“Dickens Rocks”
Virtual
12–15 July 2027
"They danced to the popular Revolution song, keeping a ferocious time that was like a gnashing of teeth in unison."
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
The 32 Annual Dickens Society Symposium will be organized out of Cleveland, home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and that claim inspires our topic: Dickens Rocks! What did Dickens think about music? How did he incorporate it into his writing and thinking? What did musicians (Victorian, 20th century, and modern) think about Dickens? What does it mean to think about Dickens musically? What happens when we focus on the melo in melodramatic.
We embrace thinking about “rock” in as broad a sense as possible.
In addition to our usual panels, we will have several opportunities for socializing and formal entertainment.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
● Victorian song culture and Dickens’s quotations of popular music
● Dickens’s singers and musicians (Dick Swiveller, Harold Skimpole, Young Bagnet, Cavalletto, John Jasper, Frederick Dorrit)
● Musical qualities of Dickens’s prose and musical metaphors
● Dickens and Minstrelsy
● Musical spaces: streets, concert halls, churches, etc.
● Dickens and the musical industry (Hutchinson Family Singers, Jenny Lind; Silas Wegg; etc.)
● Dickens on musical genre: opera, classical, folk, etc.
● Musical adaptations of Dickens’s prose and poetry
● Allusions to Dickens’s works in modern popular music (rock, rap, country)
● Dickens and mountaineering, geology, petrology
● “Rocky” in the sense of struggle or upheaval (social, political, systemic, etc.)
● Dickens as rock star
● “Between a rock and a hard place,” foundations, stability, or any other interpretation of the theme
As always, papers on Dickensian topics other than the stated theme will also be welcome.
In response to the global climate crisis and the Society’s aim to enable participation for members from all countries and demographics, this year’s symposium will be held online.
For more information, contact the organizing committee, Lydia Craig, Christian Lehmann, and Sophia Jochem, with any questions at dickensrocks2027@gmail.com.
“The Carmagnole.” The 2nd British Edition of A Tale of Two Cities: Fred Barnard (1874). The Victorian Web.
Organizers: Lydia Craig, Christian Lehmann, Sophia Jochem
Dickens Rocks CFP (PDF) - Print and Share!
Symposium Scholarships, Prizes, and Awards (Deadlines):
David Paroissien Prize (Published Article): 31 January 2027
Bursary Scholarships (Graduate, Untenured, Independent Scholar): TBA
Best Blog Bursary: TBA
Robert B. Partlow Prize(Conference Paper): TBA
Mary Espartero Webb Travel Award (BIPOC): TBA
Submission
Proposals of 250 words maximum should be submitted through this form by 31 January 2027.
AI-generated content may not be used in proposals or symposium presentations.
Please note that all presenters must be members of the Dickens Society by the time of the Symposium. Membership costs $35.00/year and includes a subscription to Dickens Quarterly.
Further details about registration, practicalities, and the conference program will be added to this site in due course.