In 2025, the Historical Fictions Research Network will be starting a free online lecture series on The Historical Novel in Different National Traditions.
This lecture series is aimed primarily at MA- and PhD-students but also the general interested public. It offers short introductory lectures by international experts on historical fictions.
The aim of the first series of lectures is to provide an introduction into different national traditions of the historical novel, by introducing key authors and historical novels central to the tradition of the respective nation. This will enable listeners to compare the developments in different countries. As the Anglo-American tradition often dominates literary research, this will also provide an opportunity to question this and to examine distinct developments previously hidden through language barriers.
Lectures are planned to take place bi-monthly, with 45-minute lectures, followed by Q&A, online in Zoom. Access is free, though for reasons of cybersecurity, participants need to register for the lecture series in advance.
You are cordially invited to attend on the following dates:
10 March 16h00 GMT: Jerome de Groot; University of Manchester, “A ‘maternal genealogy’ of the Historical Novel (in ‘England’)?”
14 May 16h00 BST (UTC+1): Claudia Linden, Södertörn University, and Lisa Grahn, Uppsala University, Swedish Historical Fiction – The Thrill of a Miserable Past
24 September 4 pm BST (UTC+1) / 5 pm CEST: Yolanda Rodriguez Perez, University of Amsterdam, In Search of ‘usable pasts’: The Historical Novel in Spain
29 October 4 pm GMT / 5 pm CET: : Emi Tozawa, University of Manchester, ‘Samurai Tales and Scholars’ Frowns? Historical Novels in Japan’
7 November 9:30 am GMT / 10:30 am CET: Catherine Padmore, Stephanie Downes and Kelly Gardiner, University of La Trobe, The Historical Novel in Australia
Attendance is free but registration is required. Registration is open now.
For questions, please email us at historicalfictionsresearch@gmail.com
Historical Fictions Research Network 