Women's Agency in Schubert's Vienna

Call for Papers

Second Conference of the Schubert Research Center at the Austrian Academy of Science Vienna, 3–5 November 2022

Women’s Agency in Schubert's Vienna

The Habsburg Vormaerz era (ca. 1815-1848) is a fascinating period of transition between the ancien régime and bourgeois modernity, a time of intense negotiation of gender and class identities in a multi-religious and multilingual Monarchy. In this specific environment, women’s agency remains sorely understudied.

This is the point of departure for our conference: We aim to highlight the key role played by female artists, writers and performers, salonnières and dedicatees, female savants and entrepreneurs, who significantly shaped society and the cultural life during the era. In addition, we will give attention to charitable associations and various other sites of sociability.

We invite contributions that recover women’s scope for action and creativity: What activities did culturally interested, professionally or socially active women pursue during this time? What challenges did they face? Apart from on individual personaltities, we would particularly welcome interdisciplinary papers that explore the overarching structures and dynamics of the time.

Applications should include a short CV and an abstract of ca. 300 words. These materials should be sent to schubert@oeaw.ac.at no later than 22 May 2022.

The Schubert Research Center will cover travel expenses and accommodation. The conference language is English.