The North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA)’s annual conference was held in London, Ontario over the weekend. The conference brought together scholars from around the world to consider the ideas of class and classification in the Victorian period, resulting in a wide array of engaging papers.
For my own contribution, I presented on Jesus and Adam Bede, in which I argued that Eliot constructs a vision of Jesus through Adam that is shaped by both Strauss and Feuerbach, modeling a way of recuperating Christian thought and particularly the character of Jesus for a post-miraculous age. The paper was tremendously well-received and provoked great discussion during the question and answer period. I was questioned on Adam’s hymn-singing, which allowed me to discuss a significant formal link between Adam as an open, transformable Jesus and his never-completed hymns. I was also asked about the significance of grounding divinity in the human being rather than in relationality. This opened up space to discuss how Eliot actually improves on Feuerbach by providing justification for human sympathy and love that is grounded in actual people rather than ideals, which is very much in keeping with her aesthetic vision. And, after the panel, Joy Dixon thanked me for my paper and my attention to theological nuance, which was delightful feedback, to be sure!
During the conference, I attended a number of great panels and met some amazing scholars. The panel on “Genre and the Classification of the Real,” featuring papers by Cannon Schmitt, Carolyn Williams, and Dino Franco Felluga and Emily Allen, was packed (standing room only) and was a helpful look at the nuances of the Victorian classification of the “real” in literature. On another panel, Elaine Hadley issued an inspiring call for a return to questions of class and the economic ideologies that shape such ideas, particularly in light of the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Apart from the panels, the conference was a wonderful time to connect with scholars from around the world. Natasha Moore from the Centre for Public Christianity and Richa Dwor from the University of Leichester were both wonderful conversation partners in terms of my work and Victorian studies generally. I also had the opportunity to re-connect with Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, whose paper on the late-Victorian “Bands of Mercy” (a cross between Scouts and Sunday School, organized to promote animal welfare) was absolutely fascinating. With such colleagues, I am truly excited for future NAVSA conferences.
The North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA)’s annual conference was held in London, Ontario over the weekend. The conference brought together scholars from around the world to consider the ideas of class and classification in the Victorian period, resulting in a wide array of engaging papers.
For my own contribution, I presented on Jesus and Adam Bede, in which I argued that Eliot constructs a vision of Jesus through Adam that is shaped by both Strauss and Feuerbach, modeling a way of recuperating Christian thought and particularly the character of Jesus for a post-miraculous age. The paper was tremendously well-received and provoked great discussion during the question and answer period. I was questioned on Adam’s hymn-singing, which allowed me to discuss a significant formal link between Adam as an open, transformable Jesus and his never-completed hymns. I was also asked about the significance of grounding divinity in the human being rather than in relationality. This opened up space to discuss how Eliot actually improves on Feuerbach by providing justification for human sympathy and love that is grounded in actual people rather than ideals, which is very much in keeping with her aesthetic vision. And, after the panel, Joy Dixon thanked me for my paper and my attention to theological nuance, which was delightful feedback, to be sure!
During the conference, I attended a number of great panels and met some amazing scholars. The panel on “Genre and the Classification of the Real,” featuring papers by Cannon Schmitt, Carolyn Williams, and Dino Franco Felluga and Emily Allen, was packed (standing room only) and was a helpful look at the nuances of the Victorian classification of the “real” in literature. On another panel, Elaine Hadley issued an inspiring call for a return to questions of class and the economic ideologies that shape such ideas, particularly in light of the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Apart from the panels, the conference was a wonderful time to connect with scholars from around the world. Natasha Moore from the Centre for Public Christianity and Richa Dwor from the University of Leichester were both wonderful conversation partners in terms of my work and Victorian studies generally. I also had the opportunity to re-connect with Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, whose paper on the late-Victorian “Bands of Mercy” (a cross between Scouts and Sunday School, organized to promote animal welfare) was absolutely fascinating. With such colleagues, I am truly excited for future NAVSA conferences.