Note: In October of 2008 I presented at my second academic conference. Holly and I went to St. Louis together and spent a glorious few days as grown-ups without our small children (then 5 and 3). We saw the St. Louis arch. We went to the St. Louis Zoo. We bought fudge. And–momentously–we had our first alcohol. Champagne on a whim at the hotel followed by bad beer at a pizza place led two Bob Jones graduates out of a lifetime of teetotalery into the world of social alcohol consumption. All-in-all an excellent memory. This letter I wrote to the English department afterwards captures the professional aspects of the conference. (DL, Sept. 8, 20201)
I would like to express my gratitude to the English department for generously sponsoring my participation at the Sixteenth-Century Society and Conference in St. Louis on October 22 to 26 of this year. I feel privileged to have been selected for such support, especially during this time of economic trouble when the university is under additional financial pressure.
My experience at the conference, although intimidating, was a success. I had been invited to serve on a panel for a roundtable discussion of Spenser and genre. I was responsible to read a four-to-five page paper and then, in conjunction with the other panelists, answer questions from the audience. During the discussion, I felt quite out of my league, as the room was full of well-known Spenserians and the source I relied on most heavily in my short paper was in fact one of the questioners in the room.
Despite my nervousness, however, I was warmly addressed by several participants after the session. One of them, the gentleman I cited in my paper, offered some very frank and helpful advice in regards to my dissertation and even went so far as to e-mail several very useful resources the following week. In addition, one of my fellow panelists specifically asked that I submit an abstract for next year’s conference, which is to be held in Geneva this coming May.
I did as she suggested and am happy to report that, as of today, my abstract has been accepted, and I am scheduled to give a full-length paper on “Neo-Latin Verse at the English Universities and The Shepheardes Calender” at the SCSC conference in Geneva, Switzerland at the end of May.
Again, I am grateful to the English department for its sponsorship. A doctoral student can hope for nothing more from his or her institution than to be given assistance not only in earning a degree, but also in finding a foothold in the professional sphere. I am happy to say that I could not have found more support in my professional endeavors than I have found at Carolina.
With sincere gratitude,
David J. Lohnes
Ph.D. Candidate