MSU President's Column for Traill County Tribune

November 22, 2014  

Conference on Early British Literature will provide scholarly opportunities

 

We are excited to be hosting the 2015 Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature at Mayville State on April 10 and 11. Erin Lord Kunz, MSU assistant professor of English and writing program administrator, is organizing the two-day event.

Dr. Lynn Arner of Brock University, St. Catharine’s, Ontario, will give the plenary address. Dr. Arner is trained in late medieval English literature, critical theory, British cultural studies, feminist theory, and gender studies. She recently published Chaucer, Gower, and the Vernacular Rising: Poetry and the Problem of the Populace After 1381. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Arner and British Literature scholars from across the region to the 2015 Northern Plains Conference.

Erin Lord Kunz is currently accepting 200- to 300-word abstracts from those who wish to make presentations at the conference. Those selected will be grouped by theme and given 15 to 20 minutes for presentation. Conference participants will be given the opportunity to have their papers published in the conference proceedings.

The conference offers meaningful intellectual opportunities for Mayville State University students. They have been invited to submit proposals, and if selected, they will make presentations during the conference. In addition, the Saturday conference itinerary includes a round table discussion on Early British Literature particularly geared toward undergraduates. Dr. Arner will also be holding a round table discussion about gender issues in the university, which is open to undergraduates, and students may sit in on any of the lectures if they so choose.

For more than 22 years, the Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature has established a tradition of convivial, stimulating conferences which focus on teaching and scholarship from the beginnings of British Literature through the 18th Century. Papers on all aspects of teaching, interpretation, and research on Early British Literature are invited for the yearly conference.

Leaders of the Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature include Lysbeth Benkert-Rasmussen, Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D.; Bruce Brandt, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.; Glenn Davis, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minn.; Bob DeSmith, Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa; Elizabeth Haller, Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D.; Stephen Hamrick, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, Minn.; Matthew Harkins, College of Saint Benedict, St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.; and Wesley Hellman, University of Mary, Bismarck, N.D.

We are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring this important scholarly activity to Mayville State University. It is our pleasure to host those who will attend the conference, and we are happy that the conference will offer our students the opportunity to network with scholars from across the region.