Review: ‘The “Not Yet” of the Nineteenth-Century U.S.’, BrANCA Symposium
Primarily literary in focus, the panellists nevertheless marshalled current political and institutional debates through and alongside their readings of texts, demonstrating the ways in which nineteenth-century U.S. scholarship often hinges on interdisciplinary methodologies.
Continue ReadingReview: ‘The “Not Yet” of the Nineteenth-Century U.S.’, British Association of Nineteenth Century Americanists Symposium
Alert to forms of belatedness and anachronism, and attuned to the variously apocalyptic and utopian temporalities of the era, this timely conference on untimeliness suggested that the future is bright for BrANCA and for the field.
Continue ReadingReview: Magazines on the Move: North American Periodicals and Travel
In our contemporary moment, technological advances in print and online publications increase the speed and ease of the movement of ideas, developments which mirror the technological advances that impact how people are transported from one place to another.
Continue ReadingReview: Bluecoat 300: Charity, Philanthropy and the Black Atlantic
2017 marked two anniversaries in Liverpool: the tercentenary of the Bluecoat building, a contemporary arts centre which was originally constructed as a charity school in 1717, and the tenth anniversary of the International Slavery Museum. Like many institutions founded in eighteenth-century Liverpool, Bluecoat was supported by funds derived from maritime trade; in particular, the transatlantic slave trade. As part of Bluecoat’s year-long anniversary programme, special attention has been paid to exploring the building’s connections to slavery.
Continue ReadingReview: Investigating Identities in Young Adult (YA) Narratives
Despite divided opinion regarding characterisation, the conference demonstrated that YA fiction undoubtedly offers the opportunity for a wealth of analysis in relation to identity. Regardless of the medium, YA narratives present journeys through the liminal space of adolescence towards identity creation and this, perhaps, is their defining characteristic; whether a cohesive genre or not.
Continue ReadingReview: ‘Land and Water: Port Towns, Maritime Connections, and Oceanic Spaces of the Early Modern Atlantic World’, BGEAH Annual Conference 2017
Portsmouth was an ideal city to hold a conference on the theme of port towns with its rich maritime history. The Roanoke colonists set sail from Portsmouth in 1587, and it has been a base for the navy since the early modern period.
Continue ReadingReview: HOTCUS PG Conference 2017 – Contesting Power: Rights, Justice, and Dissent in America and Beyond
Given the overarching theme of the conference, it is unsurprising that activism and dissent in the United States were recurring themes, and papers considered, for example, feminist responses to the AIDS crisis, and radical politics within VISTA during the Nixon years.
Continue ReadingReview: BAAS PG Conference 2017 – CHASE PG/ECR Workshop (Day Two)
The programme of sessions was designed to help PGR and ECR attendees appreciate the value of ‘networks, collaboration and friendship’, as well as thinking about obstacles they may face during their early years in academia.
Continue ReadingReview: BAAS PG Conference 2017 – Post-Truth and American Myths (Day One)
Rounding off 2017 (the year of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’), this year’s British Association for American Studies postgraduate conference was a timely, enlightening scholarly event, centred on concepts of ‘truth’, myth-making, and cultural fact and fiction in American society.
Continue ReadingBAAS PG Conference 2017: Keynote Review
Malone’s paper was ambitious in scope, appealing to a range of different disciplines and drawing upon an impressive range of source material and methodological approaches. Despite the often serious nature of her subject matter, Malone’s paper was peppered with humorous asides, keeping the audience’s attention and demonstrating her skill as a speaker.
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