Stowe Center Call for Papers
The Stowe Center for Literary Activism, in partnership with the New England Quarterly invites papers for the 2026 “Stowe in Context & Conversation: Understanding Harriet Beecher Stowe in her historical context and ours” symposium. We invite submissions of conference paper abstracts that examine Harriet Beecher Stowe, the larger historical context that she lived and worked within, those who inspired or interacted with her work, and other related topics and themes. Submitted abstracts will be reviewed and selected by leading Stowe scholars.
Accepted papers will be further eligible for two special opportunities. First, one paper delivered at the symposium and selected by a panel of judges will receive special recognition and a $1,000 prize from the Stowe Center. Second, The New England Quarterly will consider all unpublished papers for a special issue of the journal devoted to the symposium theme.
We encourage people to think broadly about Stowe, what she meant in her time, and what she means in our time. Our 2025 program included such varied topics as19th century women’s domestic sphere; author and Stowe contemporary Charles Chesnutt; the Martin Delany and Frederick Douglass debates around Uncle Tom’s Cabin; and Stowe’s feminist theology.
We invite conference papers of 7-10 pages, double spaced. Please submit abstracts of 250-500 words by October 17, 2025 to Cat White, Director of Historical Collections and Public Programs at cw****@*********er.org The program will be announced in January.
The symposium will take place March 20, 2026, the publication anniversary of the collected volumes of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism in Hartford, CT, site of Stowe’s final house, nestled among her illustrious contemporaries such as Isabella Beecher Hooker and Samuel Clemens.
The Stowe Center will cover transportation costs (within reason) and accommodation for invited speakers.
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