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Literature and History Public Conference 2026: Books that Changed the World

Wednesday 27 May 2025, 9am to 4:30pm

Room CBG010, The Cavendish Building, Agard Street, DE1 1DZ

As a part of their degree, second-year Literature and History students take part in an annual public conference, where they present a series of papers based on a central theme.

In 2026, as it is the ‘Year of Reading’, the theme is Books that Changed the World. The papers cover a wide range of books, including novels, poems, religious writings, economic texts, and cookbooks.

If you have any questions about the day, please contact the conference organisers:


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Event schedule

The event schedule is subject to change.

Time Event / Speakers Title
9:00 Welcome —
9:15 Panel 1 —
Evie Corre, Lee Hawthorne, Sarah Swindell and Kai Willgoose The Gutenberg Bible and the Birth of Reading Culture
Charlie Gandolfi-Hornyold, Isaac Fletcher, Liam Frampton and Khizar Junaid Reimagining the Devil’s Network: The Malleus Maleficarum and the Satanic Conspiracy
10:15 Break —
10:40 Coby Butler, Abbi Walker and Libby Whitehead "Of the Devil’s Party"? Theological Undecidability in Milton's Paradise Lost
Dhanalisa Beresford, Jessica Bishop and Josephine Corr Irony and Undecidability in Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (1729)
11:40 Break —
12:00 Panel 2 —
Shannon de-Lacy, Zak Guest, Ellicia O'Dell and Judy Saleh The Wealth of Nations and Globalisation: Rethinking Adam Smith
Fawaz Ayaan, Alex Hyde, Jim Marlow, Oweyn McGowan and Holly Mielczarek Redrawing Poverty: Charles Booth and the London Poor
13:00 Lunch —
Louise Gilmour, Charlotte King, Anton Lowe and Lucy Mitchell Marie Stopes and the Domestic Ideal
Kealan Hall, Charlie Mace and Eleanor Robey Plain but Powerful: Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery (1747)
14:50 Break —
15:15 Panel 3 —
Mkenzie Edwards, Georgia Niblett and Harvey Philpott

'Reality is a question of perspective': Magic Realism and Narration in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children 
Izzy Hallam, Lisa Holt and Katie Greenland Japanese and Western Signifiers in Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood 
16:15 Closing remarks —
16:30 End —

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