We are delighted to announce the reopening of our call for papers for the annual St Andrews Book Conference, now scheduled for 16-19 June 2021. Given the possibility of continuing global restrictions on travel, we have decided that the conference will go ahead on the dates specified but in a fully virtual format. For more information on our virtual conference including format, pre-circulation of papers and resulting publication of the conference proceedings, please see our extended call for papers on our website: ustc.ac.uk/conference.
Gender and the Book Trades
St Andrews Book Conference
16-19 June
Gender has always played a role in the history of the book. Whether explicitly acknowledged or implicitly assumed, considerations of gender have shaped the printed book and its subsequent study. Important research has drawn attention to women’s work in the manuscript and printed book trades across and beyond Europe. Work which tackles questions of masculinity and the book trades, meanwhile, remains conspicuously scarce, even as male subjects remain the default for many bibliographers.
This conference seeks to discuss possible frameworks for analyzing the critical relationship between gender and book history while confronting the binaries that have structured the historiography. It will bring together academics, librarians, archivists and antiquarian booksellers working across periods to build a more inclusive bibliography and explore new directions in the study of gender and the history of the book.
Topics may include, but need not be limited to:
☞ The gender of books
☞ Theory and practice of feminist/inclusive bibliography
☞ Constructions of masculinity and the book trades
☞ Gender nonconformity
☞ Intersections of gender and confessional identity
☞ Sexuality/ies and the book
☞ The influence of family dynamics on the book trade
☞ Women and book production, especially beyond Western Europe and North America
☞ Communities and identity
☞ New methodologies for the study of gender in the book trades
Please send proposals (maximum 300 words) and a short biographical note to Elise Watson (egw2@st-andrews.ac.uk), Jessica Farrell-Jobst (jjfj@st-andrews.ac.uk) and Nora Epstein (njne@st-andrews.ac.uk) by 31 January 2021. Those who have already had their papers accepted will be contacted separately and need not respond to this additional call. We look forward to hearing from you!
