The conference, which ran from 1-4 July, was led by Dr Emily Bell, Dr Jade Elizabeth French and Professor Sarah Parker, all of whom are based in the English Department at Loughborough University.
The Weird Modernisms conference aimed to celebrate works of Modernism as strange, queer, uncanny, occult, and above all, weird. The programme included over 150 panels, seminars and roundtables, three fantastic keynote addresses from poet and theorist Dr Nisha Ramayya (Queen Mary University of London), art historian Dr Catriona McAra (University of Aberdeen) and author of a forthcoming study of Weird Modernism, Dr Alison Sperling (Florida State University). In addition to the main academic programme, the conference featured a film festival, a musical performance, a sculpture tour, and a concurrent virtual conference, plus new artwork was commissioned by Radar from artist Ellen Angus, with installations located within and outside Holywell Conference Centre.
The Weird Modernisms event brought together two major academic associations: the British Association for Modernist Studies (BAMS) and the Modernist Studies Association (MSA). With previous MSA conferences having taken place in cities including New York, Boston, and Chicago, this conference (originally proposed by BAMS chair Barbara Cooke) marked the first time that these two academic bodies devoted to the study of twentieth-century arts and literature have come together, making it a landmark international event.
MSA President Melissa Bradshaw commented that: ‘Throughout the event participants stopped me to say how much they were enjoying the conference — one of the best MSA conferences they could remember’. With many visiting the University and the town itself for the first time, the conference certainly enhanced Loughborough University’s reputation for academic excellence – and perhaps highlighted Loughborough’s distinct brand of weirdness too.