Faculty of English, University of Oxford

@engfac.bsky.social

912 Followers 169 Following

Oxford's English Faculty is the largest in the UK with a distinguished research and teaching record. Account managed by admin team.

Blue and white tiled background with a repetitive pattern. Writing in blue boxes gives details of the lecture: Repetition is a Form of Change: An Oblique Strategy in Poetry, A.E. Stallings, Professor of Poetry. 9 May, 5.30pm, Examination Schools.
How do we distinguish between the artificial and the real? How does literature reshape and reinforce this distinction? From the formal constraints of Shakespeare’s sonnets to the metafiction of Nabokov’s Pale Fire to the magical realism of Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude—artifice underpins the literary arts. As the antithesis to the natural or the real, both ‘artifice’ and its cognate ‘artificial’ concern deception, construction, and craftsmanship. Though artificial intelligence has recently permeated the term, the spectrum of artificiality in literature stretches well beyond that of twenty-first-century technological innovations. From mimetic theory to posthuman study, the category of artifice continually reinvents itself. We encourage students to engage with the concept of artifice as both a formal technique and a thematic lens that reveals the interplay between reality, representation, and illusion in literary works across genres and historical periods. We welcome individual proposals for 20-minute papers, sent as a 200-word abstract alongside an additional short bio of 100 words including the contributor's affiliation and research interests. We also encourage three-person panel proposals of 500 words with a short bio for each participant. Submission deadline is April 25th. Email oegcartifice2025@gmail.com.
Sepia brown photo of Cavafy in suit leaning on ornate furniture holding a bowler hat and cane. The other half of the image has the lecture details: What These Ithakas Mean: Cavafy, Translation, Influence, and Imitation by A.E.Stallings on 21 Feb at 5.30pm at Exam Schools. All welcome; no booking required.