The Art of Lying in the Eighteenth Century
Amsterdam, 17-18 January 2014

On Friday January 17 and Saturday January 18, 2014 the annual conference of the Werkgroep 18de Eeuw will be held in Amsterdam. The major theme of the conference is: The Art of Lying.

Lying and cheating were daily practice in the eighteenth century. That is, if we believe the many pamphlets, newspapers, comedies, criminal biographies and criminal records. Before one knew one had lost his money, goods, reputation or health. Despite the severe penalties on stealing and murdering and despite all Enlightenment ideals, trickery and deceit seem to have been rather mainstream. Historical criminologists have shown that it is a misconception to think that cheating only existed in the lower classes or in the margins of eighteenth century society. In each social class fraud and corruption were common. Persons like Casanova and Cagliostro were operating in the highest circles. Some of the wealthiest people were specialized in real estate fraud and illegal speculation, not to mention the corruption in politics and in the (para)medical sector. At the same time, an anti-movement started. Eighteenth-century ‘philosophes’ were fascinated by the truth and the late eighteenth-century revolutions could not have taken place without the desire to eradicate corruption.

The conference aims for an interdisciplinary and international approach to the phenomenon of fraud and corruption. Topics may include an international affair such as the South Sea Bubble, the corruption of regents, the medical malpractice of quacks or the vicissitudes of a local thief. We will also focus on the ways in which the criminal world was represented in the media. Possible key questions to be addressed are:

• What was the top 10 list of famous con men in the eighteenth century, nationally and internationally?
• What was the relationship between truth and lying in the eighteenth century?
• To what extent were corruption and fraud considered to be normal?
• Could one survive without lying?
• Can we consider the Enlightenment movement as a response or an antidote to this culture of lying?
• How were con men, thieves and murders punished and sentenced?
• How did the late eighteenth-century revolutions contributed to a transformation of a culture of lying into a more just society?
• Why became the genre of criminal biography so popular in the eighteenth century? And why in general do we find so many crooks, thieves and swindlers in eighteenth-century literature?
• In what sense did literature and the arts play an active part in combating fraud?
• Can we state that neither the Enlightenment nor the Judeo-Christian tradition – both considering lying as a sin – have been able to change human nature?

Historians, art historians, criminologists, philosophers, sociologists, economists, literary and medical historians, are all invited to give an inspiring lecture of approximately twenty minutes. We also welcome scholars who want to bridge the gap between past and present. Please submit proposals (approximately 300 words in Dutch or English) before March 15, 2013 by email to: devriesmarleen@hotmail.com. Contributors will be notified that their proposal has been accepted by April 1, 2013.

Note: On Friday, January 17, we will host one or more guest speakers from abroad. This day will therefore be in English, and all lectures should be conducted in English. The language for Saturday, January 18, will be Dutch.