Ambivalence in  the18th Century: the ambivalence of the incest theme in the French literary and historical traditions.  

"Ambivalence in the Eighteenth Century"

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2008

The conference theme this year encourages the examination of ambivalence as it appears in a broad range of sources and discourses: including but not limited to diaries and autobiographies, travel writing, economic theorizing, literature, art, natural history and philosophy, collecting, theology, even those texts that have made the eighteenth century famous for its newfound confidence.

As with past conferences, this year’s theme is only a suggestion. We cordially invite session and paper submissions that address any area of eighteenth-century studies.

Submission deadline for session proposal is February 1st, 2008.

Paper proposals need to be submitted by April 1st, 2008.

----

The valorization of the bonds of affection in the bourgeois family brought the issues of
incest and suppressed desire to the fore in many French eighteenth-century texts. This
session invites panelists to explore the ambivalence of the incest theme in the French literary
and historical traditions.

Please send a brief abstract to babad@smu.edu by April 1, 2008.