Upcoming Conferences
Society of Early Americanists Seminar Series: Origin Stories & Early American Studies
October 8, 1-2:30 PM CDT, Origin Stories & Early American Studies
Register: https://bit.ly/SEAseries
Origin stories have long been central to early American studies, in questions of periodization and of the field’s geographic scope and in studies of empire, settlement, and nation. And origin stories are at stake in contemporary calls to grapple with histories of slavery and colonialism in our understandings of the past (such as those raised by the 1619 Project and calls to remove monuments to figures like Christopher Columbus). Bringing together scholars whose work takes up questions of origins in a range of archives and in several historical, theoretical, and cultural contexts, this panel asks how early American studies scholars might productively contribute to conversations and debates about origins, past and present.
Ajay Kumar Batra, Society of Fellows in the Humanities, University of Southern California, Looting
Dexter Gabriel, History/Africana, University of Connecticut, Slavery & Resistance
Emily Garcia, English and Latina/o/x & Latin American Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, Interdependence & Translation
Jay Miller, ACLS Pforzheimer Fellow, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Agrarianism
Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, Africana and American Studies, University at Buffalo, TBD
Marie Balsley Taylor, University of North Alabama, Communal Stories
The SEA Seminar Series is a virtual gathering oriented around discussing scholarship and teaching practices related to early American literature and culture. Convening throughout the academic year, the seminar series aims to generate opportunities for sharing conversation and research about early America beyond SEA’s biannual conference. The series especially seeks to reflect and amplify the range of scholarship on early American literature and culture, to create generative, supportive spaces accessible to scholars across a diversity of institutional and geographical locations; and to create opportunities for supporting early Americanist scholars and teachers, especially junior faculty and graduate students, beyond the biennial conferences. A spring event will discuss teaching (more info to follow).
Many thanks to Kelly Bezio and Maria Windell for serving on an ad hoc committee to advise on the seminar series. Thanks also to the junior scholars caucus co-chairs Kaitlin Tonti and Kristi Cherry-Randle and to Early American Literature editors Marion Rust and Katy Chiles for consultation and suggestions.
For more information, please contact Kelly Wisecup, Executive Coordinator, Society of Early Americanists: seacoord@gmail.com.
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November 10, 9:00 am-1:00 pm (EST), The Mobile Archive–An Online, Ongoing Symposium
Join us online Thursday, November 10th for an online seminar-workshop on “The Mobile Archive.” Hosted by the University of Siegen (Germany), with support from the Society of Early Americanists, this virtual conversation addresses the status of archives in a post-pandemic, digital age. Participants will be making short, five-minute presentations, followed by responses from Ralph Bauer (University of Maryland); Lenin Martell Gamez and Celeste Gonzalez Bustamente (University of Arizona); Astrid Fellner (Universität des Saarlandes); and Linda Andersson Burnett (Uppsala University).
Our goal is to address several issues facing the field today (Intersections of nationalism and the archive; hemispheric and transatlantic interventions; presentism and the colonial past; translation and circulation of scholarly traditions; digital versus on-site scholarship; archives and material culture; access and scholarly privilege. The Mobile Archive also seeks to initiate an open-ended, and we hope evolving conversation–bringing together the voices of new and more established scholars.
Please join us in November, stay tuned, and of course contact us for future programming.
For more information, write the lead organizers, Thomas Hallock (thallock@usf.edu), or Marcel Hartwig (hartwig@anglistik.uni-siegen.de), or mobilearchiveproject@gmail.com.
Thank you!