DANGER!

(WOMEN(READING((
Session(Convenor!

Victoria(Horne,(Northumbria!University!in!
Newcastle!victoria.horne@northumbria.ac.uk!

Session(Abstract!

Throughout! history,! the! figure! of! the! woman! reader! has! been! viewed! as! potentially!
subversive! or! dangerous,! ‘a! threat! to! domestic! order’! (Long,! 2004).! She’s! a! thrillingly!
ambiguous! figure! who! has! captured! the! attention! of! numerous! artists! over! centuries!
(Bollmann! 2016).! The! significance! of! women’s! periodical! culture! within! firstJ! and!
secondJwave!struggles!has!been!addressed!by!literary!theorists!(Bazin!and!Waters!ed.,!
2017),! as! have! the! histories! of! reading! groups! (Long! 2004),! independent! bookshops!
(Delap!2016)!and!feminist!publishers!(Murray!2000)!–!and!yet,!despite!reading’s!crucial!
importance! to! the! art! historical! discipline,! little! attention! has! been! devoted! to!
understanding! the! function! of! book! groups! and! publishing! circles! as! systems! of!
knowledge!mediation!in!feminist!art!history.!This!panel!seeks!to!redress!this!omission!by!
considering! how! paraJinstitutional! practices! associated! with! libraries,! bookshops,!
reading!groups,!and!publishing!collectives!–!particularly,!but!not!exclusively,!prior!to!the!
recognition!of!feminist!discourse!within!the!academy!–!empowered!women!as!readers!
and!writers!of!art!history!and!theory.!

The! subject! and! practices! of! reading! have! surfaced! with! surprising! intensity! in!
contemporary! art,! perhaps! most! visibly! in! the! nearJubiquitous! space! of! the! gallery!
reading!room.!‘The!Age!of!Print’,!Hayles!(2012)!suggests,!‘is!passing,!and!the!assumptions,!
presuppositions,! and! practices! associated! with! it! are! now! becoming! visible! as! mediaJ
specific!practices!rather!than!the!largely!invisible!status!quo.’!

As! this! cultural! shift! from! print! to! digital! paradigms! transpires,! it! is! important! not! to!
neglect!the!gendered!dimension!of!reading,!both!historically!and!contemporarily.!As!such,!
this! panel! invites! papers! on! the! following! possible! topics:! women’s! reading! groups;!
feminist! publications,! including! circulation! and! reception! histories;! art! historical!
representations!of!women!reading;!periodical!networks;!libraries!and!access;!erotics!and!
pleasures!of!reading;!relations!between!reading!and!looking;!reading!subversively.!
To(offer(a(paper(
Please!email!your!paper!proposals!direct!to!the!session!convenor,!details!above.!

Provide!a!title!and!abstract!(250!words!maximum)!for!a!25Jminute!paper!(unless!
otherwise!specified),!your!name!and!institutional!affiliation!(if!any).!

Please!make!sure!the!title!is!concise!and!reflects!the!contents!of!the!paper!because!it!
will!appear!online,!in!social!media!and!in!the!printed!programme.!

You!should!receive!an!acknowledgement!of!receipt!of!your!submission!within!two!
weeks!from!the!session!convenor.!

Deadline!for!submissions:!Monday(5(November(2018!