March 27, 2014
Author Eric Lott to speak at conference
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Association of English Graduate Instructors and Students -- otherwise known as AEGIS -- at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will host its eighth annual conference on Saturday, March 29. The event is open to the public.
The conference is in the Student Center with sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and again from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. This year’s theme is “Trials, Transgressions, Taboos.” The conference features paper presentations, particularly on interdisciplinary topics, touching on “trials, transgressions, and taboos” in literature, cinema, the writing process, and popular culture and art.
Keynote speaker Eric Lott will present “Obama Unchained,” in Parkinson Hall’s Browne Auditorium at 2 p.m.
Lott is a professor of English at the University of Virginia. His research specialties are 19th and 20th century American and African American literature, critical theory and cultural studies. Lott is the author of the 2006 book, “The Disappearing Liberal Intecllectual.” His 1993 book, “Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class,” earned several awards, including the inaugural “Best First Book” award from the Modern Language Association. Lott’s articles about music and cultural history appear in publications including “American Quarterly,” “Comparative American Studies,” and “American Literary History.”
The departments of English and Africana Studies, the School of Journalism, and the Graduate Professional Student Council sponsor the event.