Romancing Academia
Please note this runs concurrently with the other workshops and you will not be able to register for more than one.
Flinders University and Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts are thrilled to host an academic symposium on popular romance studies as part of RWAus’ 2024 conference. Featuring the latest research from romance academics, and open to anyone with an enquiring mind who wishes to attend, this symposium will showcase romance in all its complexity and glory. The symposium will consider the rise of the contemporary rom-com and the enduring impact of the historical romance, as well as the cultural force of category romance, focusing on the power of the romance genre and its intersections with feminism, gender, sexuality, generic forms and formulas, ideologies and more. When a room full of experts in the field of popular romance studies bring their research into the same room, new ideas ignite. This will be a day of fun, excitement, and learning and sharing, throwing the intellectual spotlight on the most read genre in the world.
| PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE | ||
| HINDMARSH ROOM | ||
| 8.30am | Introduction & Housekeeping | A/Prof Amy T Matthews |
| 8.40am | The Australian Convict Romance Novel: Narrating reparative histories of social and sexual justice for “Damned Whores” | Prof Hsu Ming Teo |
| 9.40am | Bad Romance: The Core Tropes of the Bonkbuster | Dr Jodi McAlister |
| 10.00am | Morning Tea | |
| 10.30am | Where are all the Blakfullas? | Melanie Saward |
| 10.50am | Queering Romance Tropes | Justina Ashman |
| 11.10am | The Arranged Marriage Trope in South Asian Diasporic Romance Fiction | Sreepurna Datta |
| 11.30am | A Real Bad Boy: How Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us Exploits Romance Tropes | Lucy Rouse |
| 12.00pm |
Lunch | |
| 12.45pm | Tales of Romance: Insights from 40-word romantic stories | Rebecca Stokes |
| 1.45pm | Masculinity in Sports Romance | Bee Jamieson |
| 2.05pm | Cinnamon Roll Heroes | Abby Guy |
| 2.25pm | Reading the Romance in Australia: ARRA survey data (2009-2023) and the practices of Australian romance readers | Lauren O’Mahony |
| 2.45pm | Wrap Up | A/Prof Amy T Matthews |
| 3.00pm |
End of Day | |
CLICK HERE to download the Romancing Academia PDF program
workshop registrations
| Early (until COB 5th June) |
Standard (until COB 17th July) |
Late (until Conference) |
|
| RWAus Member |
$300.00 | $350.00 | $400.00 |
| Non-Member |
$350.00 | $400.00 | $450.00 |
INCLUSIONS IN WORKSHOP REGISTRATION
- All entitlements for day of attendance
- Attendance at booked workshop
- All official documentation for the workshop
- Morning tea and lunch as scheduled
In the spirit of reconciliation, Romance Writers of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia, and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respect to their Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.