WELCOME! The Work in Nineteenth-Century Studies (WINCS) Colloquium at the University of Toronto provides a forum for interdisciplinary investigations into all aspects of nineteenth-century literature and culture. Housed within the Department of English, WINCS is open to faculty and graduate students at Universities in the GTA and beyond. WINCS regularly invites scholars to present their ongoing research.

Speakers either present a lecture or share a work-in-progress.
Works-in-progress are circulated in advance to listserv subscribers. If you are not a member of the listserv and would like to receive information about WINCS events, please see this website's "Join / Contact" page.

Upcoming WINCS Events | 2025-2026
 Thursday, January 29, 2026 | 4:00 pm | Jackman Humanities Bldg., Rm 616
“Feeling Exposed: Early Photography and Privacy in the United States”
Paper Presentation by Sarah Parsons, Professor of Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD), York University
Sarah Parsons is Professor of Art History and Visual Culture in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) at York University in Toronto. Her research and teaching focus on the history of photography, primarily in Anglo-American contexts. She is the author of William Notman: Life and Work (2014), co-author with Sarah Bassnett of Photography in Canada, 1839 - 1989 (2023), and editor of two volumes of writing on photography. She is Principal Investigator of the SSHRC funded grant, "Feeling Exposed: Photography and Privacy in Nineteenth-Century North America" (2019 - 2024) and collaborated with doctoral students on two key outcomes: with Vanessa Nicholas as co-author of an article in the journal History of Photography and with Frances Dorenbaum as co-curator of an exhibition at The Image Centre, Toronto. Parsons also serves as Lead Editor of the journal Photography and Culture.

Affiliated Speaker Series Events
Thursday, March 12, 2026 | 4:30 pm | Jackman Humanities Building, Rm 616
~ The 2026 Vincent A. De Luca Lecture, Department of English, UofT ~
“Title TBD”
Essaka Joshua, Professor of English, University of Notre Dame
Essaka Joshua, PhD, FSA, specializes in the literary and cultural perceptions of disability of the Romantic and Victorian periods. Joshua is the author of three monographs: Physical Disability in British Romantic Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2020), The Romantics and the May Day Tradition (Ashgate, 2007), and Pygmalion and Galatea: The History of a Narrative in English Literature (Ashgate, 2001). Professor Joshua is currently working on a monograph on disability in Romantic Theatre and is the general editor of the four-volume series, The Oxford Handbooks of Disability and Literatures in English.

Nineteenth-Century Graduate (NRG) Student Reading Group
 The NRG gives junior scholars – C19 Americanists, Victorianists, Romanticists, and beyond – a chance to connect, share research ideas, and develop professionally.
New members are always welcome!
Please visit the UofT Nineteenth-Century Reading Group website, or email:
Andy Chang or Robbie Steele