! POSTPONED UNTIL 2027 !
The theme of the 2027 Newstead Conference is Byron and Identity. The conference will take place at Newstead Abbey, from 23–24 April 2027, and will include a dinner on the evening of the 23rd and a tour of Newstead Abbey or its Gardens on the 24th.
The keynote will be delivered by Dr Gerard McKeever, titled ‘Borrowing Byron from the Library’
‘Changeable too, yet somehow “Idem semper”’ (Don Juan, XVII.11). The concept of identity suggests stability, lasting self-sameness. And yet, Byron’s proclamation of being ‘idem semper’—‘always the same’—somehow includes changeability. Byron’s version of the Ship of Theseus paradox points to a problem at the heart of the idea of identity: how can something, or someone, stay the same if everything is in flux? Identity’s supposed elimination of differences is further complicated by its fragmentation into various, at times competing, forms, which are seldom stable: comprising personal and professional constructions, as well as questions of nationality, sexuality, political leanings and authorial style, identity invoked mutability in Byron’s own times no less than in ours. The chameleonic poet was intimately aware of the innate mutability of identity, playfully shaping and reshaping his personal and poetic identities as he engaged with (and disengaged from) different audiences. This ‘mobilité’, to use a Byronic term, perhaps lies at the heart of his enduring popularity—yet it also forms the crux of many attacks against Byron and his works by past and present critics.
‘Byron and Identity’ CFP coming soon
We will also be offering two student travel bursaries available. Further details are available on the call for papers page (link above).
Conference details
Programme details will be available shortly
Transport during the conference
We will provide buses to:
- Travel Lodge, from Newstead Abbey
- Newstead Abbey, from Travel Lodge
- Portland College, from Newstead Abbey
- Travel Lodge, from Portland College
- Newstead Abbey, from Travel Lodge
Registration will be open in 2027