Date / Time
- November 5, 2019
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
In this lecture, we will explore the dynamics and authorial practices of pseudonymous magazine authors in late-Romantic Britain. Through the writings of Charles Lamb (Elia), Thomas De Quincey (The English Opium Eater), James Hogg (The Ettrick Shepherd) and others, we will examine how these writers construct authorial persona though self-exposure, and often self-deprecation. Connecting our reading of these 200-year old periodical texts to our current debates about oversharing on social media, we will interrogate the value of such ephemeral yet personal texts. This lecture will ask us to consider what we mean by performance when it comes to authorial identity and persona, and investigate how anonymous and pseudonymous publishing cultures contribute to the prevalence of such performances.
About the Speaker
Dr. Christine Woody is Assistant Professor of English at Widener University, where she also directs the Textual Scholarship Certificate Program. She teaches widely in the British eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with a special interest in the dynamics of print culture. She is completing a book manuscript, Publishing Personality: Romantic Periodicals and the Paradox of Living Authorship, which considers the impact of anonymous and pseudonymous periodical culture on the theory and practice of authorship.
Dr. Woody is teaching the Rosenbach course Charles Dickens’ Dombey and Son.
Sponsor
Lunchtime Talks at The Rosenbach are sponsored by Lenore Steiner and Perry Lerner.
About Lunchtime Talks at The Rosenbach
New! Enjoy In Conversation Programs at midday with leading scholars, artists, and authors talking about their work. Tea sandwiches and light refreshments included.
Seating is limited; advance registration is strongly recommended.
Date / Time
- November 5, 2019
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm