Things Matter:

The Department’s Graduate English Students Association (GESA) continued the annual tradition of hosting a graduate conference this spring. This year’s theme, “Thing[s] Matter,” provoked graduate students from across the globe to submit papers on the topic of commodities and the rise of material culture. The conference was aimed at understanding the role of “things” in contemporary literary and cultural studies, as well as our close relationships to commodities in the past. In an atmosphere of stimulating intellectual exchange, participants presented their papers and engaged in discussion with audience members.

The 2008 conference, which took place March 13th-14th, had its beginnings in the fall of 2007. Members of GESA met and discussed topics of interest until deciding on “thing theory” as this year’s subject matter. Previous topics have included “Out of Bounds: Space, Play, and Borders” in 2005, with Susan Stanford Friedman of the University of Wisconsin as keynote speaker, and “Improvisation” in 2007, with keynote speaker Brent Hayes Edwards of Rutgers University.

This year distinguished scholar Bill Brown, Professor of English at the University of Chicago, delivered the keynote address. He also gave a multimedia presentation on “Objects, Others, and Us,” which President of GESA Amanda Sigler comments “was compelling and led to invigorating discussion.”

Brown’s theoretical work on “thing theory,” particularly in his second book, A Sense of Things, published in 2003, inspired the subject. Graduate student Sean Cullen first conceived of organizing the conference around thing theory, an emergent mode of criticism that, as Peter Tiegland, the organizer of the conference, notes, “allowed for all areas of literary and cultural studies to participate.”

After finalizing the topic and ensuring the attendance of Bill Brown, GESA sent out a call for papers to different universities. Amanda Sigler remarks, “we had an exceptionally large number of presenters coming from other universities—which adds variety to our conference.” GESA members were happy to see a strong response in the number and scope of the papers that they received. After sorting out the abstracts, all that was left was the matter of organizing the different panels. “We wanted to bring together papers which were the most complimentary with one another, but would also produce the best discussions,” says Peter Tiegland.

Ultimately, organizers put together thirteen panels, with titles ranging from “Object Matters in 18th Century British Literature” to “Texts and Technology,” “Renaissance Objects,” and “Things Today.” Each panel featured three to four graduate students presenting on different texts and themes within their field. A moderator, usually a U.Va. English graduate student, facilitated conversation on each of the panels by leading discussion. This format provided the participants, and audience members as well, with the opportunity to incorporate the different ideas of each paper into an intellectual exchange reflecting back on “thing theory.” Amanda Sigler comments, “it is very rewarding to engage in productive dialogue with colleagues who are pursuing similar work—or sometimes strikingly different work—at other academic institutions across the nation.”

The conference encourages participation from U.Va. students, even those outside the English department, as well as students from other universities. Although a large number of the presenters are U.Va.’s own English graduate students, this year’s conference attracted students from a variety of universities, including Georgetown University, Cornell University, the University of Massachusetts, and Yale University. This diverse gathering fosters relationships amongst students and scholars at different universities.

The conference also provides a supportive venue for graduate students to present their ideas. This way, students “both receive feedback on their own work,” states Sigler, “and hear about research being conducted by their colleagues here and at other universities.”

U.Va. graduate student Jessica Barrett presented a paper for the first time at the conference. She had written a seminar paper thematically linked to thing theory, which she then modified to deal more directly with the subject. “Conference participation is a crucial step toward professionalization” states Barrett. “Our conference is an ideal place to begin presenting. It is a rewarding way to join in dialogue with your peers and to contribute to the greater body of work in your area.”

It also provides the opportunity to network with other scholars. The exchanges made possible by the conference, Sigler comments, “result in conversations that begin in panels and often extend to receptions, dinners, and other profitable venues.” Members of GESA and conference participants, in fact, went out with Bill Brown after the conference and continued the conversations that the event made possible. Peter Tiegland points to this as proof of “a very successful outcome.”

The conference also gives increased visibility to the English Department. “When we send out a call for papers,” notes Tiegland, “other universities hear about what students at U.Va. are thinking about.”

GESA members are grateful to have departmental support for this annual event. Everyone involved with the conference patiently worked on the time-consuming details for several months to achieve the successful two-day event. Participants and audience members alike remarked that the conference experience was enriching. “For future conferences” presenter Jessica Barrett comments, “I would recommend attending panels in your areas of interest, even if you can’t deliver your own paper. It can be fun to see what everyone else is working on.”