Erotica, Pornography and the Obscene in Europe
University of Warwick, UK. April 10-12, 2013
This three day interdisciplinary conference seeks to bring together scholars of all levels who discuss material oft talked about, rarely read. The conference aims to draw out key debates in the study of erotica, pornography and the obscene, in the context of sex and sexuality in Europe, 1600-1900. The conference organisers welcome research papers on literature, print, objects, philosophy or individuals that deal directly with material that has been considered ‘hidden’ away or perceived to be ‘unfit for modest ears’.
Day three of this confernces seeks to bring together academic research with current cultural and social debates surrounding the theme of this conference.
organisers: David Beck and Aimee Burnham
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Mark Knights (University of Warwick, UK)
Sex and Corruption
Dr. Caroline Warman (Jesus College, University of Oxford, UK)
Sade's Insults: The Public Face of Obscenity.
Dr. Corinna Wagner (University of Exeter, UK)
Hermaphrodites, Lesbians and Onanists: Pornography, Medicine and Politics
Emily Dubberley (Founder of Cliterati.co.uk)
The Female of the Species is More Dirty Than the Male: Women, Sex, Power and Erotica
Dr. Feona Attwood (Middlesex University, UK)
What does obscenity mean now?
Dr. Andy Brown (Universtiy of Exeter, UK)
“Hums Bony Heroics ”: erotic poetry, after Hieronymus Bosch
Dr Lisa Z. Sigel (De Paul University, Chicago, USA)
Sex from the Bottom Up: Finding Evidence in the Archives
Conference Programme
Day 1
Prof. Mark Knights (University of Warwick, UK)
Sex and Corruption
Maria Nicolaou (University of Warwick, UK)
Sex, Servants and Scandal: Adultery in Eighteenth Century England
Anaclara Castro Santana (University of York, UK)
The Criminal Marriage Plot in Henry Fielding's The Female Husband
Prof. James A. Steintrager (University of California, USA)
The Science of Sodomy: Reframing the Debate from Cleland to Nerciat
Kirsty Upham (University of Leeds, UK)
"Indecent Illustrations": Paratexts and Pornographic Potentiality in Seventeenth-century Anatomies
Stuart Campbell (Treasure Trove Unit, National Museums Scotland, UK)
The Naked and the Seditious: a Material Culture Study of Georgian Erotic Objects
Dr. Immanuel Mifsud (University of Malta, Malta)
Filth and Flesh in an 18th century Maltese Catholic Priest's Playscript
Dr. Kathleen Lubey (St. John's University, New York, USA)
Theoretical Pornography, 1744- 1885
Dr. Julie Peakman (Birkbeck College, University of London, UK)
Sexual Perversions in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Erotica
Dr. Corinna Wagner (University of Exeter, UK)
Hermaphrodites, Lesbians and Onanists: Pornography, Medicine and Politics
Day 2
Dr. Caroline Warman (Jesus College, University of Oxford, UK)
Sade's Insults: The Public Face of Obscenity.
Dr. Will McMorran (Queen Mary, University of London, UK)
Teaching Sade: Violent Pornography in the Classroom
Dr Alexander Roose (Clare College, University of Cambridge, UK)
The Stories of La Fontaine: "Filth in a silk stocking"
Jessica Patella Konig (Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA)
Francis Bacon on Nature: The Secret, the Erotic, the Dominated
Rebecca Sopchik (Columbia University, New York, USA)
Obscenity and the Revolutionary Press: A Radicalizing Force
Sarah Bull (Simon Fraser University, Canada)
The Secrets of Nature Revealed: William Dugdale's Trade in Medical Handbooks
Dr. Harriet Palfreyman (University of Warwick, UK)
'The Obscene and Filthy Museum in Coventry Street': The Display of Immoral medicine in
mid-Nineteenth Century London
Dr. Chris Bartle (Independant Researcher)
Queer Theory and the Pederastic Eroticism of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)
Justin O'Hearn (University of British Columbia, Canada)
The Written Record of Jack Saul: Author, Professional Sodomite, Activist (?)
Dr David Millar (University of Essex, UK)
Freud's Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905): Out of Date or Before its Time?
Dr Lisa Z. Sigel (De Paul University, Chicago, USA)
Sex from the Bottom Up: Finding Evidence in the Archives
Day 3
Dr. Andy Brown (Universtiy of Exeter, UK)
“Hums Bony Heroics ”: erotic poetry, after Hieronymus Bosch
Danielle Hancock (University of York, UK)
To What do We owe the Pleasure: the Roots and Reason behind Modern British Scandal Stories
Emily Dubberley (Founder of Cliterati.co.uk)
The Female of the Species is More Dirty Than the Male: Women, Sex, Power and Erotica
Maurizio Candeloro (Artist and Journalist, Milian, Italy)
Pornography Today: The Obscene as Will and Representation
Stephen Jarvis (Artist)
Illuminating the Dark Side
Louise Boyd (University of Glasgow, UK)
"That's not art, it's porn!"
Panel consisting of :Dr. Hans Maes (University of Kent, UK); Petra Van Brabandt (University of Art and Design, Antwerp); Simon Fokt (University of St. Andrews, UK)
Art or Pornography? Philosophical Reflections on a False Dilemma
Tess Barnard (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Taboo: The Repositioning of Religion in Contemporary Art Discourse on Child and Adolescent Sexuality
Gayatri Patel (University of Leicester, UK)
Title TBC
Lawrence Siry (Universite du Luxembourg, Luxembourg)
The Extreme Pornography Act: Back to the Future or Great Leap Forward?
Dr. Stephen Maddison (University of East London, UK)
Beyond the Entrepreneurial Voyeur? Sex, Pornography and Immaterial Labour
Zekiye Ozlem Ersoy Yilmaz (University of Warwick, UK)
Pornography: Is it Legitimately Criminalisable within the Scope of the Criminal Law?
Dr. Feona Attwood (Middlesex University, UK)
What does obscenity mean now?
Every endeavour has been made to get location, titles and paper titles correct. If you see an error please contact a.v.burnham@warwick.ac.uk so that it can be rectified.
Please note this is a provisional confernce programme and may be subject to change.
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Conference Fees
Fees are now set at £75 for all three days, £50 for day one and two, £25 for day three only.
On day one an informal conference dinner will be held at Warwick University, which is included in the conference fee.
On day two we are looking to organise a speakers dinner off site at Casa Loco, a Mexican restaurant. Price will be around £20 per head for three courses and transport. THIS EVENT WILL ONLY RUN SUBJECT TO ADEQUATE INTEREST. Please email a.v.burnham@warwick.ac.uk to register interest.
Accomodation
Please contact reservations@warwick.ac.uk for all accomodation enquiries, quoting EPO in your correspondence.
Travel Information
Click here for travel within the UK
Click here for travel from outside the UK
Conference Convenors:
Aimee Burnham and David Beck