NAVSA 2025: Aftermaths // November 13-16, Washington DC
Dear KSAA:
Patrick O'Malley and I write to this group to invite you all to attend the annual meeting of the North American Victorian Studies Association in Washington DC next month. The conference will take place from November 13-16 at the beautiful art-deco Omni Shoreham Hotel, in Woodley Park. On our recent walkthrough, Patrick and I were struck again by the beauty of the place and its historic character-- we think it will be a great venue. The theme of the conference, which sometimes feels more relevant with every passing day, is "Aftermaths."
We've been grateful for the support of Georgetown and a number of other sponsors at GU and beyond it -- many of your units included!-- and we look forward to welcoming some 400 registered presenters from the US, UK, Canada, and elsewhere; the two keynotes will be given by Yogita Goyal (UCLA) and Barbara Leckie (Carleton University).
You're invited!
I'm writing now to extend an invitation to attend all or part of the conference. We know some of you may have already registered, but if you're not yet, please consider signing up to join us! Panels address the afterlives of slavery and indentureship, the legacies of Romanticism, poetic logics of duration and delay, narrative theory, twenty-first century reboots of Victorian culture, imperialism, environment, and histories of gender and the family, among many other topics. A draft program of the event is attached, and more information about the conference theme can be found at the website, here.
One special detail is that, through the generosity of our sponsors, both of our receptions (Thursday and Friday evenings) will be fully hosted open bars, with hors d'oeuvres. In other words, very fun parties. We hope you can come.
Do you want to moderate? We need your help!
One of our goals in hosting NAVSA in DC was always to highlight the intellectual vitality of work happening across the DMV region. For that reason, if you would like to moderate a panel, please let us know. If you let me know what days and times you have available, I can send options for available panels, and we can slot you in.
Registering
It is the policy of NAVSA that all attendees must be registered, and we would be deeply grateful if those of you interested in joining us, either to attend or (we hope!) to moderate, would sign up officially for the conference. Registration can be done here.
Please note that rates are significantly lower for contingent colleagues, graduate students, and independent scholars; and all these rates represent a subsidy of several hundred dollars from the true cost of the event. We encourage you to forward information about NAVSA to interested students and colleagues-- all are welcome.
Finally, in an effort to maximize participation and increase access, we are also holding a special digital presession, happening entirely on Zoom, to take place November 7 & 8. Information about, and a separate registration for, the digital sessions is here; if you would like to moderate a Zoom session, please let us know. We hope many of you might register to attend the presession in addition to the, for lack of better word, real thing.
Thank you all once again for your support, and we hope very much to see many of you at the Omni in November. Please always let me know if I can answer any questions at all.
Sincerely yours,
Nathan Hensley (with Patrick O'Malley)