CFP: Virtue and Identity
Panel, ISECS Congress July 14-19, 2019 in Edinburgh
Dr. Kristin Eichhorn, Paderborn/Germany

Virtue and identity are without doubt two of the key concepts which determine the debates held during the eighteenth century. As the virtuous conduct of fictional characters is usually rewarded at the end of a story or at least depicted as superior to its opposite, works such as Richardson’s "Pamela" serve to create models for their readers. Importantly, this strategy aims not only at promoting a certain kind of behaviour in real life. In addition, virtue must be fully internalized by the audience, and thus shapes both the identity of individuals as well as that of the Enlightenment as a period and as a movement.
Scholarly approaches to consider in this context include, among others, the general psychological concept of ‘moral identity’ and the historical research on the nature of morality and identity in eighteenth-century philosophy. The panel aims to further investigate this issue by discussing additional case studies and/or specific works of art and literature to provide us with a deeper understanding of how the omnipresence of virtue and the conceptualisation of identity are intertwined: How does virtue, or its absence, shape identity during the period of the Enlightenment? To what extent is the identity of an individual, a group or even an institution determined by its relation to the concept of virtue? How do categories such as gender, age, social or national background etc. come into the mix?
Proposals for papers dealing with these and other related questions should be sent to keich@mail.uni-paderborn.de until December 1, 2018. Please provide an abstract of approximately 2,000 words and a short biographical note. Papers should be presented in English.
Once the selection of papers is completed, the pre-formed panel will be submitted to the organisers of the ISECS Congress. Official confirmation is therefore to be expected shortly after March 15, 2019.
Please note that membership of an ISECS-affiliated Eighteenth-Century Studies society is required to participate in the conference. For more information see https://www.bsecs.org.uk/isecs/en/cfp/.