2026 ECASECS!
For complete information about the upcoming 2026 ECASECS conference at Virginia State University in Petersburg, VA, 5 -7 November 2026,
please see the conference website: https://ecasecs2026.wordpress.com/.
Paper Proposal Deadline extended to 20 June 2026!
East Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ECASECS) invites panel and paper proposals for its fifty-sixth annual conference on 5–7 November 2026 in Petersburg, Virginia. The Hotel Petersburg (Hilton Tapestry Collection) will host the opening evening of the conference on Thursday, 5 November 2026, and the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Virginia State University will host the following two days of the conference on 6–7 November 2026. Petersburg’s early history features a long-standing American Indigenous trading post along the Appomattox River, the beginnings of the American colonies, and a historic Black community of the long eighteenth century, hence the conference theme: “Beginnings: Restarts, Revisions, and Reinventions in the Eighteenth Century.” “Beginnings: Restarts, Revisions, and Reinventions in the Eighteenth Century” considers not only the many inventions of the long eighteenth century but also the many failures and false starts of this illustrious period and the need to restart, revise, and reinvent. The long eighteenth century saw the rise in new forms of governments, economies, literatures—from revolutions, bubbles, novels, to African American literature—and more.
The Conference seeks proposals that explore beginnings broadly in any sense and in any area—discipline, geographic location, and more—of the long eighteenth century. Proposals dealing with any other aspect of the long eighteenth century are also welcome. Panel proposals are due by 30 April 2026. Paper proposals are due by 1 June 2026. The deadline for finalized panels is 20 June 2026. Email proposals or queries to ecasecs2026@gmail.com. For complete details, see the ECASECS Conference website: https://ecasecs2026.wordpress.com.
Questions? Email ecasecs2026@gmail.com