Victorian - Research Review 2010-11
Victorian Studies continues to build on the success of the 10th Annual Conference of the British Association for Victorian Studies in Sept 2010 (organized by Kirstie Blair, Christine Ferguson and Rhian Williams), which saw 170 scholars from around the world gather in Glasgow for a fantastic series of papers, events and keynote addresses showcasing the latest research in this area. Alice Jenkins organized the conference 'Literature and Mathematics in the Long Nineteenth Century' (University of Glasgow, May 2011) and its spin-off workshop, 'Eighteenth-Century Geometry and the Scottish Enlightenment' (Oct 2011). Alice Jenkins also gave an invited lecture ('Induction, Deduction, and Storytelling') at a CNRS symposium in Paris on literature and science, October 2011. Our PGT course in Victorian Literature – featuring overhauled core courses and a rich selection of research-led topic courses – has increased its student numbers, and has produced an excellent group of PGR students. Christine Ferguson has held grants from the AHRC and the Royal Society of Edinburgh to fund her research into Victorian Spiritualism (a monograph is forthcoming from Edinburgh University Press in 2012). Kirstie Blair and Rhian Williams have produced an innovative series of ‘Poetry Podcasts’ focused on nineteenth-century poetry and aimed at first year undergraduates and school leavers; these have been published on a public blog and through iTunes and have received 10,000+ internet hits. Christine Ferguson and Rhian Williams have also developed knowledge transfer through appearances on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ discussing Arthur Conan Doyle and Christina Rossetti respectively. We were pleased to host leading Victorian Studies scholars from the UK and the US for Visiting Speaker events during 2011 (Matthew Bevis, Richard Kirkland, Herbert Tucker). Staff continue to publish in leading journals and are currently at work on a series of monographs and editions due for publication in the next 2-3 years. This year our postgraduates students have organized a lively Victorian Literature Reading Group.