UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jessie Erickson, professor, bibliographer and researcher in the study of special collections at the University of Delaware will serve as the distinguished speaker for the 2019 Charles W. Mann Jr. Lecture in the Book Arts, at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, on Penn State’s University Park Campus. A reception following the lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.
Erickson’s lecture will provide an in-depth ethnobibliographic examination of the works of Victorian author Ouida (1839-1908), considering the following questions: How has this previously bestselling author's exclusion from the Western canon influenced the material nuances of her bibliographic afterlives? How did her own views on race and ethnicity shape her vision for commodifying her art? How did evolving ideas about race in different global markets of the period transform the physical makeup of varying editions of her work? By grappling with such questions, the lecture will explore the ways in which racial consciousness can affects one's interaction and engagement with a text through not only its textual contents but also its textual materiality.
Erickson, coordinator of Special Collections and Digital Humanities, associate professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, and assistant director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware, holds a doctorate in Information Sciences from UCLA. His research focuses in ethnobibliography, alternative printing and non-canonical textuality, African-American print culture and the transnational printing history of the works of Ouida.
The Charles W. Mann Jr. Lecture in the Book Arts is named in honor of the first Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair for Special Collections in the University Libraries. This annual event, featuring scholars with academic research areas connected to the materials held in the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, is supported by the Mary Louise Krumrine Endowment.
The event is also available for livestream viewing on Mediasite Live. For additional information, or if attendees anticipate needing physical accommodations or have questions about access provided, contact Clara Drummond at cjd86@psu.edu or 814-863-5388 in advance of the event.