YSLS: Gothic Grimoires

1460 University Drive,Winchester VA 22601

29 October, 2022

Description

The SU Young Scholars Literary Symposium is a one-day academic and creative expression conference held on SU’s Winchester campus. This event brings together outstanding high school and undergraduate students from the region to share their academic and creative work related to the symposium’s annual theme. Gothic Grimoires, the inaugural symposium theme, is inspired by the 125th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Why do we continue to crave so many gothic grimoires? How has our engagement with gothic texts evolved with the changing times? Although classic gothic figures such as vampires and witches traditionally repelled and horrified audiences, many works now celebrate these characters. We seek papers and creative projects that explore these and related questions. Possible topics for investigation include, but are not limited to: Gothic texts and textualityMythologies, origins, and traditionsThe politics and economies of gothic narrativesHybridity, monstrosity, and belongingScience, rationality, and the gothicCommunity and alienationHealth and trauma in the gothicSpiritual growth and religious experienceGothic lifestyles, identities, and identificationsLGBTQ+ in gothic talesChild and young adult charactersLaughter, comedy, and tragicomedyAdaptation, receptions, and legacies of 19th/20thC gothicSessions will be organized in 1-hour blocks with 45 to 50 minutes of presentations and 10 to 15 minutes for discussion. We seek proposals for individual 10- to 15-minute presentations or preset panels of 3 to 4 presenters. Attendees, including presenters, must register for the conference in order to participate.