TRANS-ATLANTIC CROSSINGS

Papers are invited on Trans-Atlantic Crossings in the Eighteenth Century,
the topic of the Eighteenth Annual DeBartolo Conference on
Eighteenth-Century Studies, which will meet February 19 –– 21, 2004, in
Tampa, Florida. The 2004 conference will feature presentations by
distinguished scholars Linda Colley, Philip F. Gura, and Pat Rogers.

Trans-Atlantic Crossings addresses the many literal and figurative
passages between Europe, Africa and the Americas that characterize the
long eighteenth century. From slavery to sugar, from maps to macaws,
Europe felt the tremendous influence of trade with and travel to the New
World. Conversely, the lands "discovered" by Europeans experienced new
development and change as a result of their interactions with the old
countries, with both positive and negative impact. The people and
cultures of Africa, of course, play a pivotal role in this history. The
writings of this period constantly allude to or engage the energy and
conflict resulting from these crossings. Subjects of study might include
European colonies, trade, slavery, slave writings, narratives of the New
World, indigenous peoples, poetry and art of emancipation, sensibility,
religious settlements, trans-Atlantic correspondence, travel narratives,
representations of Africa and the New World in novels, plays, journalism,
philosophy, art and culture, American Independence, ambassadors, war and
economics. Recent critical attention has been devoted to seeing the long
eighteenth century in a post-colonial light.
The object of this conference is to focus on such constructions and
representations in effort to shed new light on the relationships forged
during the century and to help resituate scholarly commonplaces that
evolved without a context of trans-Atlantic crossings.

The DeBartolo Conference is an annual meeting devoted to the
interdisciplinary treatment of a theme in eighteenth-century studies. It
follows a single-session, discussion-oriented format; consequently we are
interested in scholars who are willing to share their research and to
participate in the ongoing discussion. In order to sustain this seminar
quality, we ask conferees to attend as many sessions of the conference as
possible.

We invite single presentation abstracts or complete panels with individual
abstracts for each paper. Abstracts should be approximately 500 words in
length; in addition to the abstract, we ask that individuals include the
following: an e-mail address, as well as a snail mail address, at which
they may be reached during the Fall of 2003; any expected audio-visual
needs (including special software needs); and academic affiliation (if
applicable).

Due date for submissions: September 30, 2003

Dr. Laura Runge, DeBartolo Conference Director

Department of English / University of South Florida

4202 E Fowler Avenue, CPR 107/Tampa, FL 33620-5550

Fax: (813) 974-2270 q· rungechuma.cas.usf.edu q·
www.cas.usf.edu/english/debartolo

USF is committed to all affirmative action/equal opportunity policies.