IU East to host Midwest Victorian Studies annual conference
Participants in an upcoming conference at Indiana University East will have the opportunity to enjoy an authentic, 19-century meal and commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species through a series of lectures and panel discussions.
The Midwest Victorian Studies Association 2009 Conference (April 17-19), coordinated by Associate Professor of English Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, is open to faculty, students and the general public.
Clapp-Itnyre said having the conference at a regional campus is a first-time event for the Midwest Victorian Studies Association. "This is an opportunity to hear current Victorian scholarship, as well as enjoy Victorian culture and music, right here in our own town," Clapp-Itnyre said.
Clapp-Itnyre said some conference events will take place at Victorian sites in Richmond, Ind., including the Wayne County Historical Museum and the Gennett Mansion.
Founded in 1806 along the historic "Old National Road," Richmond was pivotal in the 19th-century American expansion west. Part of the conference will take place in a 19th-century Quaker meeting house (now a historical museum) while the remainder of the sessions will be located on the IU East campus.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the conference will showcase academic papers exploring the events or works that signal profound shifts or cultural "tipping points" -- including Darwinian tipping points -- as well as those in the literary, musical, economic and intellectual life of Britain and its empire during the 19th century.
The two keynote speakers are Jonathan Smith and Ivan Kreilkamp. Smith is the author of Charles Darwin and Victorian Visual Culture (Cambridge UP, 2006). Smith is guest editor of a forthcoming 2009 special issue of Victorian Studies titled "Darwin and the Evolution of Victorian Studies." Kreilkamp is co-editor of Victorian Studies and the inaugural winner of the MVSA First Book Prize.
The conference begins at noon on Friday, April 17, with two panel discussions and a reception in the IU East Art Gallery, located in Whitewater Hall. Participants will be able to view the art exhibit ion "The Veil."
On Saturday, April 18, conference participants will attend panels in the Wayne County Historical Museum and enjoy lunch and a walking tour. That evening, they will partake in a 19th-century meal at the Gennett Mansion while enjoying the IU East vocal students' performance of popular songs that Charles Dickens used in his novels.
Sessions on Sunday, April 19, will take place at Hayes Library, IU East, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., concluding with lunch.
Registration for the event is going on now. Prices are $85 per person ($75 for students). This includes attendance all three days, a reception, two lunches and dinner. To register, contact Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, associate professor of English, at 765-973-8531 or aclappit@indiana.edu.
For the conference agenda or to register, visit www.midwestvictorian.org/.
