The British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies & Società Italiana di Studi sul Secolo Diciottesimo: Seventh International Joint Conference

The eighteenth century saw the invention of modern tourism and a startling proliferation of new kinds of life-writing. This conference will explore how travellers wrote about themselves while they were away from home, and how our historical understanding of the phenomenon of travel – including domestic travel, but focusing on the Grand Tour – has relied on, but also been restricted by, travellers’ own accounts, whether they seek to project a specific image of themselves (public or private, true or self-censored) or are unaware of how much they are giving up. Letters, diaries, journals, travelogues and any kind of personal reminiscences – either real or fictional – may provide textual evidence of the ‘travelling self’. Biotourism, the selves on tour, absent selves and the life-writing of travel are some of the approaches which colleagues might like to envisage.

Proposals are invited for 20-minute papers. Abstracts in Italian, English or French (c. 200 words) should be sent by April 15^th to

Catriona.Seth@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk and giovanni.iamartino@unimi.it