Charlotte Corday
Image courtesy of  The Noel Collection

At the Baton Rouge meeting of the South Central Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Incoming President Sandra Sherman announced that the 2001 meeting will have the theme of Revolution. No doubt because the date 2001, the real start of the next century, carries with it a certain revolutionary frisson, the theme was greeted enthusiastically. This year's plenary speakers will be Daniel Garber of the University of Chicago, asking "What Was the Scientific Revolution?" and long-time SCSECSer Barbara Benedict of Trinity University (Connecticut), who will give a multi-media lecture on "Seeing Revolution in the Eighteenth Century."

Our theme covers the revolution in banking set off by the founding of the Bank of England in the 1690s; the revolution in farming caused by new and "scientific" methods of crop production and management; political revolutions in France and the "colonies"; the demise of the moral economy and the continued pressure on the Poor Laws; the revolution in industrial methods that produced Wedgwood, the first large-scale industrial strikes, and the demise of customary habits of work. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

The Society invites panels on any topic under this general iceberg heading, as well as individual papers, although papers on unrelated topics will also be welcome.

A special program is planned introducing graduate students to trends and resources relating to research in the eighteenth century.

The meeting will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, home of the University of Arkansas in the foothills of the Ozarks. Gourmet breakfasts by Arsaga's coffee house (a local institution) are included in your registration fee, as is a real Arkansas barbecue lunch and the Society's annual banquet.

The banquet will be held at the magnificent Crescent Spa Hotel in Eureka Springs after a glorious Saturday excursion where happy SCSECSers can stroll the Victorian streets, ride the trolley, shop, people-watch, stop for a cappuccino or a massage, pop into the local galleries, or simply admire the spectacular views.

Proposals for papers and panels should be sent to

 
Webmaster: Susan Spencer, University of Central Oklahoma