WSG News – Women's Studies Group 1558

Call for Papers: WSG 40th Anniversary ‘Afterlives’ Project

On 7 January 2027, it will be exactly 40 years since WSG’s first meeting. We intend to celebrate this milestone anniversary with two major collaborative events on the theme of ‘afterlives’: an online workshop, and a trade book compiled from the workshop contributions.

Our proposed theme, ‘Afterlives’, provides the potential for both expansive and reflective thinking. We could explore not only the representation of women throughout history but also WSG’s role in promoting the study of women over four decades. We’re open to a broad range of interpretations, but papers may wish to consider how women have been forgotten in posterity; the various ways in which they have been posthumously portrayed, vilified, or celebrated; and any progress (or lack thereof) in the exploration of women’s history in the past four decades.

We invite proposals for 10-minute papers. By submitting a proposal to the workshop, you confirm that you will subsequently submit your paper for publication. We will be requesting a 3,000-word mini chapter suitable for a general reader (submission date to be confirmed, probably mid-2027).

There will also be two bursary awards available for participants to conduct further research prior to their chapter submissions (applications open from October 2026 with awards announced January 2027).

Contributions should ideally be for one of the following six categories, which will form the basis of our workshop programme and book structure:

Travelling Women
Royal Women
Women in Art
Women Writers
Scientific Women
Religious Women

These were the most popular categories suggested in the informal expressions of interest we received from members. However, we’re open to receiving proposals on other themes, and may adjust this structure if exciting options materialise!

Please send a draft title and short proposal (maximum 350 words) by 14 August to louise@philipmarksav.co.uk and veschutte@gmail.com. The programme will be finalized by mid-September. Feel free to get in touch with any questions.

NOTE: We’ll also be holding an informal in-person celebration on Saturday 17 April 2027 at the Foundling Museum and potentially a book launch in 2028. Details to be announced nearer the time.

Upcoming events in January 2026

WSG Online Seminar, 15 January 2026.

We have an upcoming Zoom seminar on Thursday 15^th January, 2026. ZOOM 18:45 for 19.00-20.30 (GMT).

The papers to be presented are:

Stephen Spiess: Allegory and Violence: The Epistemology of the Whore in the Early Modern Visual Arts.

Gillian Beattie-Smith: Creating women’s literary identities: the Tour of Scotland.

Vicki Joule: Travelling and performing the self: Delarivier Manley and the ‘Stage’ coach.

Brianna Robertson-Kirkland: The other Mrs Corri: Camilla Corri’s musical legacy in Edinburgh.

All members are invited to attend. The Zoom link will be sent via the members list.

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WSG Support Network Event, 24 January 2026.

The WSG have set up a new Support Network which will feature a series of virtual skills-based workshops. The second workshop in the series will be led by Sara Read on 24 January 2026, 10.00-12.00 (GMT).

Sara will be providing Top Tips to Producing Quick and Succinct PowerPoint Presentations for Conferences.

Details on how to register for Sara’s event will be circulated via the members list.

If you’re not a current member of WSG, you can find details on how to sign up here. We hope you’ll consider joining us for a packed year of events.

Call for Participation: International Women’s Day 2026

Happy New Year to all our subscribers! As we look ahead to 2026, we are particularly excited about a new event in our calendar. We hope you can join us and take part in this initiative.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, on Saturday 7th March 2026, members of the Women’s Studies Group will be delivering a series of short talks in the museum galleries at the Foundling Museum, London.

WSG members are invited to propose a short presentation (around 15 minutes) in the museum for the visiting public to hear, loosely based on the topic ‘Women’s Lives in the eighteenth century: Struggle, Fame and Fortune’. These talks can take place in front of one of the museum’s paintings or objects or in a room of your choice. Short talks, play-readings, poetry, extracts from letters, etc., are all possibilities. Presentations can focus on women’s history topics such as mothers and children; women and the army; actors and writers; risk, sensation and exposure; the law and society’s attitudes to transgression.

Our members cover a wealth of subjects in their research which would be of interest to visitors, and we are keen to involve as many of our members as possible. If you are interested in participating, please contact the WSG at 2wsgevents@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing your ideas!

WSG Bursary Applications now open for 2025-26

WSG is offering a bursary of £750 to an early career researcher*, independent scholar or PhD student who is a member of the WSG. The bursary is intended to support research in any aspect of women’s studies in the period 1558-1837 for new or continuing interdisciplinary or single-discipline projects.

The deadline for bursary applications is 15 December 2025, and the successful applicant will be announced in January 2026. For further information, and to apply, please download the application form.

Applications are considered by the WSG committee. The money will normally be paid on presentation of receipts. The successful applicant will be expected to give a paper at a future WSG meeting in person or via Zoom in the 2026-2027 seminar season. The contribution of the WSG bursary should be acknowledged in any resulting publications.

*Early career researcher is ‘an individual who is within eight years of the award of their PhD or within 6 years of their first academic appointment’ (AHRC).

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Recent Bursary Winners (for a full list of winners, visit our bursary page)

2025: Valentina Aparicio, researching Maria Graham’s correspondence for her forthcoming monograph, Challenging Friendships: Scottish Women Travellers in Latin America, 1820–60 (Main Award); and Charlotte Vallis, ‘French diplomatic archives relating to Russian Empresses Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II’ (Travel Award), Patricia Ahern, ‘Enlightenment memories of Mary Queen of Scots’ (Travel Award), and Rachel Bynoth, ‘Anxiety in family letters’ (Travel Award).
2024: Amy Solomons, ‘Eighteenth-century female reading experiences in historic house spaces’.
2023: Eleanor Bird, ‘Margaret Davy, sister-in-law of Humphrey Davy and collector of his works’ (Main Award); and Brianna Robertson-Kirkland, ‘Examining three Georgian opera singers: Elizabeth Billington, Anna Selina Storace and Gertrude Mara’ (Travel Award).

WSG ‘Her Stories’ Reading Group: Upcoming session

Reading for WSG reading group session on 28th October, 7–8pm 2025 (GMT)

Frances Brooke’s The History of Emily Montague (Jasmin Bieber’s suggestion).

Please see the WSG October Newsletter for the Zoom link.

All WSG members are welcome to join this session, co-ordinated and facilitated by Karen Lipsedge.

About the reading:

Jasmin Bieber has kindly prepared a PDF of Brooke’s novel, which will be available to participants. If you cannot manage to read the entire novel, Jasmin recommends prioritising the first half, which takes place in Quebec and introduces intriguing, sensible romance plots. Alternatively, you might read from letter 57 to letter 177, which covers the troubled relationship between the main characters.

How the session will be organised:

Jasmin will begin by sharing why she chose Brooke’s novel and discussing the core themes. As with previous sessions, each participant will then share one thing they found noteworthy about the text.

At this meeting, we will also discuss and plan reading group sessions for December 2025 to October 2026, so please bring your suggestions and diaries.

To participate in ‘Her Stories’:

Contact Karen Lipsedge directly: K.Lipsedge@Kingston.ac.uk