British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) 25th Anniversary Conference

University of Oxford, 23–25 July 2025

The Oxford Faculties of English and History are delighted to host this 25th anniversary conference of the British Association for Victorian Studies on 23–25 July. Papers on any aspect of long-nineteenth-century studies are welcome. We invite submissions for papers (15-20 minutes), panels (3-4 speakers, for 15-20 minutes each) and roundtables (5-7 speakers, 5 minutes each) from across the disciplines, addressing any aspect of Victorian Studies, its past, and its future. Please summarise your proposed contribution in no more than 150 words for a paper or 300 words for a panel or roundtable, and send to bavs@ell.ox.ac.uk by 17 March 2025.

The programming will set aside some time at the start and end of each day when participants are warmly invited to take part in a dedicated presentation of Victorian resources at the Ashmolean Museum, and a walking tour of Victorian Oxford (including chances to view some of the less well-known college archives). We are also delighted to announce a wine reception and a special performance, both free to conference attendees, of a Punch and Judy suffrage routine. Spike Bones’ Punch and Judy show is a new perspective on an old tradition – commissioned by The Judy Project: https://thejudyproject.exeter.ac.uk/. 

The PGR/ECR Professionalisation Afternoon will be held on the afternoon of 22 July. New this year for early career researchers and postgraduates is the opportunity to exchange writing for peer review, including proposals for first monographs and postdoctoral fellowships. If you are interested in participating in these workshops and can commit to peer review and discussion, please contact Dr Christy Wensley, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, via bavs@ell.ox.ac.uk.

Registration for the conference will open in April, once the programme has been finalised.  In order to keep costs low, we will be asking attendees to book their own accommodation (a list of suggested options will be provided). All aspects of the ECR/PGR event will be free, excepting accommodation.

Images from the John Johnson Collection (via Proquest), with the permission of the Bodleian Libraries.