Call for papers International Conference - Romanticism from a female perspective: women's contribution to Romantic aesthetics
C.R.I.E.R.
Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale sull’Europa Romantica
Università degli Studi di Verona
International Conference
Romanticism from a female perspective:
women's contribution to Romantic aesthetics
Call for Papers
During the Romantic period, women are the absolute protagonists: muses, inspirers, objects of desire or idealised feelings, women “respond” to many of the dictates of Romantic aesthetics.
What has been less studied, and what we would like to explore in more depth on this occasion, is women as subjects of Romanticism, that is, how women experience Romanticism first-hand. And not only how their works “interpret” Romanticism or “bend” it to the feminine, or how they internalise Romantic aesthetics, but how they create it.
The conference will reflect on how to consider female Romanticism: an expression of gender aesthetics, of feminism ante litteram, of protest, of enrichment of the cultural climate, a demand for intellectual inclusion. These issues will be addressed in the context of various countries, also at a comparative level, or involving the reception of female works, thus contributing to a greater inclusion of women's production in the literary and artistic fields of Romantic Europe.
The conference will take place at the University of Verona from 26 to 28 November 2026. Proposal submissions must be sent to laura.colombo@univr.it; davide.dimaio@univr.it; corrado.viola@univr.it by 31 March 2026
The Scientific Committee will notify acceptance by 30 April 2026.
The official languages for communications will be Italian, French, English, Spanish and German.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Themes or innovations in female literary works (fiction, poetry, theatre), artistic, musical and performing arts in general.
- Women’s conceptual expressions in theoretical or essayistic texts, prefaces, presentations, correspondence or diaries, articles or journalistic productions.
- Mutual contacts or influences, in the “family” relationships of the sisters, daughters and companions of Romantic artists, or in female “sisterhood” or collegiality.
- How the romantic focus on emotions, subjectivity and individuality is linked to female “nature”, also in a biological sense, with the integration of the two concepts, usually opposed at the time, of creation and procreation.
- Whether and how the mal du siècle, not only an expression of inner malaise, but also of a separation from the contemporary world, is linked to female “difference”, experienced or perceived from the outside.
- Whether and how the social sensitivity of a certain kind of romanticism is emphasised by female artists, not only with regard to women but also to certain working classes, slaves or politically oppressed populations, possibly favouring an openness to realism or idealism.
Scientific Committee:
Stefano Aloe
Yvonne Bezrucka
Vincenzo Borghetti
Laura Colombo
Davide Di Maio
Silvia Monti
Nicola Pasqualicchio
Franco Piva
Corrado Viola
