2014 Conference — “Victorian Violence” | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, April 11 – 13
The 2014 conference organizer is Mary-Catherine Harrison, Associate Professor of English at University of Detroit Mercy. If you have any questions or concerns about this year’s conference, please e-mail her at mc.harrison@udmercy.edu.
MVSA will hold its 2014 conference at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, April 11-13. Presentations will focus on the theme “Victorian Violence.” This includes conflict or resistance and its representations in art, music, history, or literature: violence in the army, the colonies, the prisons, the streets, the workplace, the family, the home, and even the animal kingdom. This year MVSA will also feature three seminars on the topics “Sensational Violence,” “Political Violence,” and “Colonial Violence.” We are planning a collection of essays based on the conference. Click the following link to register, or download the schedule of events.
Conference Highlights
** All events included in the registration fee. All events at the Michigan League except the Saturday morning seminars in Angell Hall and Museum Tour at University of Michigan Museum of Art.
— Friday
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Registration, 2nd floor of the Michigan League
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Carillon Performance, Burton Memorial Tower (across from Michigan League)
2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Plenary Panel — Visual Afterlives of Victorian Violence
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Jane Stedman Lecture — Lara Kriegel
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Reception
8:00 p.m. | The Gondoliers, Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League
— Saturday
8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Seminars, Angell Hall
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Coffee and Conversation
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | University of Michigan Special Collections Exhibit: “Violence as Entertainment”
10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Conference Panels
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch and Business Meeting
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Performance by University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society
1:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Conference Panels
— Sunday
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Coffee, Bagels, and Conversation
8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Conference Panels
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Farewell Remarks
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | University of Michigan Museum of Art Tour — “An Eye of the Empire: Photographs of Colonial India and Egypt”
Plenaries
MVSA’s 2014 Jane Stedman Lecture will be given by Lara Kriegel (Indiana University). Dr. Kriegel’s presentation is titled “Graceful Exits: War Cemeteries, Violent Legacies, and the Afterlife of the Crimean War.” The conference will also host a plenary panel on “Visual Afterlives of Victorian Violence,” featuring Julie Codell (Arizona State University), “The Ruins of Violence: The Aftermath of the 1857 Rebellion in the Photographs of Robert and Harriet Tytler”; Alexis Goodin (The Clark Institute), “Concealing Violence and Decay in Ancient Egypt at the Sydenham Crystal Palace”; and Thomas Prasch (Washburn University), “Anti-Colonial Violence, Imperial Retribution, and the Aura of the Art Object in the Benin Punitive Expedition of 1897.”
Venues
The Michigan League provides the University community with elegant facilities and superb catering services, providing the perfect location and atmosphere for meetings and special events. In addition, the twenty-one room Inn at the Michigan League offers convenient and comfortable accommodations for visitors, and the Mendelssohn Theatre, with 640 seats, provides a unique entertainment experience. The League also houses a convenience store and information desk, a cyber lounge, several eateries, and various sitting areas, including space in the charming garden. The Michigan League is located at 911 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109. All events at the Michigan League except the Saturday morning seminars in Angell Hall and Museum Tour at University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Friday night, MVSA participants will enjoy the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s spring performance of The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria. This performance will take place in the Mendelssohn Theatre, inside the Michigan League. On Saturday, members of UMGASS will entertain conference participants with a private performance after lunch.
Saturday morning seminars and Sunday panels will be held on the third floor of Angell Hall, hosted by the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. The address is 435 South State Street, 3187 Angell Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109.
The University of Michigan Museum of Art will host a guided tour of the photography exhibit on An Eye on the Empire: Photographs of Colonial India and Egypt directly after the conference on Sunday afternoon. UMMA has also put together a small study case of images related to the conference theme of “Victorian Violence” for our members.
You can find an interactive campus map on the University of Michigan’s website. Driving directions to the Michigan League are also provided online. A customized MVSA conference map is available via Google Maps, which includes conference venues, hotels, parking, restaurants, coffee shops, and libraries and entertainment. (Nota bene: Since 2014, Google has discontinued the platform for this map, and the data is no longer available.)
Hotel Accommodations, Transportation, and Parking
The following hotels and bed and breakfasts have reserved rooms for MVSA 2014. The Inn at the League is on site, upstairs from the conference. Ann Arbor Bed and Breakfast and Campus Inn are both a few minutes walk from the conference. The Hilton Garden Inn is 3.5 miles from the conference, a 10-minute drive; there is also bus stop close within sight of the hotel that goes to campus. The Microtel Inn is 4 miles from the conference, with a shuttle service to/from campus available in the morning and the evening.
All rooms include free wi-fi. Free on-site parking is included at the Ann Arbor Bed and Breakfast, Campus Inn, and Hilton Garden Inn; free off-site parking is included at the Inn at Michigan League.
The university is approximately 25 miles from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), an easy 30- to 40-minute drive from the conference hotels. Visit Ann Arbor maintains a list of car services and taxis that provide door-to-door airport transportation. Average cost is $45 to $55. Bill’s Van Service is one recommended service and especially economical for groups.
AirRide provides an affordable public bus service between the Detroit Airport and Ann Arbor ($12 one way). One of the AirRide bus stops in Ann Arbor is the Blake Transit Center, the main hub for The Ride, Ann Arbor’s municipal bus service system. From the Blake Transit Center, you can either take a 4-minute ride on the bus #2 to the Michigan League, or walk in about 11-12 minutes.
There is limited parking in the downtown area (free parking is provided if you stay at one of the conference hotels, each of which is in walking distance to the Michigan League and Angell Hall). If you are commuting to the conference, the closest public lots to the Michigan League are the Liberty Square and Maynard Parking Structures.
Midwest Victorian Studies Association 