CALL FOR PAPERS: "Straws in the Wind: Ballads and Broadsides, 1500-1800" February 24 and 25, 2006, UCSB Early Modern Center CFP Deadline:  October 15th, 2005

"Straws in the Wind" derives its title from a comment made by John Selden (whose collection of ballads Samuel Pepys built upon) in touting the importance of ballads, or what he called "libels" of his time.  "Though some make slight of libels," Selden protests, "yet you may see by them how the wind sits.  As take a straw, and throw it up into the air; you shall see by that which way the wind is, which you shall not do by casting up a stone." This conference provides a space to interrogate these "scattered straws" from a range of perspectives. How do they function as cultural artifacts or as indicators of their historical moments? What are the lasting impacts and legacies of ballad culture? If ballads and broadsides have the capacity to show trends of popular culture, do they also have the potential to change them? Papers should address issues central to the study of ballads and broadsides. Possible topics might include:

• ballad collections as reliable sources of the past
• formal features of ballads and broadsides (woodcuts and blackletter print)
• ballad music and tunes
• the "problem" of women on the streets
• representations of transgressive genders and sexualities
• the preoccupation with monsters and wonders
• violent encounters notions of nation and national identity
• the rise of the political broadside in both England and America

In addition to two days of formal panels and papers, the conference will include an evening of song and ballad performance!

The Early Modern Center at UCSB is uniquely positioned to host "Straws in the Wind: Ballads and Broadsides, 1500-1800," as we have recently begun work on a one-of-a-kind online archive of English broadside ballads, 1500-1800. This ballad archive will provide a fully searchable database and catalogue of high-quality facsimile images (digitized in three sizes) as well as modern transcriptions of the broadside ballads provided in such a way that the viewer never loses sight of the original ballad artifact.  Sung versions of the ballads will also be available. We have already mounted and fully catalogued the 1,857 ballads in the Samuel Pepys collection, together with some transcriptions and songs of the ballads. Click Here to visit the Pepys Ballad Archive. We hope that this conference will continue in the spirit of the archive project, fueling inquiries and investigations of ballads and broadsides that consider the artifact as well as its many implications.

Proposals for twenty-minute papers should be 300 words or less and be submitted by September 15 to the Straws in the Wind website, using our Online Submission Form. Please direct questions and concerns to emc_conference_06@yahoo.com.