February 2006
“WHILE with labour assid'ous / due pleasure I mix, / And in one day atone / For the bus'ness of six....”---Matthew Prior, “Written at The Hague in the Year 1696”
While Prior only envisioned one day recuperation, we once again look forward to our annual 3-day respite from the daily toils of our chosen profession. Indeed, at long last, it is conference time! And this year's chosen oasis is Athens , GA , where John Vance and Elizabeth Kraft have prepared excellent accommodations and festivities for the 2006 SEASECS gathering, March 2 nd -4 th . Once again, Martha Bowden—our voice in the wilderness—has prepared an excellent program, one that features new friends, old friends, and returning friends altogether. Come and join us! It would be a scandal, I am quite sure, if you were the colleague who—in future times, in dark SEASECS corners—was regarded as “the one who did not visit Athens .”
Conference Essentials
Most of you have no doubt already made your reservations, but if you have not, you should call the Holiday Inn in Athens , GA. Their phone numbers are (706) 549-4433 [local] and (800) 862-8436 or (800) 465-4329 [nationwide]. The conference rates are available from Wednesday, March 1 st through Saturday, March 4 th . The hotel's address is 197 E. Broad St . , Athens , GA , 30603 . As always, be sure to mention you are with the SEASECS Conference: as with everything else in your life, that information will secure you the best treatment.
For your convenience, we have included the SEASECS Registration Form with this newsletter. Please send the form and the appropriate fees—including, perhaps, your annual dues —to Elizabeth Kraft, Department of English, University of Georgia , Athens , GA 30602 .
The Program
The program at this year's conference promises to be invigorating, enlightening, and—above all else—entertaining. To begin, there are three marvelous plenary sessions. John Vance has prepared the opening plenary, offering for our viewing pleasures scenes from The Man of Mode, The Country Wife, and The School for Scandal. Melvyn New will present the second plenary session, a delightful lecture on “Sterne and the Modernist Movement” (could Martha Bowden have had anything to do with this specific subject? Hmm. I wonder). Finally, on Saturday morning, Annibel Jenkins has graciously offered to once again guide us in our return to ”The World of The World.”
Most impressively, however, this year's program features a wide array of topics. Beginning with the first session on Thursday afternoon, we will hear papers on “Encyclopedism, Dictionary Wars, and Newspapers”; “‘Azakia,' The Baron de Saint Castins, and the Transatlantic Tales of Native Americans''; “Cityscapes: A Transatlantic Tour”; “Singing in the City”; and “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse of Eighteenth-Century Europe”; to name only a few. Of course, no SEASECS conference would be complete without at least two sessions on a salacious subject; for our enjoyment, we can attend both “Sexual Politics in Town and Country” (should we be surprised that Dan Ennis is chairing this one?) and “Sexual Politics II” because they are scheduled on different days. (Many thanks to the Program coordinator for allowing me to chair the latter session).
Although several persons deserve mention who are presenting papers this year, I would be remiss for not remarking how nice it is to have David Wheeler returning to our get-together after a brief sabbatical. It is also a pleasure to see that Lisa Zunshine will be joining us as well from the University of Kentucky . Although my institutional memory does not go back as far as other's, I believe this may be Lisa's fist encounter with SEASECS. Finally, Jeanine Caslet ( Northwestern University ), Paul Benhamou ( Purdue University ), Ourida Mostefi ( Boston College ), Walter Gershuny ( Northeastern University ), and Christopher Brooks (J.W. von Goethe University) deserve a warm welcome this year, each of them competing to see who travels the furthest to a SEASECS conference.
Graduate student prize
Libby Nybakken has once again reminded us to encourage graduate students to submit their papers for the prestigious Graduate Student Prize. Although this installment of the SEASECS Gazette may arrive too late for this year's prize, we should always keep the critical information in mind going forward, as we continue to grow our society's membership. Remember, in addition to the obvious vitae improvement, the Graduate Student Prize(s)—we often award 2 recipients—carry a financial remuneration of $300.00. See the SEASECS website—www.seasecs.org—for more information.
A Call for Observations
Although it may sometimes appear as if your beloved Secretary is everywhere at all times, we would like you to take note of specific panels or moments you especially enjoy at this year's conference. Forward your thoughts to me after the conference (I'll send a reminder in the next newsletter). This way, we will more efficiently tell the tale of our future successes, and our grandchildren will speak of us with great admiration, we few, we precious few: “Grandma was there with Johnnie V. and Martha B….”
Membership Information / Dues
As mentioned earlier, membership renewals are due at the first of the year. Many of us received reminder cards from our wonderful treasurer, Linda Szilagyi . If you are one of the delinquent, please send those dues to Linda directly: 10014 Willow Cove Rd., Huntsville , AL , 35803 .
Membership News
The Bibliographical Society of America has awarded the second triennial William L. Mitchell Prize for Bibliography or Documentary Work on Early British Periodicals or Newspapers to William E. Rivers (English Department, University of South Carolina ). Professor Rivers won for his edition of Nicholas Amhurst's Terrae-Filius or, The Secret History of the University of Oxford (1721-26), published by the University of Delaware Press in 2004.
Dorothy Medlin has published an article entitled “Andre Morellet, the Journal de Paris, and Le Publiciste, 1795-1807” in the July 2005 issue of Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century [Vol.7 (July 2005), pp. 3-94].
Belated congratulations are due Samia Spencer for recently editing volumes 313 and 314 of the venerable Dictionary of Literary Biography, titled Writers of the French Enlightenment (Volumes I and II, respectively). Other SEASEC members contributed to the volumes as well. Dorothy Medlin wrote the biographical piece for Andre Morellet (1727-1819); Jeff Loveland , Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-1788); and Felicia B. Sturtzer , Julie de Lespinasse (1732-1776).
SEASECS Journal
Contact Samia Spencer for institutional and individual subscriptions for New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century : Samia Spencer, The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Auburn University , Auburn , AL 36849 , spencsi@auburn.edu, or 334-844-6374.
2007 Meeting
Just a reminder, next year's conference will be a joint meeting with ASECS and held in Atlanta , Georgia . The particulars of the conference—specifically how SEASECS will maintain its own identity at the national conference—will be ironed out in Athens .
Future News
Please forward any important announcements to me, your Editor at derochij@winthrop.edu or 803-323-4577.
Secretarily yours, JD
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