For immediate useNov. 25, 1997 -- No. 886

Early art history, literature topics of academic conference

By ERIC MAY
UNC-CH News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The departments of English and art history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will host the fifth annual meeting of the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies Dec. 4-6 at the Omni Europa Hotel.

The three-day conference, “The Sites of Culture: Early Modern Culture 1450-1850,” will include presentations on English and French art history and literature of the Renaissance and the 18th and 19th centuries.

“The presentations will cover all aspects of culture across these time periods,” said Dr. James Thompson, professor of English and a conference organizer. “We'll also have some workshops on teaching this subject matter at the university level.”

About 300 professors and graduate students of English and art history from around the world will attend the conference, which is open to the public. Hours will be Thursday, 6-8:30 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

A political activism workshop on Thursday will include presentations by Elizabeth Murry of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Daniel Kanstroom of Boston College.

Friday's sessions include “Shakespeare and Early Modern Skepticism,” with presentations by Lawrence F. Rhu of the University of South Carolina and Stephen Doloff of the Pratt Institute; and “Cultural Studies and the Undergraduate Classroom” by UNC-CH graduate students Todd Butler and Karen E. Bruhn.

On Saturday, topics will include “Late Modern Fiction,” “American Rights and Collectives” and a workshop on teaching Renaissance literature.

For more information, call Dr. James Thompson at 962-4056, or Jane Degenhardt at 932-5588.

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News Services contact: Laura J. Toler, 962-8589