7-10 July 2027
The International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS) is pleased to announce the 2027 International Seminar for Early-Career Eighteenth-Century Scholars. Colleagues from all fields of eighteenth-century studies are invited to submit abstracts for this four-day event that brings together young researchers from several countries each year.
In 2027, the International Seminar will take place in the city of Teruel in the week preceding the ISECS International Congress in Zaragoza. The meeting will be sponsored by Sociedad Española de Estudios del Siglo XVIII (Spanish Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies, SEESXVIII). It will be held from 7 to 10 July 2027 at Campus de Teruel, Universidad de Zaragoza (Street Ciudad Escolar, 4, Teruel) and will be directed by Jesús Astigarraga (University of Zaragoza, Spain), Mónica Bolufer (European University Institute and University of Valencia, Spain) and Alicia C. Montoya (Radboud University, The Netherlands).
Imagen: José Luis Mieza, vía Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Books, Letters and Empires in the Age of Enlightenment.
The Seminar examines the circulation of books and letters at the inter- and trans-imperial levels. In a century that witnessed the expansion and intensification of trade -including the slave trade, maritime connections, movement of people and ideas across the oceans, and ultimately Atlantic revolutions, the Seminar wants to reflect on the effects of those movements, the bonds they nurtured and the critical readings and subversive appropriations they favoured.
By doing so, we want to revisit two classic topics of eighteenth-century studies. After decades of researching book circulation, scholars already know that books did not make revolutions, but we are increasingly aware of how they crossed oceans, created transatlantic reading communities, and often allowed readers to imaginatively envisage new worlds. Besides that, transatlantic letters date back to the process of conquest and colonization and have been edited and studied, mostly notably in the Spanish empire and more recently also for “Atlantic families” in the French and Anglo-American worlds. Large-scale digitization projects of private correspondence have further increased interest in correspondence among ordinary people, beyond the intellectual exchanges uniting the Republic of Letters.
The Seminar wants to foster discussion of how reading, writing, and letter-based communication were at the base of the everyday workings of eighteenth-century empires, while also contributing to questioning and eroding them through critical readings and subversive appropriations.
The Seminar welcomes work from across the full range of disciplines in eighteenth-century studies, using a variety of methods, from literary, historical and philosophical analysis of specific case studies to digital humanities and quantitative approaches to big data, as well as material and visual perspectives.
The possible lines to be explored include, but are not limited to:
The seminar is limited to 12 participants. The proposals should be based on an original research project. Preference will be given to scholars at the beginning of their academic career (Pre- or postdoctoral researchers who graduated less than six years ago).
The official languages are French, English, and Spanish. Knowledge of at least two of those languages is required. Applications should include the following information:
The deadline for submission of proposals is 30 September 2026. Applications should be submitted electronically, with the proposal and CV as an attached document, to: earlycareerseminar@isecs-zaragoza2027.net
Accomodation costs (at the University residence: Pablo Serrano) will be fully covered by the organisers. Lunch will be served on-site. On July 7th, there will be a bus bringing the participants from the train+bus station of Zaragoza to the venue in Teruel. Participants will receive a partial reimbursement of their documented travel expenses (up to 500,00 euros per person) to facilitate their participation in the Seminar.
The programme consists of individual paper presentations by the participants and joint discussions. It is complemented by other meetings with the Spanish academic community and cultural excursions. The Mudejar architecture of Teruel has international recognition as part of the Mudejar Architecture of Aragon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Each of the 12 participants is invited to give a 45/60-minute presentation, followed by 20 minutes for discussion focused on the paper. Powerpoint presentations are welcome. Participants must submit to the organizers an extended draft of their work (3.000-4.000 words) 4-6 weeks in advance of the Seminar. Each participant will also chair another Seminar´s session to consolidate chairing skills.
The Seminar papers, if they fully comply with the editing guidelines, will be published by Honoré Champion (Paris) in the Lumières internationales series.
Sociedad Española de Estudios del Siglo XVIII
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Katia Fach Gómez is Associate Professor (accredited to Full Professor) at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). She holds a PhD in Law (European doctorate in German) and an LL.M. from Fordham University (New York, USA), where she received the Edward J. Hawk Award for Legal Excellence and graduated summa cum laude. Her research focuses on international litigation, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and cultural heritage. In the latter field, she is co-author of Arte secuestrado (Planeta, 2026), which examines, from the perspective of the Enlightenment onwards, the problem of the non-restitution of cultural objects by so-called ‘universal museums’. She is the author of numerous legal books, book chapters and academic articles published in English, Spanish and German by publishers including Oxford University Press, Springer, Kluwer, Brill, Edward Elgar, Routledge, Aranzadi, Tirant lo Blanch and Colex. She has served as a Seconded National Expert at the European Research Council (ERC) of the European Union in Brussels and as Area Director of the International Campus of Excellence Iberus at the University of Zaragoza.
Katia Fach Gómez es Profesora Titular (acreditada a Catedrática) de la Universidad de Zaragoza (España). Es Doctora en Derecho (doctorado europeo en idioma alemán) y ha cursado un Máster jurídico en la Universidad de Fordham (Nueva York-USA). En dicho máster obtuvo el premio jurídico Edward J. Hawk y la calificación summa cum laude. Su investigación se centra en litigación internacional, mecanismos alternativos de resolución de conflictos y patrimonio cultural. En este último ámbito es coautora del libro “Arte secuestrado” (editorial Planeta, 2026), en el que se analiza desde la etapa de la Ilustración el problema de la no restitución de obras de arte por parte de los “museos universales”. Es autora de múltiples libros jurídicos, capítulos de libros y artículos académicos publicados en inglés, español y alemán por editoriales como Oxford University Press, Springer, Kluwer, Brill, Edward Elgar, Routledge, Aranzadi, Tirant lo Blanch y Colex. Ha trabajado como experta nacional (Seconded National Expert) en el Consejo Europeo de Investigación (European Research Council – ERC) de la Unión Europea en Bruselas y ha sido Directora de Área del Campus de Excelencia Internacional Iberus de la Universidad de Zaragoza.
Fernando Durán López holds a PhD in Hispanic Philology and is Professor of Spanish Literature and a member of the Eighteenth-Century Studies Research Group at the University of Cádiz, where he has taught since 1997. His research is focused on Spanish autobiography; political literature, journalism, exile and intellectual life in and around the Cortes of Cádiz; eighteenth-century literary astrological almanacs; and government censorship of books during the same period. He has served as President of the Spanish Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies since 2022 and is co-editor-in-chief of the journal Cuadernos de Ilustración y Romanticismo. He is the author or editor of around fifty books, including José María Blanco White o la conciencia errante (2005); Vidas de sabios. El nacimiento de la autobiografía moderna en España (1733–1848) (2005); Versiones de un exilio. Los traductores españoles de la Casa Ackermann (Londres, 1823–1830) (2015); Juicio y chirinola de los astros. Panorama literario de los almanaques y pronósticos astrológicos españoles, 1700–1767 (2015); De las seriedades de Urania a las zumbas de Talía. Astrología frente a entretenimiento en la censura de los almanaques de la primera mitad del XVIII (2021); and Cándido María Trigueros, censor (2025, co-authored with C. Martínez Torres).
Fernando Durán López es doctor en Filología Hispánica, catedrático de Literatura Española y miembro del Grupo de Estudios del Siglo XVIII de la Universidad de Cádiz, en la que enseña desde 1997. Sus investigaciones se han centrado en la autobiografía española; en literatura política, periodismo, exilio y vida intelectual alrededor de las Cortes de Cádiz; almanaques astrológicos literarios del XVIII; y censura gubernativa de libros en el mismo siglo. Es presidente de la Sociedad Española de Estudios del Siglo XVIII desde 2022 y codirector de la revista Cuadernos de Ilustración y Romanticismo. Es autor o editor de una cincuentena de libros, entre ellos: José María Blanco White o la conciencia errante (2005); Vidas de sabios. El nacimiento de la autobiografía moderna en España (1733-1848) (2005); Versiones de un exilio. Los traductores españoles de la Casa Ackermann (Londres, 1823-1830) (2015); Juicio y chirinola de los astros. Panorama literario de los almanaques y pronósticos astrológicos españoles, 1700-1767 (2015); De las seriedades de Urania a las zumbas de Talía. Astrología frente a entretenimiento en la censura de los almanaques de la primera mitad del XVIII (2021); Cándido María Trigueros, censor (2025, con C. Martínez Torres).
Javier Usoz is Associate Professor at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He holds a degree in Law and a PhD in Economics. His research focuses on the history of economic thought, the international circulation of economic ideas during the Spanish and European Enlightenments, and the relationship between economic, political and social ideas. He has co-edited, among other works, L’Économie politique et la sphère publique dans les débats des Lumières (Casa de Velázquez, 2013), Bajo el velo del bien público (Institución Fernando el Católico, 2020), Voces económicas de la ‘Enciclopedia Moderna’ de José Joaquín de Mora (Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, 2022), and the economic works of Tomás de Anzano (Institución Fernando el Católico, 2023). He has published in leading journals in his field, including History of Political Economy, History of Economic Ideas, Revista de Historia Económica, Revista de Estudios Políticos, and Historia Agraria.
Javier Usoz es Profesor Titular en la Universidad de Zaragoza (España). Es Licenciado en Derecho y Doctor en Economía. Su investigación se centra en la Historia del pensamiento económico, la circulación internacional de las ideas económicas de la Ilustración española y europea, y la relación entre las ideas económicas, políticas y sociales. Es coeditor de libros como L´Économie politique et la sphère publique dans les débats des Lumières (Casa de Velázquez, 2013), Bajo el velo del bien público (Institución Fernando el Católico, 2020), Voces económicas de la ‘Enciclopedia Moderna’ de José Joaquín de Mora (Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, 2022) y la obra económica de Tomás de Anzano (Instituto Fernando el Católico, 2023). Ha publicado en las mejores revistas de su especialidad, entre otras, History of Political Economy, History of Economic Ideas, Revista de Historia Económica, Revista de Estudios Políticos e Historia Agraria.
Jesús Astigarraga is Professor of Economics at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He holds a PhD in Economics and a PhD in History. His research focuses primarily on intellectual history, the history of economic thought, the international circulation of ideas, the institutionalisation of political economy, and the Spanish Enlightenment. He is the current Vicepresident of the Spanish Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Among his most recent books as author/co-author or editor/co-editor are: A Unifying Enlightenment. Institutions of Political Economy in Eighteenth-Century Spain, 1700–1808 (Brill, 2021); Adam Smith and the ‘Wealth of Nations’ in Spain. A History of Reception, Dissemination, Adaptation and Application, 1777–1840 (Routledge, 2022); The Economic Legacy of José Joaquín de Mora. Spreading Classical Political Economy in the Hispanic World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024); Gerónimo de Uztáriz and his Economic Work. New Politics and the Origins of the Science of Commerce in 18th Century Europe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025); and A History of Spanish Economic Thought: From Scholasticism to Keynesianism (Routledge, 2026).
Jesús Astigarraga es Catedrático de Economía en la Universidad de Zaragoza (España). Es Doctor en Economía y Doctor en Historia. Su labor investigadora se centra habitualmente en ámbitos como la historia intelectual, la historia del pensamiento económico, la circulación internacional de las ideas, la institucionalización de la economía política y la Ilustración española. Es el actual vicepresidente de la Sociedad Española de Estudios del Siglo XVIII. Algunos de sus últimos libros como autor/coautor o editor/coeditor son: A Unifying Enlightenment. Institutions of Political Economy in Eighteenth-Century Spain, 1700-1808 (Brill, 2021); Adam Smith and the ‘Wealth of Nations’ in Spain. A History of Reception, Dissemination, Adaptation and Application, 1777-1840 (Routledge, 2022); The Economic Legacy of José Joaquín de Mora. Spreading Classical Political Economy in the Hispanic World (Palgrave MacMillan, 2024); Gerónimo de Uztáriz and his Economic Work. New Politics and the Origins of the Science of Commerce in 18th Century Europe (Palgrave MacMillan, 2025); A History of Spanish Economic Thought: From Scholasticism to Keynesianism (Routledge, 2026).
