Papers will be presented in three plenary panels, each followed by an hour of moderated discussion.  The conference will conclude with a Roundtable to reflect further on the past, present and future of Victorian studies.  All invited; please RSVP to kcurren@umich.edu by 15 Mar 2008.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY APRIL 18, 2008

1:00 Welcome
Terrence J. McDonald, Dean of College of Literature, Science and Arts
Sidonie Smith, Chair of Department of English Language and Literature

1:30-3:30 Panel I
“The Industrial Muse”: New Approaches to Victorian Culture
Chair: Patrick Brantlinger, Indiana University

1. “Our Poor Students; or, The March of Intellect in the Butchering Line.”
Brian McCuskey, Utah State University

2. “Musing on the Margin: How The Industrial Muse Opened the Way for Anglo-Jewish Literary Studies.”
Meri-Jane Rochelson, Florida International University

3.  “Whose Industrial Muse?”
Charles LaPorte, University of Washington

4. “Of Marthas, Muses, and Male Impersonators: Changes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Theater Studies.”
Geri Maschio, University of Kentucky

3:30-4:00 Coffee Break

4:00-6:00 Panel II
“Independent Women”: New Approaches to Feminist Studies
Chair: Susan Gubar, Indiana University

1. “Beyond Boundaries: Defining a Transatlantic Notion of Victorian Feminist Studies.”
Catherine Golden, Skidmore College

2. “Chef or Cook? The Developing Voice of Women Culinary Experts and Their Ongoing Legacy.”
Andrea Broomfield, Johnson County Community College

3. “Faith and Belief as Categories in Feminist History.”
Jacqueline DeVries, Augsburg College

4. “Interdependent Women: Feminism and Intimacy.”
Emily Harrington, Pennsylvania State University

6:00-9:00 Dinner Buffet

SATURDAY APRIL 19, 2008

9:30-11:30 Panel III
“Intimate Friends”: New Approaches to the History of Sexuality

Chair: Joseph Bristow, UCLA

1. “Women and Intimacy Revisited.”
Melanie Hawthorne, Texas A&M University

2. “(Re)Doing the History of (Male) Homosexuality.”
Helmut Puff, University of Michigan

3. “Sex and Social History: Teaching and Publishing on Sexuality in the Trenches.” Ginger Frost, Samford University

4. “Still Hidden From History: Gay Studies in the 21st Century.”
George Robb, William Paterson University

11:30-12:00: Lunch Buffet

12:00-1:30: Roundtable Discussion

For further information contact: Lucy Hartley (lhartl@umich.edu), Yopie Prins (yprins@umich.edu), or Adela Pinch (apinch@umich.edu)

Generous support for “The Future of Victorian Studies” provided by: Department of English, College of Literature, Science and the Arts, Office of the Vice President for Research, Rackham School of Graduate Studies, Nineteenth Century Forum, Department of History, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies,  Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and Department of Women’s Studies.