Science and the Arts: Darwin among the Poets

4th July 2007

Ritson Hall, Alington House, 4 North Bailey, Durham University

9.30am - 5.30pm

CALL FOR PAPERS

Proposals are invited from postgraduates for a one-day symposium on science and the arts. The focus is on the legacy of Charles Darwin, and especially on Darwinian ideas in nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry, but contributions of a broad, interdisciplinary nature are strongly encouraged.  It is expected that some papers will consider the influence of Darwinian thought on poets such as Tennyson, Hardy and Hopkins, but others will be concerned more generally with the lasting impact of Darwin's work on both the sciences and the arts.  There will be an opportunity to look closely at selections from Darwin's writings, and there will be ample time for discussion of papers.

Dr Matthew Campbell (University of Sheffield) will be giving a plenary lecture on the challenge to ideas of evolution in late nineteenth-century British and Irish Poetry. His title is 'Lyric Entropy: Hopkins, Yeats and the End of Empire'

This lecture will be followed by at least six postgraduate papers and then a closing panel discussion.

The event is free, but please register in advance by email (stephen.regan@durham.ac.uk).  Further information can be obtained from Professor Stephen Regan at the address below. 

Suggestions for seminar presentations (around 20 minutes each) should be sent by the end of June 2007 to:

Email: stephen.regan@durham.ac.uk

• Science and the Arts: Darwin amongst Poets - report (Word) (last modified: 26 October 2007)