Siobhan-Michelle Smith
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smdsmith.bsky.social
Siobhan-Michelle Smith
@smdsmith.bsky.social
64 followers 44 following 25 posts
PhD student interested in nineteenth-century writing, gender, cross-dressing, women's facial hair, narrative silences & digital humanities (She/her)
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smdsmith.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to be co-organising this study day next year. Please consider submitting an abstract and joining us in this important and fascinating conversation about women's (peri-) menopause in Victorian literature
vpfa.bsky.social Victorian Popular Fiction Association @vpfa.bsky.social · 6d
Another VPFA Study Day: 'The Critical Age in Victorian Popular Literature'
❓literary representations of the (peri-) menopause
🌏 online
📅 19th May 2026
💰 free for VPFA Members/ £5 for non-members
Send proposals (250) to
jessica.cox@brunel.ac.uk and siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk by 19th February 2026
This one-day symposium seeks to explore representations of the ‘critical age’ – the (peri-) menopause – in Victorian popular literature. The peri-menopausal and menopausal experiences of Victorian women have to date been overlooked or underrepresented in scholarly discussions of the period. Victorian popular literature, from novels to periodicals to advice books, provided an essential forum for discussing and shaping the public understanding of women’s bodies, even as much of it sought to obscure the female body. The (peri-) menopausal experience was often framed in terms of illness, excess, and degeneration, or, conversely, was relegated to silence. Women at the ‘critical age’ are frequently marginalised and associated with a range of negative stereotypes in literary and cultural narratives. This call for papers invites exploration of how this phase of women’s lives was constructed in the Victorian imagination, in medical discourses and advice literature, and in women’s lived experiences. We invite 20-minute papers exploring any aspect of the critical age in Victorian popular literature. Topics for exploration include but are not limited to: • Representations of the critical age in Victorian popular fiction • The medicalisation of (peri-) menopause • Cultural constructions of middle-aged women • Class and (peri-) menopause • (Peri-) Menopause in Victorian advice literature • Motherhood and (peri-) menopause • Experiences of the critical age in Victorian women’s life writing • Myths and popular misconceptions The event will also include a Digital Humanities Research Skills Workshop, with an emphasis on making digital methods more accessible. We invite short papers or workshop proposals that showcase how digital tools can be used to research women and their bodies in Victorian literature. Possible topics include data creation/cleaning/visualisations, textual, quantitative or statistical analysis, using AI or specific tools (such as Voyant or Power BI).
November 9, 2025 at 5:03 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
The reading packs produced by the @vpfa.bsky.social's third sex reading group are always gorgeous, and the discussions are always great. What's not to love!
Join us Wed 17th Sept @ 5.30pm UK time to discuss the highly problematic "Lodore". Everybody welcome... message for more details.
September 11, 2025 at 9:55 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
The link for the reading group on Lodore is now live ... www.eventbrite.com/e/lodore-tic... please join us!
Lodore
We will be looking at the conservatism of Mary Shelley's Lodore
www.eventbrite.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
This photo may be upsetting to some people as it shows a book being vandalised... aka my notes on Mary Shelley's Lodore. Key words so far are: Incestuous, Angel of the House, and depression. Looking forward to discussing further on 17 September at the VPFA 3rd sex reading group.
Double page spread of black printed text on white paper which is the first two pages of chapter three of Mary Shelley's Lodore. The pages are covered in handwritten annotations (mine)
August 3, 2025 at 9:49 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Please allow me to recommend some summer reading, followed with an invitation to join our book discussion. Everybody is welcome so please share widely (this poster has the correct start time of 5.30pm!) The text and audiobook are available on Internet Archive/Gutenberg. @vpfa.bsky.social
July 26, 2025 at 9:03 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Oh where has the time gone?! We are approaching our final Research Seminar. Join us this Wednesday (28th May) at 2pm UK time to hear Suzy Corrigan's paper on Vernon Lee, Ethel Smyth & Sapphonics. Everyone welcome
May 26, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
vpfa.bsky.social
VPFA speed networking event - this Friday, the 30th May!
🗣️ Connect, converse, and collaborate!
🧑‍🎓 Who’s it for?
This event is designed for postgraduate students and researchers who are members of the VPFA. Come as you are—whether you're just starting out or writing up your thesis.
May 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Love this article from 1905. When I first read "Women especially are tired out. You can't find one who has energy enough to make her husband a shirt" I did a little eye-roll and was ready to dismiss it as 19thC patriarchal BS, but then I kept on reading....
May 22, 2025 at 8:58 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Join us for Teesside University's next research seminar...
Paper: ‘Exploring Conceptual Spaces with Co-Creativity: Using Human and AI Collaboration to Investigate Constraints in Literary Forms’
By: PhD Student Sam Pegg (Southampton University)
When: Wednesday 7th May at 2pm BST
Where: Online
📖🖊️🖥️🤖💭
May 2, 2025 at 8:27 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
What a line up ... this year's Graduate Conference organised by Teesside's MA students looks incredible, so much so that we've joined forces with them to host our Research Seminar Series, which is being given by Dr Susan Civale. It is online and free to attend so please join us, Wed 26 Mar @ 2pm
March 21, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
englishassociation.bsky.social
#ThinkingForwards in #Collaboration #Arts #Humanities #Curators #Libraries #DataScientists #Technology Join us, join in, next week, free online! 😊
#EduSky #TeamEnglish #Education
englishassociation.ac.uk/thinking-for...
Thinking Forwards: Collaboration | Living with Machines (28 February 2025, 13:00 - 14:00) | The English Association
We support the teaching, learning, and enjoyment of English at all levels of education, from early years to further and higher education and beyond.
englishassociation.ac.uk
February 21, 2025 at 10:54 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
There are just four presentations left of this year's English & Creative Writing Research Seminar Series (organised by PhD students at Teesside University). Don't miss out on your chance to join us in what sounds to be four fantastic talks .....
A poster, the background is different shades of yellow and brown with unreadable handwriting. The foreground is supposed to look like old paper - a mixture of brown shades with printed details of the upcoming talks. Email siobhan.smiht@tees.ac.uk for more information.
February 21, 2025 at 11:33 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Having a teenage daughter who has just started reading Macbeth at school, I'm looking forward to hearing Adam Hansen discuss the role class plays in the Shakespearean classroom. Everybody is welcome to join. Please message me for the Teams invite.
A dusty pink background with a black and grey sketch like illustration of William Shakespeare with text about an upcoming event organised by Teesside University's English & Creative Writing Department, this year's research seminar series. The next event is on Wednesday 5th February at 2pm which will be Dr Adam Hansen from Northumbria University talking about "Macbeth in/and Class". An abstract of his talk is provided.
January 29, 2025 at 9:48 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
A reminder of the great lineup for Teesside University's English & Creative Writing Research Seminar Series ... next up we have PhD student Georgia Dalton from Northumbria University presenting on grassroots theatre and the women's liberation movement. Wed 15th Jan at 2pm UK time on Teams
January 7, 2025 at 12:28 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
I am looking forward to hosting Dr Francesca Benatti tomorrow (Wed 4 Dec) at 2pm UK time. Her paper "Webcomics: Digital Innovations in Reading and Writing" looks at how readers and authors experience webcomics. Email me if you'd like to join online: siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk
A simple poster with a table on a white background, there is green shading behind the dates, and the titles of the speakers are also in green. The Teesside University logo is on the top left and bottom right.
December 3, 2024 at 7:08 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
So looking forward to hearing @rhymesontheroad.bsky.social speaking next week. If you'd like to join us please email me for the meeting invite ... siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk
smdsmith.bsky.social Siobhan-Michelle Smith @smdsmith.bsky.social · Nov 12
Excited to be involved in organising and chairing the 2024/5 Research Seminar Series for the English & Creative Writing Department at Teesside University. We have 6 institutions being represented and a wide variety of great subjects. Email one of us for the meeting invite 📨
Poster with the details of 8 seminar talks. Email siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk for more information
November 25, 2024 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
mariaa.bsky.social
I'm recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work with me at the University of Colorado Boulder! Looking for creative students with interests in #NLP and #CulturalAnalytics.

Boulder is a lovely college town 30 minutes from Denver and 1 hour from Rocky Mountain National Park 😎

Apply by December 15th!
A photo of Boulder, Colorado, shot from above the university campus and looking toward the Flatirons.
November 19, 2024 at 10:38 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Excited to be involved in organising and chairing the 2024/5 Research Seminar Series for the English & Creative Writing Department at Teesside University. We have 6 institutions being represented and a wide variety of great subjects. Email one of us for the meeting invite 📨
Poster with the details of 8 seminar talks. Email siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk for more information
November 12, 2024 at 12:08 PM
smdsmith.bsky.social
2 things that are helping me stay focussed and sane .... Walking on a treadmill whilst reading and using the Forest app which grows a tree over a 25 minute "focus" period. It helps me to leave my phone alone as the tree dies if I leave the app within the 25 minutes. Any other practical tips!?
September 20, 2024 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
janeford.bsky.social
Our wonderful PhD students @scmc.bsky.social and Hayley McNally have organised and are chairing Teesside’s English and Creating Writing research seminar series. Share widely and do sign up via the Eventbrite link below!
February 20, 2024 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
cncsi.bsky.social
CNCSI's fourth Virtual Lab with be open to all for the first time. Join us via a live stream for *Scans Databases, and Apps: Teaching the 19C in the Digital Era* with Kit Belgum & Vance Byrd on 19 February, 2024.
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📶 facart.es/19-century-lab-4
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🔗 cn-csi.com/event/virtua...
January 31, 2024 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
smdsmith.bsky.social
Looking forward to hosting another online discussion in conjunction with The Kipling Society. Story available online:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/tale/the-mar.... Message me to join!
October 16, 2023 at 2:47 AM
smdsmith.bsky.social
Looking forward to hosting another online discussion in conjunction with The Kipling Society. Story available online:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/tale/the-mar.... Message me to join!
October 16, 2023 at 2:47 AM
Reposted by Siobhan-Michelle Smith
event2024.bsky.social
CFP: Event 2024. Submit your proposal by December 1, 2023 at www.event2024.org/call-for-pap...
Text graphic reads: “We encourage reflection on our theme, “event,” which can be interpreted broadly: catastrophic events (like climate change); history and temporality; chronologies and periodization; narrative; theater and spectacle; liturgy and ritual; performativity and identity; personal events (marriage, birth, death); autobiography and biography; unnarratable events (the sublime, the visionary, the transcendent); the bildungsroman; the relationship of form to change; historical poetics and strategic formalism; longue durée; jetztzeit; Foucauldian archaeologies; alternative events (the optative, historiographic metafiction, steampunk); notions of singularity (systems theory, AI, climate), the eventuality of the digital; Event and revolution (Badiou, Dupuy); and so on. Given the global nature of Event 2024, we would also be interested in talks that explore global issues, such as the Commonwealth, imperialism, world trade, war, and the environment. Deadline: December 1, 2023.”
September 27, 2023 at 5:05 PM