Society of Early Americanists

An Archive of SECAS Activities

"SECAS Sessions,"
being a series of panels (often interdisciplinary
and always stimulating) staged by the

SOCIETY FOR EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN STUDIES

1991-99

(For detailed lists of participants, click [under construction]) "Colloquy with the Authors: Sentiment and the Early American Novel" at first national conference of SEA, the Society of Early Americanists ñ Charleston, March 1999

"Furnishings and Fashion: Material Culture in the Early Americas" at ASECS, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies ñ Milwaukee, March 1999

"Religious Rebellions and Renewals in Eighteenth-Century America" for ASECS ñ Notre Dame, April 1998

"ëEarly Americaní Literature: Theory and Its Discontents" for "GEMCS," the Group for Early-Modern Cultural Studies ñ Chapel Hill, December 1997

"Writing Home: The Language of Families in Eighteenth-Century America" at NEASECS, the northeastern affiliate of ASECS ñ Worcester, MA, September 1996

"The ëWideí Eighteenth Century: North America, the British Isles, and the West Indies" for ASECS ñ Nashville, April 1997

"Imagining Community in Early America" for ASECS ñ Austin, March 1996

Two sessions jointly sponsored by SECAS and the SEA at SEASECS, the southeastern affiliate of ASECS ñ Tallahassee, March 1996: "Narrativity and Captivity in Early America" and "Authors and Authorship in Early America"

"Southern Identity in Eighteenth-Century America" for ASECS ñ Charleston, April 1994

"Domesticity Before, During and After the American Revolution" for ASECS ñ Seattle, March 1992

"Representations and Misrepresentations of Eighteenth-Century America" for ASECS ñPittsburgh, April 1991

"Colloquy with the Authors: Sentiment and the Early American Novel," organizer Dennis Moore, at first national SEA conference ñ Charleston, March 1999: a discussion involving these panelists and the audience:

Elizabeth Barnes (English, College of William and Mary), author of States of Sympathy: Seduction and Democracy in the American Novel

Bruce Burgett (American Studies, University of Washington, Bothell), author of Sentimental Bodies: Sex, Gender and Citizenship in the Early Republic

Philip B. Gould (English, Brown University), author of Covenant and Republic: Historical Romance and the Politics of Puritanism

Dennis Moore, moderator

Julia Stern (English, Northwestern University), author of The Plight of Feeling: Sympathy and Dissent in the Early American Novel

"Furnishings and Fashion: Material Culture in the Early Americas" organizer Dennis Moore, at ASECS, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies ñ Milwaukee, March 1999: "The Art of Dying Well: Material Culture of the American Puritan Funeral" ñ Susanna W. Gold (University of Pennsylvania

"ëAll Had Glovesí: Death, Friendship and Gentility in Provincial New England"
ñ Sheila McIntyre, Ottowa, and Stephen Bullock, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

"Dressed to Dazzle: Costuming a Heroine for the American Stage"
ñ Christine Jones Huber (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Response: Ann Smart Martin, Chipstone Professor of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Religious Rebellions and Renewals in Eighteenth-Century America," organizer Frank Shuffelton, at ASECS, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies ñ Notre Dame, April 1998: "The Kiethian Controversy and the Formation of Society in the Early Delaware Region, 1692-1710" ñ Jeffrey B. Webb (University of Chicago)

"Comparative Views of the Great Awakening" ñ Chris Beckham (Murray State University)

"The New England Primer Evangecalized" ñ Gillian Brown (University of Utah)

"Plain Tales and Imperial Ornaments: The Role of Embellishment in Richard Steeleís ëInkle & Yaricoí" ñ Robert P. Devens (State University of New York, Buffalo)

"ëEarly Americaní Literature: Theory and Its Discontents," organizer Dennis Moore, for "GEMCS," the Group for Early-Modern Cultural Studies ñ Chapel Hill, December 1997: discussion involving these panelists and the audience: Michael Clark (English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine)

Katharine Walke Gillespie (English, Sam Houston State University)

Philip F. Gura, Editor, Early American Literature (English and American Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill)

Dennis Moore, moderator

Julia Stern (English, Northwestern University)

Edward S. Watts (American Thought and Language, Michigan State University)

"The ëWideí Eighteenth Century: North America, the British Isles, and the West Indies," organizer Maj. Thomas H. Krise, National Defense University, for ASECS ñ Nashville, April 1997 "Plain Tales and Imperial Ornaments: The Role of Embellishment in Richard Steeleís ëInkle & Yaricoí" ñ Robert P. Devens (State University of New York, Buffalo)

"The Interesting Narrative of English Nationalism: Equianoís Journey to Identity" ñ Jane Elizabeth Dougherty (Tufts University)

"The Burning of the Whore of Babylon: Remembering November 5, 1605-1765" ñ Roark Atkinson (Indiana University)

Response: Tom Krise

"Imagining Community in Early America," organizer Dennis Moore, for ASECS ñ Nashville, March 1996 "ëIndependence is the only BOND that can tye and keep us togetherí: Searching for a New National Identity in Common Sense" ñ Felicia Smith-Kleiner (New York University)

"Imagining Jefferson in the Community of Scholars" ñ Helena Woodard (University of Texas)

"A Lady Who Sheds No Tears: Liberty, Contagion, and the Demise of Fraternity in Ormond" ñ Julia A. Stern (Northwestern University)

Response: the audience

Two sessions jointly sponsored by SECAS and the Society of Early Americanists at SEASECS, the southeastern affiliate of ASECS ñ Tallahassee, March 1996: "Narrativity and Captivity in Early America"
"An ëAmericaní Genre? Indian Captivity, Narrativity, and Creole Identity in Mary Rowlandson and Francisco Nunez de Pineda y Bascunan" ñ Ralph Bauer (Michigan State University)

"Mary Rowlandson: Discourse, Narrative, and Captivity Accounts" ñ Frank Shuffelton

"America Capta: Captivity as the American Contribution to European Culture" ñ Ormond Seavey (George Washington University)

Moderator: Michelle Burnham (Auburn University)

"Authors and Authorship in Early America"
"Daniel Dentonís A Brief Description of New York: A Response to the Phenomenal World of America" ñ Rosalie Murphy Baum (University of South Florida)

"The Matter of Mercy Warren, or, The Author is a Mother" -- Jeffrey Richards (Old Dominion University)

"To Deceive the World: Hugh Henry Brackenridgeís Modern Chivalry" -- Ned Watts

Moderator: Frank Shuffelton

"Southern Identity in Eighteenth-Century America," organizer Daniel E. Williams (University of Mississippi), for ASECS ñ Charleston, April 1994: "From Charlestown, New Hampshire, to Charleston, South Carolina: Benjamin Westís Flight from War, 1777-1778" ñ Laura Kennelly (University of North Texas)

"From Factor to Factor: Satire, Mercantilism, and the Language of Representation in The Sot-Weed Factor" -- Grantland Rice (Brandeis University)

"Dangerous Arts: Travelersí Recognitions of African-American Culture" -- Frank Shuffelton

Moderator: Dan Williams

"Domesticity Before, During and After the American Revolution," organizer Dennis Moore, for ASECS ñ Seattle, March 1992: "The Female Closet, the Male Estate: Gendered Territories in Wieland" -- Irene Fizer (University of Pennsylvania)

"ëI would not so far trespass on your authorityí: Wives and Other Subversives in Crèvecoeur" -- Dennis Moore

"ëThe Age of Romanceí: Revolutionary Women" -- Shirley Samuels (Cornell University)

"Domesticity and the Private Writings of Eighteenth-Century American Women: The Poetics of ëInterruptibilityí" -- Sharon M. Harris (University of Nebraska)

Moderator: Rosalie Murphy Baum (University of South Florida)

"Representations and Misrepresentations of Eighteenth-Century America," organizer Dan Williams, for ASECS ñPittsburgh, April 1991: "Intertextuality and Revolutionary Community: The Interplay of Paineís Common Sense
and Leacockís The Fall of British Tyranny" -- Gary Richardson (Mercer University)

"Utopian Visions: Crèvecoeurís Representations of America" -- Dennis Moore (University of Texas at El Paso)

"Jonathan Corncob and Representations of American Language" -- John Engell (San Jose State University)

"The Invention of America in Eighteenth-Century France" -- Paul Benhamou (Purdue University)

Moderator: Dan Williams