VSAO Conference 2025
The 57th Annual VSAO Conference will take place on April 26, 2025, at Glendon College, York University. The topic for this year’s conference is: “Victorian Conviviality and Entertainments”. The full Call for Papers is listed below. Please consider submitting a proposal!
“Victorian Conviviality and Entertainments”
The Victorians loved their entertainments, whether those be music hall, tea parties, a picnic, a Punch and Judy show, or an amateur theatrical. Mirth and jollity often prevailed, not only in joyous seasons such as Christmas and New Year’s, but throughout the calendar. To make our annual spring conference even more congenial than it always is, the VSAO invites proposals for papers on Victorian convivial gatherings and pastimes, both public and private.
Papers might consider topics including, but not limited to:
- Pantomimes and theatrical spectacles
- Puppet shows
- Music hall
- Parlour games
- Board, card, and lawn games
- Amateur theatricals and/or concerts
- Private and public readings
- Recitals
- Dances and balls
- Conversazione
- Teatime rituals
- Picnics
- Visiting rituals
- “At home days”
- Baking
- Philanthropic events
- Clubs
- Garden parties
- Private views at art galleries and studios
The one-day conference will be held on Saturday 26 April 2025, at Glendon College, York University.
Please send a 300-word proposal and 50-word bio (as MS Word documents) by 24 January 2025, to Alison Halsall, ahalsall@yorku.ca.