Generations and Generational Time in the United States During the Long Nineteenth Century

This conference will take place at Lille University, June 12-13, 2025, and will explore generations, generational thinking, and generational time in the United States during the long nineteenth century. In the wake of the Revolution the very idea of generations meant freedom from the parent country, and the possibility of taking turns to shape the nation. But generationality also implies a linear experience of time and logics of transmission which are not available to many oppressed groups, in the context of slavery in particular. Our goal is to provide an opportunity to investigate modes of relationality, kinship, or fellow-feeling throughout the nineteenth century while questioning and complicating the "generational model." We welcome contributions on the literature, the culture and the history of the United States in the long nineteenth century.