[UPDATE] Consuming Culture in Victorian and Edwardian Literature (SAMLA 87) (6/25)

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SAMLA (South Atlantic Modern Language Association)
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From the proliferation and commodification of print culture in the 18th century to the Forster's Education Act of 1870, those who consumed - and the way people consumed – the arts and culture at large changed irrevocably in England. These factors - among numerous others- culminate Leonard Bast's feeble attempts to fit Ruskin's depictions of Venice to his basement hovel in E.M. Forster's classic Howards End. Bast's story, pushed to the margins of the novel, is primarily that of a working class individual attempting to better his position in life through the arts and culture. To expand this conversation, this panel seeks papers that examine the multiply diverse ways characters in late 18th to early 20th century British literature have consumed the arts and culture for a variety of reasons. Papers might look at the way working class characters use culture as a means of upward mobility, or how the landed gentry traffic in the arts as a form of consumable sociality. By June 25th, please send a 150-300 word abstract, brief bio, and A/V requirements to Dan Abitz, Georgia State University, at dabitz1@gsu.edu.