The Nineteenth Century Studies Association is meeting in Fresno, California, 7-9 March 2013, and the theme is Loco/Motion:

The long nineteenth century set the world on the move. Travel became increasingly important for business and pleasure, for war and peace. At the same time, new forms of moving people arose: the balloon, ships, undergrounds, funiculars, the railroads. Each carried riders to great distances, different locales, and novel pursuits. But motion wasn’t purely spatial; new movements arose as well, sweeping the inhabitants of the period into fresh vistas of thought and endeavor. We seek papers and panels that capture the sense of movement at work and at play during the long nineteenth century (1789-1914). Papers may address the intersections of movement/s, focus on technologies of motion in isolation, or reveal the desires—for gain, glory, greed—that set the world on its feet.

Note the second sentence, which speaks directly to some of the nineteenth-century themes I’ve sketched in previous posts on War and distance (and to much more, of course).

If you are interested, please e-mail an abstract (250 words) for a 20-minute paper including your name and the paper title in the heading, as well as a one-page cv, to Professor Toni Wein at
NCSA-2013@sbcglobal.net by 30 September 2012. Please note that submission of a proposal indicates intent to present.

Presenters will be notified in November 2012. Graduate students whose proposals are accepted may then submit complete papers in competition for a travel grant to help cover transportation and lodging expenses.