Lambda Iota Tau literature honorary kicked off its Inaugural Student Paper Conference last night at 6 p.m. in the Grewcock Student Union’s Raese Conference Room. The conference, which will continue tonight and tomorrow, is taking place to publicly showcase the academic writing of Hillsdale students.
Assistant Professor of English and LIT President Lorraine Eadie said this conference is the first college-sponsored event of its kind at Hillsdale.
“The English department is in full support,” she said in an email. “In fact, my colleagues hope that this will become an annual event, and we even hope to attract presenters and attendees from nearby colleges as the conference grows.”
Last night, senior Devin Creed presented a version of his senior thesis, a study of the Irish Catholic influences on Romantic poet W. B. Yeats. Junior Tomás Valle followed with a presentation on John Keats’ classic poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Creed and Valle spoke for 20 minutes apiece to a small but attentive audience, then fielded questions from the audience for an additional 20 minutes.
“Both Devin and Tomás presented thoughtful lectures on their subjects,” senior Maran McLeod said. “Devin made an interesting argument that Yeats’ use of folklore was his way of providing himself a Catholic-Irish identity through the means of the more pagan, peasantish religion of folklore, magic, and the occult.”
Tonight, senior Katie Sorenson and sophomore Rachelle Ferguson will give close readings of the works of Wordsworth and Virgil. Tomorrow, seniors Josh Benjamins and LaRae Ferguson will close the conference with talks on the reception of Virgil by Ovid and Dante, respectively. A reception will follow tomorrow’s lectures.
LaRae Ferguson, one of LIT’s five vice presidents, said the conference was surprisingly difficult to schedule and plan, but she is pleased with how it has come together.
“It’s actually going to happen, and I’m very delighted about it,” she said.
Eadie said the lectures will be short, scholarly, and stimulating, and there will be refreshments provided from Broad Street Market.
“So students can nourish their minds and bodies by attending,” she said.
