American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies Annual Meeting

Collectively, we are dedicated to the interdisciplinary, global study of the eighteenth century, a period that witnessed an enormous expansion in colonial claims, worldwide trade, and imperial ambition; a rising discourse of rights in conflict with a devastating transatlantic slave trade; unprecedented technological innovation; and the development of new ideas and cultural practices associated with the Enlightenment. In the eighteenth century, new readerships arose for newly invigorated genres .. continue reading such as the novel; theater audiences engaged new forms of dramatic expression; artists began to create for public markets as well as elite patrons, and composers experimented with innovations to traditional musical forms. The political, social, economic, cultural, and environmental practices forged in this period have profoundly shaped the world we inhabit today in both positive and negative ways and will continue to influence our common future.