics as the
century's music criticism and the enduring fascination with vampirism from
James Malcolm Rymer's early Varney the Vampire, or the Feast of Blood, to
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Real starvation marked "The Hungry Forties,"
most famously with the Irish famine, while anorexia nervosa was first
labelled in 1873 as a recognizable phenomenon by French and British
doctors. The hunger for education created a market for self-help manuals,
inspired the establishment of Mechanics' Institutes, and fueled the Women's
Movement. "Feasts and Famine" invites conference papers from all
disciplines.

One-page proposals, single-spaced, for 20-minute papers should be
accompanied by a 1-2 page c.v.
Proposals for a 90-minute panel should include
(1) a cover letter from the panel organizer, indicating format and title of
proposed session;
(2) one-page proposal; and
(3) 1-2 page c.v. from each participant.

Email or mail proposals simultaneously to the Conference Program Co-Chairs:
Dr. Marilyn Kurata <mkuratauab.edu> Dept. of English, University of
Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1260 and Dr. Elizabeth Winston
<ewinstonut.edu> Dept. of English, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
33606-1490.
Proposals and required accompanying materials must be postmarked by October
15, 2002. Decisions will be announced by December 2002.
The conference site will be The Pontchartrain Hotel
<www.pontchartrainhotel.com>.
Specific information on reservations and rates will be sent later.
Local Arrangements Director is Dr. Nancy Fix Anderson
<andersonloyno.edu>
Dept. of History, Loyola University New Orleans, Campus Box 65, 6363 St.
Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118-6195.