The nineteenth century was marked by rapid urbanisation, emigration from Britain, and changes in occupations, with corresponding alterations in class structure. Technological developments ushered in new forms of representation, such as photography, sound recording, and cinema. Many people became more mobile; the railways, the bicycle, and eventually the car opened up possibilities for personal travel. After Darwin, humans could not be conceived of in the same way. History itself expanded into a dim past, and this past was seen to live on in peoples from distant places. Questions were raised about the nature of gender and gender roles, and disjunctions between sexual preferences and bodies. Sexual behaviours and practices were furiously policed, yet proliferated beyond stated norms. Imperialism necessitated cross-cultural encounters but these were rarely an equal exchange. Such encounters foreclosed some identities while producing new ones.

Papers are welcomed which explore the new subjectivities made possible or explored in the Victorian era, including, but not limited to:

1. disjunctions between Victorian bodies and the identities adopted by or forced on them
   2. movement across cultures, races and classes
   3. changes in and challenges to gender roles and expectations
   4. sexual practices and identities
   5. post-Darwinian conceptions of the human
   6. changing conceptions of aesthetics
   7. new identities offered by changing technologies
   8. new forms of representation, such as photography
   9. emigration/immigration
   10. neo-Victorian rememberings
   11. ‘going native’
   12. performing identities
   13. the impact of landscapes and climates
   14. interaction with animals
   15. theoretical models that throw new light on Victorians

The Australasian Victorian Studies Association aims to promote the activities and research of scholars in Victorian literary, historical, and cultural studies, including art history, architecture, politics, popular and print culture, and, increasingly, considerations of ‘the Victorian’ beyond the chronological period, and beyond the geographical centre of British Victorian Studies.

The contribution of postgraduates is especially welcome, and there will be travel bursaries to support postgraduate travel to the conference. Please see Travel Grant details and Application Form on the conference website. Deadline for applications is 20 December 2010.

The conference will be hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, and the Australasian Victorian Studies Association.