Engagement with the European Renaissance or the early modern period focuses on certain themes or phrases that have entered the public imagination and continue to have relevance today. One such phrase is “Renaissance Man”, an epithet commonly applied to individuals who are perceived to have been a major contributor to multiple aspects of the world of arts and letters. It was an appellation that transcended the spatio-temporal boundaries of the European Renaissance, and was only retrospectively applied to the early modern period (first recorded usage in the early twentieth century). The most notable individual to whom this term has been applied is Leonardo da Vinci. Even in 2019, five hundred years after his death, it is noteworthy that this phrase continues to be used widely in public discourse.
On the occasion of Leonardo da Vinci’s five hundredth death anniversary, Jadavpur University’s Department of English is organizing a three-day international conference entitled, “Renaissance Man: Re-Appraisal and Re-Invention”. We would like to invite abstracts for papers and panels that deal with the concept of “Renaissance Man”, not only in the early modern period, but also in later eras up to the present day. We welcome proposals on early modern topics contiguous to, but not entirely limited to the figurations of the Renaissance man, which would help to locate and illumine various aspects of early modern European culture through the lens of the Renaissance man. In addition, we would also be interested in papers and panels about how the concept was translated across cultures and why the term still holds relevance today.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
- Renaissance men before the Renaissance
- Renaissance humanism and the Renaissance man
- The Renaissance (Wo)man
- Renaissance man as a post Renaissance invention
- Renaissance man in visual culture/iconographical traditions
- Gendering the Renaissance man
- Renaissance men and Empire
Abstracts not exceeding 300 words for individual papers and 500 words for thematically linked panels (comprising three speakers) should be sent to Dr. Doyeeta Majumder at [email protected] and Somnath Basu at [email protected]. Please provide a short bio-note (200 words per individual) along with each abstract.
The deadline for abstracts is 30th June 2019. Those whose abstracts are accepted will be notified by 31st July 2019.