Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Publication of Little Women with Daniel Shealy — One hundred and fifty years ago this fall the Boston publisher Roberts Brothers brought out the first volume of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, one of the most influential books in the history of American children’s literature. Robert Brothers published the second volume in April 1869, which is why the sesquicentennial celebrations surrounding the publication of Little Women run through 2018 and 2019.
UNC Charlotte’s Atkins Library and the English Department are collaborating on our own sesquicentennial celebration of the publication of Little Women with the help of Daniel Shealy. This celebration involves an exhibit of rare Louisa May Alcott publications from the library’s Special Collections Department as well as a public reception and presentation by Daniel on the history of Little Women. The reception and presentation will take place on Thursday, November 29, in Atkins Library’s Halton Room from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Since Alcott was born on November 29, 1832, the reception/presentation will take place on Alcott’s birthday.
Widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on Louisa May Alcott, Daniel Shealy has published numerous books that relate to Alcott and her writings, including The Journals of Louisa May Alcott, The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott, and Alcott in Her Own Time. His most recent book, Little Women: An Annotated Edition, was published by Harvard University Press. Daniel drew on his expertise when he wrote the notes that accompany the materials that are now on exhibit in the display cases on the main floor of Atkins Library.
Although not nearly as extensive as the exhibit at Atkins Library, the English Department has also installed a small exhibit related to Little Women in the display case in the department’s lobby area. This exhibit includes copies of various editions of Little Women as well as a selection of Daniel’s books.
I encourage everyone to examine the Alcott materials that are now on exhibit and attend Daniel’s presentation on November 29. This is the sort of opportunity that only comes around about every 150 years, so you don’t want to miss it.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department. Here is the latest news:
Meghan Barnes recently presented the following two papers at the NCTE Conference: “Raising Student Voice Is Hard!: Balancing Time, Testing, and Administrative Demands with Community-Based Pedagogies” and “Challenging the Stories Around Us: Teacher-Candidates Talk Back to the Social (In)Justices in Young Adult Literature.”
Boyd Davis recently presented the following two co-authored papers at the Language and Society Conference held in Wellington, New Zealand: “Mode Shifts in the Language of Speakers with Early-Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease” and “Māori Narratives in English: A Different Style of Story Telling.” Also, she has agreed be on the Editorial Board for the new edition of Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions (Elsevier.)
Alan Rauch recently presented a paper titled “The Tragedy of the Victorian Commons: Environmental Hope and Despair in Richard Jefferies and W. H. Hudson” at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA) in Toronto.
Daniel Shealy recently chaired a roundtable panel titled “‘Yours for Reform of All Kinds’: Louisa May Alcott and the Public Humanities” at the Society for the Study of American Women Writers in Denver, Colorado.
Upcoming Events and Meetings — Here is a list of upcoming events and meetings:
November 29 — Public reception and presentation by Daniel on the history of Little Women will take place on Thursday, November 29, in Atkins Library’s Halton Room from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
November 30 — Department Meeting, 11-12:30, in the conference room (Fretwell 280C).
November 30 — ELC Faculty Meet and Greet, 12:30-1:30 in the faculty lounge (Fretwell 248C).
November 30 — Faculty Talk – Pilar Blitvich, “Smart Mobs, CyberPublic Shaming, and Social Justice,” 1:00-2:00pm in the English Department Conference Room.
November 30 — There will be a gathering in celebration of the life of Dr. Julian D. Mason, Professor Emeritus at 3:00pm in the seminar room (Fretwell 290B).
Quirky Quiz Question — Little Women focuses on the four March sisters. What are the first names of these four sisters?
Last week’s answer: Inspector Clouseau