The New Scholars Symposium in Early Modern Literature and Culture

A Unique One-Day Conference
On September 26, the Department of English will convene a unique one-day conference on studies of Early Modern literature and culture. This event is related to a new initiative at the college, the Bates College New Scholars Series, sponsored by the Office of Equity and Diversity, which aims to support the diversification of the faculty by providing funding and administrative support for symposia and lecture series featuring emerging scholars from historically underrepresented groups, specifically defined as including African Americans, Alaska Natives, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Latinas/os, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders.

Issues of Race and Gender, Empire and Nationalism, and Others
“New Approaches to Early Modern Literature and Culture” will showcase scholarship by recent PhDs and advanced graduate student whose work in the field examines issues of race and gender, empire and nationalism, translation and adaptation, and narrative aesthetics, among other concerns from a variety of philosophical and methodological perspectives. Shakespeare’s plays are particularly prominent in the scholarship to be featured, including two different presentations looking at racial representation in Titus Andronicus. Participants were invited through a competitive application pool and represent a range of institutions across North America.

Eight Diverse Scholarly Presentations
In addition to eight twenty-minute papers, delivered throughout the day, the program will feature round-table discussions of professional and disciplinary issues relevant to these scholars’ work in higher education and the field of Early Modern Literature, in particular. Please refer to this website for a complete schedule, academic profiles of symposium participants, and other information.

Students Will Engage Scholars
This symposium promises to be an incredibly exciting and intellectually generative program with unique opportunities for students to engage with scholars representing a more diverse range of academic approaches and cultural perspectives than is conventionally available in a small English department such as this one.

The symposium will take place all day in Commons 221-222 on the Bates College campus and is free and open to the public. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend, especially Batesies majoring in English!