Fall 2009 Warren Center Programs

The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities promotes interdisciplinary research and study in the humanities and social sciences and, when appropriate, the natural sciences. Members of the Vanderbilt community representing a wide variety of specializations take part in the Center’s programs, which are designed to intensify and increase interdisciplinary discussion of academic, social, and cultural issues.

Fellows Programs

2009-2010 Fellows Program, “Immigration and the American Experience” co-directed by Daniel B. Cornfield (sociology) and Gary Gerstle (history). Participants in the program will be Katharine Donato (sociology), Jonathan Hiskey (political science), Kevin Leander (teaching and learning), Ifeoma Nwankwo (English), Efrén Pérez (political science), and Nina Warnke (European studies/Jewish studies). The 2009-2010 William S. Vaughn Visiting Fellow is Jemima Pierre (anthropology, University of Texas at Austin).

2009-2010 Robert Penn Warren Graduate Student Fellows. Eight graduate students are participating in the Warren Center’s fourth dissertation completion fellowship program. They are Elena Deanda-Camacho (Spanish and Portuguese), Gesa Frömming (Germanic and Slavic Languages), Patrick Jackson (history), Sarah Kersh (English), Gail McConnell (English, Queen’s University, Belfast), Elizabeth Meadows (English), Rachel Nisselson (French and Italian), and Matt Whitt (philosophy). Elena Deanda-Camacho is the Mary and Joe Harper Fellow, Patrick Jackson is the American Studies Fellow, and Matt Whitt is the George J. Graham Jr. Fellow. In the spring semester, each of the fellows will present a public lecture on their research.

2010-2011 Fellows Program, “Representation and Social Change” co-directed by Bonnie J. Dow (communication studies) and Laura M. Carpenter (sociology). Further information about this opportunity will be distributed shortly.

Special Events

Realities and Representations: The 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign
The Warren Center, in conjunction with the Communication Studies Department, is bringing to campus this fall our final speaker in the lecture series on the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. Dhavan Shah, Louis A. and Mary E. Maier-Bascom Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will join us on Wednesday, September 30 at 4:10 p.m. to deliver a talk, “Network Nation: How Campaign Ads and the Internet Shape Participation,” in the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center.

2009-2010 Harry C. Howard, Jr. Lecture
Rosanna Warren, Emma Ann MacLachlan Metcalf Professor of the Humanities and Professor of English and Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at Boston University, will present the 2009-2010 Harry C. Howard, Jr. Lecture, "Poems and Poem-Talk: A poetry reading and informal chat by Rosanna Warren," on Thursday, October 29, at 4:10 p.m. in the Moore Room at Vanderbilt University’s Law School. The Harry C. Howard, Jr. Lecture Series was established in 1994 through the endowment of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Nash, Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. George D. Renfro, all of Asheville, North Carolina. The lecture honors Harry C. Howard, Jr. (B.A. 1951) and allows the Warren Center to bring an outstanding scholar to Vanderbilt annually to deliver a lecture on a significant topic in the humanities.

Black Atlantic History Lecture
Sue Peabody, professor of history at Washington State University, Vancouver, will present the Warren Center’s annual Black Atlantic History Lecture in conjunction with the Circum-Atlantic Studies Seminar on Thursday, February 18th (time and location to be announced). Professor Peabody’s talk will focus on her current scholarship: a biographical study of an enslaved family in the Ile de Bourbon—now Réunion, in the Indian Ocean—that spans the period from 1759 to 1848. She will also discuss the use of biography/microhistory to recover the historical experience of race and slavery in the French empire.

Visiting Speakers

Peter C. Mancall, professor of history and anthropology at the University of Southern California, will give a talk related to his recent book, Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson--A Tale of Mutiny and Murder in the Arctic (Basic Books, 2009) on Monday, October 12 at 4:10 p.m. in Wilson Hall Room 126. Mancall is also Associate Vice Provost for Research Advancement at USC, and the Director of the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute. Mancall appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart July 14 to discuss his recent book on Hudson’s final expedition. His visit is co-sponsored by the Warren Center’s Circum-Atlantic Studies Seminar and the Vanderbilt Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies.

Seminars

Ancient and Medieval Studies Seminar. The purpose of the group is to foster interdisciplinary study of the time periods embraced in its title, which means not only history but language and literature, chiefly, though not exclusively, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. The main focus will be on faculty and graduate student research. Meetings will take place at 12:00 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: September 16, October 14, and November 11. To be added to the seminar mailing list, e-mail Katherine Newman at katherine.newman@vanderbilt.edu. Seminar coordinator: Bill Caferro (history), william.p.caferro@vanderbilt.edu.

Circum-Atlantic Studies Group. Now in its seventh year, this group meets monthly and reads and treats works-in-progress authored by participants or other significant work in the field. Our focus is on scholarship that is interdisciplinary in nature, focuses on at least two of the following regions – Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America – and treats some aspect of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, and/or postcolonialism. . The group’s first meeting will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 10. The second meeting will be an introduction to Vanderbilt’s visiting Fulbright scholar from Canada, Christine Rivas, at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 24. Peter Mancall (history and anthropology, University of Southern California) will discuss his current research on Monday, October 12 at 12:00 p.m. He will also deliver a public lecture. The final meeting will be a lecture presented by Gabe Cervantes at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 12 called "Defoe's Criminal Atlantic." Others interested in presenting a paper during the semester should contact the seminar coordinator. Check the Warren Center website for regular meeting dates and times in early September. To be added to the mailing list, e-mail Katherine Newman katherine.newman@vanderbilt.edu. Seminar coordinator: Jane Landers (history), jane.landers@vanderbilt.edu.

Feminist Theory Reading Group. This reading group is designed to facilitate a sustained interdisciplinary discussion of feminist theories. The group will meet to read and discuss canonical as well as recent texts and will workshop members' original research. Meetings will take place at 12:00 p.m. on the following Thursdays: September 17, October 15, and November 19. Seminar coordinators: Natalie Cisneros (philosophy), natalie.cisneros@vanderbilt.edu and Andrea Tucker (religion), andrea.l.tucker@vanderbilt.edu.

Food and Sustainability. This working group aims to engage in interdisciplinary conversation about the political (as well as spiritual, ecological, cultural, and nutritional) dimensions of global/local foodways, agricultural practices, and consumption habits. The group plans to meet four times this fall, addressing a broad range of topics: Thomas Jefferson and the roots of agrarian thought and politics in the United States, Booker T. Washington and African-American agrarian movements, the history and politics of gardening, and the New Agrarians – Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson, and Vandana Shiva. Each meeting will include discussion of selected readings as well as discussion of actionable applications of the readings to local food politics concerns. The group will meet for the first time on Monday, September 7 at 5:00 p.m.and again on October 5. The group will host Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry for a presentation marking the organization's 30th anniversary on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Wilson 126. The group meet at the Nashville Urban Greenlands project for a field excursion from 4:00-6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4. The final meeting of the semester will take place on December 7 at 5:00 p.m.. Seminar coordinators: Amanda Hagood (English), charlotte.a.hagood@vanderbilt.edu and C.J. Sentell (philosophy), charles.j.sentell@vanderbilt.edu.

Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life. The Warren Center and the American Studies Program are co-sponsoring this group to provide opportunities for exchange among faculty members who are interested in or who are currently involved in projects that engage public scholarship. Vanderbilt is a member of the national organization, “Imagining America,” a consortium of colleges and universities committed to public scholarship in the arts, humanities, and design. The group will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, October 20 at 4:10 p.m. The seminar will conclude the semester with a presentation by Graham Reside (Cal Turner Program) and Trudy Hawkins (Divinity) on Tuesday, December 8 at 4:10 p.m.. Seminar coordinators: Teresa Goddu (American Studies), teresa.a.goddu@vanderbilt.edu, and Mona Frederick, mona.frederick@vanderbilt.edu.

18th-/19th-Century Colloquium. The colloquium features new scholarship on the arts, cultures, and histories of the 18th and 19th centuries, with an emphasis on work by visiting or Vanderbilt faculty members. While loosely focused around British culture, we will also invite scholars from other linguistic and geographic fields to present work and join in the discussion. We will be emphasizing interdisciplinary conversations, with potential events to include an “aesthetics roundtable” and a forum on comparative religion. Meetings will take place on Fridays. The group will meet for the first time on September 11 at 2:00 p.m. for a talk by Jonathan Lamb (English) entitled, “Characters, Persons, and Authors—Who Populates the Early Novel?” Caroline Levine (English, University of Wisconsin, Madison) will lead a workshop on the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning on September 25 at 12:00 p.m. Speaker information for the October 9 meeting at 2:00 p.m. will be posted on the Warren Center website. On November 6 at 2:00 p.m. Misty Anderson (English, University of Tennessee, Knoxville) will present a talk, “Real Theater,” and the last meeting of the semester will take place on December 2 at 2:00 p.m. All faculty or graduate students interested in 18th/19th-century culture are invited to attend. Please contact one of the seminar coordinators: Dahlia Porter (English) dahlia.porter@vanderbilt.edu, Rachel Teukolsky (English), rachel.teukolsky@vanderbilt.edu to be added to the group listserv.

Postcolonial Theory and its Discontents. This interdisciplinary reading group will discuss recent criticism in the fields of postcolonialism, comparative colonialism and critical race theory. Such broadly defined and interconnected work has been catalyzed in particular by scholars from and scholarship about the Caribbean, India, and Southeast Asia but has also recently been discussed in relation to various regions throughout the world, including the U.S., the Gaelic fringe (Ireland and Scotland), and Latin America, among others. In our reading group we will consider the usefulness of various buzz words popularized by diverse postcolonial theorists past and present, such as de-colonization, hybridity, paracolonialism, and cosmopolitanism. Are these words helpful in thinking about social formations and literary representations? Does the criticism that makes use of them model the kind of scholarship we hope to produce? What new directions are available to us as scholars within this field, and how do these potential areas of study relate to the canonical literature of postcolonialism? The group will meet at 12:00 p.m. on the following Tuesdays: September 1, October 13, November 3, and December 8. Seminar coordinators: Matt Duques (English), matthew.e.duques@vanderbit.edu and Matt Eatough (English), matthew.eatough@vanderbilt.edu.

Queer Theory Graduate Student Reading Group. This seminar meets to discuss emergent issues in queer theory and its intersections with theories of gender, race, class, sexuality, and history. Meetings alternate between reading-based discussions and workshop formats. During workshops, seminar participants volunteer their work for feedback from the larger group; discussions work to explore the ways in which current issues within the scope of queer theory are developing across disciplinary boundaries. Meetings are at 12:00 p.m. on the following Tuesdays: September 22, October 20, November 17, and December 1. Seminar coordinator: Jane Wanninger (English), jane.m.wanninger@vanderbilt.edu.

Reclaiming Citizenship. This interdisciplinary group is designed to explore theories of citizenship that will be translated into a useable pedagogical framework. The group will ask, as scholars and teachers, what it means to be an active citizen both locally and globally. Discussions of these theoretical concerns will be used to construct syllabi for use by group members. Meetings are at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13 and Thursday, December 3. Seminar coordinator: Sarah Kersh (English), sarah.e.kersh@vanderbilt.edu.

Memory and Trauma Studies Working Group. This group is designed to explore the interdisciplinary fields of memory and trauma, with a focus on literary, religious, psychosocial, and neurobiological considerations of memory and trauma. Each meeting will consist of either a presentation of original work by a seminar participant or a discussion of pre-circulated readings. The seminar will meet at 12:00 p.m. on the second Friday of each month: September 11, October 9, and November 13. Seminar coordinator: Elizabeth Covington (English), elizabeth.r.covington@vanderbilt.edu.

Vanderbilt Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies. This is a forum for those with an interest in literature, history, music, art, and culture from 1400-1800. The group meets monthly to discuss ongoing research by a faculty member, recent publications in the field, or the work of a visiting scholar. Graduate students are particularly encouraged to attend and contribute. The first meeting will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 28 for a talk by Bill Bulman (history) entitled “Politics on the London stage in the summer of 1673.” In addition, the group will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15 for a talk by Holly Crocker (English, University of South Carolina) entitled "Performativity and Virtue: Ethics in Early Modern Culture." On Tuesday, November 17 at 4:10 p.m. Carl Smith (English, Northwestern University) will deliver a talk, "What's in a Name? The Evolution and Devolution of Michelangelo's Signature." To be added to the mailing list, e-mail Katherine Newman at katherine.newman@vanderbilt.edu. Seminar coordinator: Leah Marcus (English), leah.s.marcus@vanderbilt.edu.

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