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As I’ve blogged about before, I’m not all that big into making New Year’s Resolutions on and around January 1st. For me — and for many other academics I know — it is the start of the academic year that gets me thinking about what I would like to do differently, areas I can improve in, etc. The fresh start of a new school year always seems to me like a much better time to make these sort of grand plans than the snowy, cold days of early January do.
As I take stock at the end of the summer I am, for the first time in my academic career, pleased with the amount of work I did over the past 4 months. Did I get everything crossed off the very ambitious list I made back in May? No, but I got quite a bit of it done. I finished up a couple of very big, daunting tasks that have been hanging over my head for…oh…well, quite some time. I also got some new writing done and have reconnected with the research I’ve been wanting to work on for a while. I took a couple of vacation-style trips (camping and hiking! yay!), but didn’t travel extensively for research this summer. I stayed home and processed/worked on the research I’ve collected from places like the British Library and Library and Archives Canada over the past few summers. One of the things that was giving me a considerable amount of angst over the last few years was that I’d gathered all this great stuff but have not found time to really work with it. It was really great to get in to this material in a meaningful way this summer. I was chatting with a friend and colleague about this a few weeks ago, and she said that she thinks this is pretty standard. That you either have to commit to travel and visiting archives/research sites in a summer OR commit to writing and processing the research previously gathered.
At any rate, I’ve begun working through the material I collected over the past few summers and am starting to see the work I want to do on this subject come together in ways that continue to excite me. My resolution for this academic new year, then, is a simple one — to keep this momentum going through the fall term. In order to do that I know I need to protect my research days with as much vigour as I can possibly muster. Term started this week and I’m happy to report that I stubbornly clung to this plan in spite of the whirlwind of meetings and back-to-class activities that are taking place right now. Let’s see if I can make it last right through until my sabbatical begins in January!
A couple of new online sources for research on 19th century art & culture:
Nineteenth-century Scholarship Online
The Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource
In other exciting online news, the good folks over at ARTstor continue to add to build their collection of images, and have even partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to include more IAP images in the database. Very good news!
The Brock Review is seeking submissions for an upcoming general issue (Volume 11, Number 1). Articles that focus on any research topic in the Humanities will be considered for publication, but articles addressing interdisciplinary topics are especially encouraged. Creative pieces will also be considered for publication in this issue. Deadline for submissions to this general issue is September 30, 2009.
Please visit the journal website for article guidelines and submission instructions.
The Brock Review is an online refereed journal published by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.
I just returned from the ASLE conference in Victoria, B.C. This is my third ASLE, and it marked the first time this wonderful conference was held in Canada. The ASLE conferences are like no other conferences I’ve ever attended. I always leave these conferences feeling not only inspired, but refreshed. If there were such a thing as summer camp for academics this would be it. We talk about our research and teaching, attend workshops, hear inspiring plenary speakers and participate in panels. We also go hiking, bird watching, kayaking, etc. On any given evening during the conference you can stroll around campus and hear the sounds of ASLEers playing the guitar and singing. There are a significant number of conference-goers who appreciate the finer points of a good pint of beer. This is the kind of conference where you can strike up a conversation with a total stranger and end up making a new friend in a matter of minutes. The dress code is totally casual and there are always vegetarian/vegan options at the banquet. This conference is unpretentious, collegial, totally inspiring and I love it! Far too often I’ve witnessed conferences turn into pretentious pissing matches and I’ve just walked away in disgust. ASLE redeems my faith in academic culture.
I heard many good presentations during this ASLE conference, but I want to take a minute to mention one that stands out above all the rest — the plenary session that featured Greg Garrard and Cate Mortimer-Sandilands. From the outset, both speakers acknowledged that their work came out of very different theoretical and methodological traditions. I suppose they could have argued loudly with one another, stomping their feet and pointing out all the reasons why they felt that the other was wrong. But they didn’t. They opened the session by taking 10 minutes each to describe the significance and the importance of the other person’s work. These were generous and genuine tributes to the work of two scholars who have done so much for the field of ecocriticism. This was incredibly inspiring and I think it serves as a good reminder that differences in scholarly approaches need not result in academic incivility.
For more on the ASLE conference, see these very interesting blogs.
We hear the term Open Access a lot these days, and I’m excited by the number of journals that are using this publishing model. When we relaunched The Brock Review the decision to go with an online, Open Access format was almost an automatic one.
I am amazed at the perception that some people still cling to regarding the intellectual rigor of these journals. Papers published in Open Access journals still go out for peer review and there are still the same standards and expectations of the scholarship, the difference is that anyone with an internet connection (instead of anyone with an institutional password) can read the published articles. Isn’t this what sharing knowledge is all about?
I recently read a wonderfully thought-provoking blog post about Open Access over at Academic Evolution. In this post, the author talks about how Galileo embraced the idea of sharing knowledge and draws some interesting parallels between what was going on in Galileo’s time and our current situation. A very interesting read — be sure to check it out!
Last week I took my first-ever trip to the state of Massachusetts — I traveled with some colleagues to the ACLA Conference at Harvard. The format for the conference was pretty cool, and unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The presentations are grouped into seminars, and the seminars meet each day throughout the conference. So it really is like a bunch of small conferences going on at once, which allows for really in-depth and focused conversations on the topic. I was part of a panel that my colleague Linda organized. Our panel was called “Dead Things” and all the papers looked at cultural representations of death.
We also had time to be tourists in Boston. What a fabulous city!! Everyone we met — from the MBTA transit workers to the people working in the stores and restaurants — was incredibly friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed delicious food and the beer was exquisite!! (I don’t think I’ve ever tried so many delicious varieties of stout) Before we left I had made a list of the places I wanted to visit. Of course, we ran out of time, but some of the highlights we did manage to hit included: The Museum of Fine Arts, The Gardner, the beautiful Central Library, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History. We had pretty good weather while we were there (only one day of pouring rain), so we enjoyed walking around places like Boston Common and the Public Gardens as well.
Ok, so I’m a little behind schedule, but the sentiment is still there — happy 2009 and happy new academic term to all!
I celebrated the wrap of one year and the start of the next by finishing up two large projects (one which I have been working on by myself and one in which I have had a co-conspirator) that have been hanging over my head for ages. Well, I saw them through to the stage at which they are no longer in my hands and are being read/reviewed by others which, for the time being, is almost like being finished. For this moment they are out of sight and out of mind and I feel like I can turn my mind to new projects.
The projects which I shipped off have been many years in the making and I am finding a mix of both excitement and upheaval in having the mental space (to say nothing of the space on my desk!) to start working on new things. The problem that I am struggling with right now is one I’m sure many folks can relate to — I’ve got so many interests and so many topics I want to read, research and write about. How do I narrow it down to a manageable list? I’ve decided to focus on my upcoming conference papers with the view of turning them into publishable articles and then going from there. There’s also a topic/idea that just keeps rolling around and around in my brain, and it feels a little bit like having the lyrics to a song stuck in my head. I fear if I don’t jot down some ideas and spend some time working on this (even though it is not one of the upcoming conference presentations I’ll be giving) I might just go a little batty!
And speaking of conferences, I’m looking forward to what 2009 brings on this front. In addition to planning and preparing for the next instalment of Greenscapes in the fall, I’ll be presenting at 3 conferences in the coming months. First of all I’m indulging the “wannabe librarian” in me and heading off to the Ontario Library Association’s 2009 Super conference in Toronto where I will be co-presenting a paper (with a “real librarian”) on helping first year students develop research skills. Apparently the format of this conference is quite different than what I’m used to at Humanities conferences, so it should be interesting. Then I’m off to Boston for the ACLA conference. At that event I’m part of a panel that my colleague, Linda, organized on the theme of “Dead Things.” I’m going to speak on the anti-vivisection movement in Victorian Britain at that event. Then in June it is off to Victoria for my favourite conference in the whole world, ASLE. This year at ASLE I’m participating in a roundtable discussion on blogging. Neat-mosquito. (Thanks to jo(e) for setting that panel up.) So, I’m an art historian attending 2 literature conferences and a library conference — hooray for interdisciplinarity!
Big news at Brock today! Here’s the official scoop from the Brock website. I now am part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. 
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Marilyn I. Walker donates $15 million to Brock University
Nov. 5, 2008
Brock University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts renamed after celebrated artist and philanthropist.
Renowned Canadian fibre artist Marilyn Walker has donated $15 million to Brock University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts — the largest donation the University has ever received. The gift is particularly remarkable as it is made in a climate marked by economic uncertainty and waning support for the arts.
Marilyn Walker is an award-winning fibre artist, author, teacher and philanthropist; she is also an active supporter of the arts and arts education across Canada, and at Brock University in particular. In tribute to the artist, Brock will rename its Arts School the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.
The entire $15 million will be endowed in perpetuity to support building the school’s programs, enhancing its facilities and positioning it to be one of the best in North America, if not the world. The school is committed to top-quality learning and research — and toward the creation of a world-class arts facility.
“Marilyn Walker has been instrumental in the cultural revitalization of the Niagara region,” said Jack N. Lightstone, President, Brock University. “Her commitment to improve the quality of life at the school, in the community and across the region is inspiring. The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will attract the very best to Brock, create positive economic impact for St. Catharines and Niagara and serve as a tribute to a great Canadian artist and arts advocate. We are deeply appreciative of her support and thoughtful consideration.”
Rosemary Hale, Dean, Faculty of Humanities, explained “With this transformational donation, Brock will strengthen its commitment to artistic education and research and engage the community at large by transforming its School of Fine and Performing Arts into a world-class arts centre. Students in theatre, music, movement, fine art, and multimedia across Canada will have a home here that ranks among the best in the world. This gift will allow the School of Fine and Performing Arts, in the Faculty of Humanities, to build intellectual capacity in a permanent home.”
Marilyn Walker is among Canada’s most generous philanthropists. She has dedicated time and resources toward improving the quality of life for the residents of Niagara, most notably in the areas of education, art and health. Marilyn Walker is a recognized authority on Canadian quilts and has lectured widely on the artistic, historic and cultural significance of quilts across Canada and the United States.
Marilyn herself states, “In quilting and in life, people should be allowed freedom of speech and freedom of art.”
Marilyn Walker’s generous gift, made at a time when overall economic health and support for the arts is weakening, demonstrates her life-long commitment to art, education and community, and will encourage both students and faculty to push the boundaries of academic convention at Brock University.
For more information, please contact:
* Jeffrey Sinibaldi, Media Relations Officer, Brock University, 905-688-5550, ext. 4687; jsinibaldi@brocku.ca
* Liz Armstrong, FLIP PUBLICITY, 416-533-7710, ext. 237; liz@flip-publicity.com
I just got back from a conference in Montreal — it was a very interesting event and I’d like to blog about it in more detail once I’ve unpacked and had some sleep. As I unwind tonight, however, I want to blog about graffiti. Specifically, I want to blog about how interesting graffiti in the bathrooms of campuses can be. I’m not talking about the boring “AB + DC = 4-EVER” kind of graffiti but, rather, the scrawled dialogues about politics, the environment, gender, etc. that are often found in campus bathrooms. (Perhaps this happens in other locales too, but in my experience this tends to be a university or college phenomenon.) It is especially fascinating when one person’s scribbles spark a whole range of replies. I remember one particular bathroom at the U of A in which two sharpie-wielding members of the campus community carried on an extensive debate about abortion for weeks. It was fascinating — more so for the venue and manner in which this debate was carried out than in what was specifically being said.
I noticed this weekend that the bathrooms at Concordia had some pretty interesting material as well. Environmental politics seem to dominate these bathroom walls at the moment — a reflection of the greening of political debates in a wider sense? As I read the Concordia graffiti it struck me that I haven’t encountered this sort of thing at Brock. At first I wondered if it was maybe a phenomenon exclusive to large urban campuses, but then I remembered that Queen’s University had its fair share of politically-engaged bathroom graffiti. Now, I’d never suggest students vandalize campus property, but I sure am curious about the reasons for this absence. Maybe it happens, but just not in the parts of the campus that I tend to frequent. Perhaps I don’t see this kind of graffiti because we have an especially diligent custodial staff at Brock. Are Brock students finding other fora in which to express their political views? I believe I may have to conduct some research into this.
Greenscapes ~ Sense and Meaning:
Fields of Dreams (Landscapes of Myth and Imagination)
October 1-3, 2009, Brock University
Our landscapes have long been the unconscious repository of cultural hopes, fears and desires. From the Garden of Eden to Aboriginal Dreamtime, societies have perceived their surrounding natural environment to express cultural values reflected in their myths, legends, sacred texts and belief systems. The occupation, transition, or representation of landscape constitutes an imaginative exercise for both subject and object. Yet imagination is not a consciously controllable process, and dreams can be unsettling portents as well as expressions of wish-fulfillment. We welcome papers that explore landscapes of myth and imagination in real and virtual sites, literary texts, images, and installations and invite proposals on the following topics:
• Landscapes of allusion (texts, myths, folktales, legends)
• Sacred and Secular Utopias
• Profane imagination: ruin, decay and social transgression
• Gardens of the ‘first time’: origin myths and social legends
• Dream landscapes: fear, desire, and exploring the unconscious
Please send abstracts (up to 250 words) and a brief biography to greenscapes@brocku.ca by January 5, 2009.
The conference will take place at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario. Giles Blunt, author of Forty Words for Sorrow, The Delicate Storm, and Black Fly Season, will deliver the opening keynote on the subject of landscape and fiction.
Conference organizers: Keri Cronin (Visual Arts, Brock University), David Galbraith (Royal Botanical Gardens), Sharilyn J. Ingram (School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University), Leah Knight (English Language and Literature, Brock University), Katharine T. von Stackelberg (Classics, Brock University).
We acknowledge with gratitude the support of the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.
For more information, please visit www.brocku.ca/greenscapes
