The Gothic Bible (CfP)

‘The Great Conflict in Heaven’, by Gustav Dore for Paradise Lost (1866, Cassell & Co, p. 24)

Though I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to submit something to this conference, it looks like a very tempting post-summer project. You can find the original abstract here. 

SIIBS and The Centre for the History of the Gothic are pleased to announce an interdisciplinary one day conference exploring the theme ‘Gothic Bible’. Since the creation of the Gothic genre in 1764, religion and the Bible have proved to be major influences on Gothic fiction, and our event aims to explore this important and enduring relationship. The conference will take place at the University of Sheffield on Tuesday 31st October 2017.

This event is part of the Gothic Bible project, which is an ongoing research theme at SIIBS and in partnership with The Centre for the History of the Gothic and The University of Auckland. The project seeks to explore the relationship between the Bible, theologies, and the Gothic, and we hope to encourage existing and new academic interest in this area. We welcome papers that examine the Bible, religion, and theology within the Gothic—including but not limited to: novels, plays, poems, films, TV shows of any period—as well as papers that examine passages or narratives within the Bible or other religious texts that can be read through a Gothic lens. We welcome and encourage papers that approach this theme using interdisciplinary methods.

The Gothic Bible conference is open to researchers from any level (including, but not limited to, undergraduates, postgraduates, and Early Career Researchers) and from any discipline. We invite the submission of abstracts of no more than 250 words to be sent to GothicBible@sheffield.ac.uk along with a short bio. The deadline for submissions is Monday 14th August.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  •   Theological explorations in Gothic texts
  •   Gothic readings of Biblical passages or narratives
  •   Gothic appropriations and adaptations of biblical characters and narratives
  •   Depictions of The Wandering Jew, Lilith, or other mythological/religious characters
  •   Depictions of religious communities and identities within Gothic fiction
  •   Biblical vampires and other supernatural characters and phenomena
  •   Biblical spaces
  •   Biblical influences in contemporary horror film and TV
  •   Apocalypse and End Times narratives
In conjuction with this event, and as part of the Gothic Bible project, Sheffield Gothic will also be hosting an ongoing Gothic Bible blog series exploring the broad theme of ‘Gothic Bible.’ As always, blog posts can be an informal and fun way to explore a topic that interests you, whether it be through a TV series, a film, a book, or a particular bible passage, narrative, or character. Extensive knowledge of the Bible, Biblical Studies, or the Gothic is not required – so if you want to explore the Gothic Bible theme, and want to blog for the Gothic Bible series, get in touch!
‘The Witch of Endor’ by Washington Allston, 1820
For more information about the conference, the blog series, or the Gothic Bible project, please email us at GothicBible@sheffield.ac.uk or contact us on twitter at @GothicBible.
You can also view the project website – where you can find details about the project, future events, and the project leads – at: www.sheffield.ac.uk/siibs/sresearch/gothic-bible-project

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