Midwest Conference on British Studies 2011: Registration, Hotel, and Program

Dear MWCBS Members and Friends,

I am pleased to invite you to the annual Midwest Conference on British Studies, 4-6 November 2011.   Our meeting is at the historic Hulman & Company building (900 Wabash Avenue) in downtown Terre Haute.  Our host is Indiana State University, and our conference will run simultaneously with the Midwest American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.  The Hilton Garden Inn (750 Wabash Avenue) is offering a discounted conference rate for MWCBS attendees.

In addition to our annual reception and luncheon, we have some exciting changes to the conference schedule this year.  We are adding a second reception on Saturday evening at which we will present the Walter L. Arnstein Graduate Student Paper Award. And, because of the high levels of interest in the conference and the quality of the papers, we have decided to run four simultaneous panels instead of three.  Finally, we have moved our registration process online.  That way, if you wish to register using your credit card, you can.  We are using the same system as the North American Conference on British Studies, so for many of you, the interface should be familiar.

We will hold our annual Friday reception jointly with the MWASECS, and our plenary speaker will be Professor Paula Backscheider, Philpott-Stevens Eminent Scholar at Auburn University.  Professor Backscheider specializes in Restoration and eighteenth-century literature, feminist criticism, and cultural studies.   She is the author of several books including Daniel Defoe: His Life; Spectacular Politics; Reflections on Biography; and Eighteenth-Century Women Poets and their Poetry: Inventing Agency, Inventing Genre.

Our Saturday luncheon keynote speaker will be Professor Peter Bailey, Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba.  Professor Bailey specializes in the social and cultural history of modern Britain; leisure, popular culture and sexuality; Victorian music hall and the twentieth century variety stage; and jazz in Britain.  His publications include Leisure and Class in Victorian England; Popular Culture and Performance in the Victorian City; and Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure.

If you would like to see the MWCBS 2011 program, you can download it as a .pdf.  Please keep in mind that while the schedule is confirmed, the program is a draft and there may be a few slight adjustments in the coming weeks.

To register for the conference, please visit the Regonline interface.*  The conference fees are as follows:

Early Registration (through 30 September): $70.00
Regular Registration (after 30 September): $80.00
Early Registration for Graduate Students (through 30 September): $50.00
Regular Registration for Graduate Students (after 30 September): $60.00

Luncheon: $25.00
Receptions are open to registered MWCBS attendees

* all panelists are required to register

To reserve a hotel room at the discounted MWCBS rate of $99.00 plus taxes and fees, please contact the Hilton Garden Inn by calling (812) 234-8900.  They will have discounted rates on 3-5 November.  We encourage to you to book by telephone.  According to the hotel, people can book online, but the MWCBS rate cannot be assured.

As you can see, the MWCBS 2011 will be full of interesting panels and social activities.  This is due to the hard work of our Program Committee and Local Arrangements Chairs.  For their work in putting together a stellar line-up of panels, I would like to thank Lia Paradis, Chair of the Program Committee, and the Program Committee members, Gene Beiriger, Lori Campbell, Essaka Joshua, Chris Otter, and Anne Rodrick.  I would also like to thank our Local Arrangements Chairs, Isaac Land and Kit Kincade. who have accomplished the difficult task of finding great locations for our events and keeping our registration costs down.  Finally, I would like to thank ISU’s Schick Lecture Series Committee and Chris Olsen, Chair of ISU’s History Department for their generous support.

I very much look forward to seeing all of you in Terre Haute in November.  Please be sure to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jason M. Kelly
Associate Professor of British History, IUPUI
President, Midwest Conference on British Studies

School of Liberal Arts
Indiana University
Department of History, IUPUI
Cavanaugh Hall 503N
425 University Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140

telephone: 317.274.1689
fax: 317.278.7800
email: jaskelly@iupui.edu

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