4th June - Elementary Poetry Workshop...and end of year party!

All are welcome to join us to celebrate the end of our elements series with a found poetry workshop using all of the texts we have read and discussed over the previous two academic years. See here for an online introduction to found poetry, and examples.

We meet on Monday 4th June in the Newnham Grange Seminar Room at Darwin College, from 7.30–9pm.

See you then!

CFP - Science Studies and the Blue Humanities

Configurations, the journal of SLSA (The Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts) is seeking submissions for a special issue on Science Studies and the Blue Humanities, edited by Stacy Alaimo. We are interested in essays, position papers, provocations, and artist statements that explore the significance of science studies for the development of the blue humanities. As oceans and bodies of fresh water increasingly become sites for environmentally-oriented arts and humanities scholarship, how can the emerging blue humanities best engage with the theories, questions, paradigms, and methods of science studies? How do questions of scale, temporality, materiality, and mediation emerge in aquatic zones and modes? How can literature, art, data visualization, and digital media best respond to the rapidly developing sciences of ocean acidification and climate change as well as the less publicized concerns such as the effect of military sonar on cetaceans? Work on postcolonial/decolonial science studies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), indigenous sciences, and citizen science especially welcome. Please submit 5,000-7,000 word essays; 3,000 word position papers or provocations; or 2,000 word artist statements (with one or two illustrations or a link to a digital work); to Stacy Alaimo, alaimo[at]uta.edu, by February 1, 2018, for consideration. All essays will be peer-reviewed, following the standard editorial procedures of Configurations.

Recap - Sea

Thanks to the mild summer evening, we were able to hold our last meeting of term once more on the margins of the water, in the riverside gardens of Darwin College. Marie introduced our two readings by Rachel Carson, taking us through Carson's career, the relationship between scientific practice and science-writing in the mid-twentieth century, and women in science. As the introduction to Lost Woods revealed: 'What is remarkable is not that Carson produced such a small body of work, but that she was able to produce it at all' (xi).

We thought about the literary strategies Carson employed in 'Undersea', and its similarities with and differences from 'The Edge of the Sea': her precision or vagueness, imagery and comparisons, and evocation of previous classics of scientific literature, from Lyell's Principles to Darwin's Origin. We discussed Carson's ecological and environmental awareness, and her striking early illustrations of the interconnected effects of climate change. We went on to consider what was known about the depths of the sea (or les profondeurs, in Marie's favoured terminology) at the time Carson was writing, and how new discoveries of phenomena such as hydrothermal vents have reframed our understanding of the deep as a more active and energetic place, rather than a gloomy stillness punctuated by monstrous creatures (pictures of which Marie showed us). Carson's mention of foraminifera provided Simon with an opportunity to bring along some fabulous actual and 3D-printed examples from the Department of Earth Sciences' teaching collection (photographs below).

Overall, a fantastic end to what has been a thoroughly enjoyable term's conversations on and around four marvellous readings. Next stop, Earth...

26th June - Sea

Our final meeting of our aquatic terms goes under the sea, reading two pieces by Rachel Carson: 'Undersea', from the  Atlantic Monthly (1937), 322-325, and 'The Edge of the Sea', an address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1953). Both are republished in Linda Lear (ed.), Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson (1999), or contact MK for a copy.

We meet at Darwin College in our old venue of the Newnham Grange Seminar Room from 7.30-9pm on Monday 26th June.

All welcome!

Recap - Ice

Our third meeting of term took to the Victorian stage and the Arctic wilderness as we discussed The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins (with significant input from one Charles Dickens). Simon and his cardboard cast gave a wonderful introduction to the play's influences (notably the 1845 Franklin expedition and the lost Erebus and Terror, the great mystery of which continued to fascinate audiences back in Britain), its writing, dramatis personae, and initially rapturous reception in 1856 (even the set's carpenters were weeping), before a failed attempt at a revival a decade later. Using clips from The Invisible Woman (a 2013 film), he reflected on the play's connections to the unconventional personal lives of both Collins and Dickens.

We went on to discuss several key themes of the play: we explored its presentation of the relationship between destiny and precognition, as epitomised in the striking visions (or 'Claravoyance') of a key character, and links to contemporary interests in spiritualism and clairvoyance (perhaps getting a bit more unfashionable by the mid-1860s?), or the drawing of lots between officers and men; we looked at the work's theatricality (for instance in its staged vision), its drama and melodrama, and how even though it is set in a larger Arctic landscape its acts present a series of three interlinked chamber pieces with quite domestic situations, and the intervening perils only alluded to through (characteristically clunky) expository monologues (with a hint of Monty Python, we thought?).

We thought about why the Artic setting might matter, or not? Was it just a conveniently fashionable location, or - with its connotations of peril, extremity, and isolation - did both supernatural phenomena seem closer to the surface, and also deeper emotions and motivations possible to access? The character of Richard Wardour, in particular, seemed key: was he, as Dickens's biographer Claire Tomalin suggested, an opportunity for Dickens to play a man who overcame his instincts to make a final great sacrifice? Was he someone with frozen emotions until galvanised by a particular situation, or hot-headed throughout? Indeed, we explored whether characters (the Dickens influence?) or plot (the Collins influence?) could be seen as the play's primary driving force.

Overall, a lively discussion and very helpful comments from all who attended: thanks to everyone! Next time we move off from the floating ice-sheets to submerge ourselves under the sea with two pieces by Rachel Carson.


Additionally:
Other songs, poems, etc., referred to in our discussion (with special thanks to the Canadians):





'The Cremation of Sam McGee' by Robert W. Service 

Simon's cardboard cast, as captured by Charissa.

5th June - Ice

Our next meeting will take place on Monday 5th June at Darwin College: we will be reading The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins.  Further reading is available here, or why not listen to an extract from its Overture here?

All welcome!

Recap - Rain

On what was one of the sunniest and warmest days of the year so far, we met to discuss Ray Bradbury's 'Death-By-Rain', or 'The Long Rain'. Liz gave a fantastic introduction, which introduced not only Bradbury's own life and ambitions (to 'prevent' not just to 'predict' the future), and the film version of the set text (see above), but also set 'The Long Rain' in a context of 1920s-1960s Venus stories. Based on observations of the planet's cloud cover, these tales often depicted Venus as a water-world: a tropical jungle, humid, warm, and uniform, akin to a prehistoric Earth. Bradbury's story - Liz showed - used this setting for a extreme adventure narrative, looking at the psychological and sensory experiences of people trying to navigate such an unforgiving landscape.

Our discussion followed on from these themes, to explore how Bradbury focused on the reactions of his militaristic men to the situation they were in (with, perhaps, slight inconsistencies or unanswered questions of plot or detail), rather than providing an omniscient overview. We looked at his ways of describing the rain - whether through the repetition of the word 'rain', to place the reader, like his characters, under its ceaseless or even torturing presence; or through passages where the rain took on more of a character or agency, posing for photographs, turning into monstrous forms and storms. We considered how the protagonists became unmoored in time and space, with fast-growing vegetation and aimless wandering, bleached- and leached-out bodies and hopeless futures; and wondered what on earth (or on Venus) they were doing there. Finally, we considered the story's ambiguous ending: was the heavenly-sounding Sun Dome just too good to be true?

Our next meeting - continuing to be seasonally inappropriate, and to think about extreme adventures - will be a discussion of The Frozen Deep.

22nd May - Rain

Our second meeting of term will take place at Darwin College from 7.30-9pm in 1 Newnham Terrace. We will be reading a short story by Ray Bradbury, first published as 'Death-By-Rain' in Planet Stories (1950), and then as 'The Long Rain' in several collections of his short stories, including The Illustrated Man (1951). Editions of The Illustrated Man are available in the University Library, or contact MK for a copy of the story.

All welcome!

Recap - River

We began our term's readings with 'water's soliloquy', the wonderful Dart by Alice Oswald. A lively conversation flowed - just like the poem's Protean protagonist (Proteagonist?) - from voice to voice, place to place, topic to topic, well-chosen word to well-chosen word.

Sound loomed large: we foregrounded the poem's connections to oral traditions and its effectiveness when spoken out loud; we considered Oswald's research process recording a variety of interviews to ensure the poem was 'made from the language of people who live and work on the Dart', 'who know the river'; we reflected on her mental compositional practices while constructing her 'sound-map', or 'songline'.

Drawing these voices together into the 'mutterings' of the river provided a sense of shifts in perspectives and of being somewhat adrift in time: former trades and industries of the region sat alongside cutting-edge technologies (both commercial and leisurewear). However, we felt the poem avoided nostalgia or sentimentalism; indeed, its commitment to evoking a particular multifaceted landscape prompted a more nuanced set of environmental concerns. (We felt we would come back to these more ecological or political concerns when reading Rachel Carson later in the term.)

The glimpses of people or views moved past the reader, some members of the group thought, like those glimpsed through the window of a train -  just enough detail for each person to make them feel like a rounded character, but leaving one wanting more. All of these different voices, we felt, claimed an ownership of the river, or at least a synecdochic part of it (a bank, a bend), as theirs. The reliance on the river, and its central place in their lives, was clear, and our thoughts on this topic were immeasurably enhanced by the contributions of two participants who had grown up around the Dart. They agreed that there was a sense of place specific to this river, and which Oswald had been able to capture and convey.

The reading experiences of group members were shared, whether rushing through, revelling in its sounds and imagery, before returning with a more deliberate approach to Oswald's unusual but apposite vocabulary; or being confronted by the poem's difficulty, and considering the problems of translation. Throughout, it was felt the poem's interconnectedness and interdisciplinary nature, drawing on myth, memory, or even the natural historical gory spectacle of an eel eating its way out of a heron (yuck!), shows how the river brings together these voices, images, vocabularies, and authorities as complementary sources of expertise, while paying homage to the wider connotation of rivers as lifeblood.

Overall, then, a marvellous session to start the term, and a pleasure to see new, familiar, and returning participants. Next, we face the Venusian rain, and I'm not sure a brolly will be enough to protect you...

8th May - River

We begin our explorations of water by discussing Alice Oswald's marvellous river-poem, Dart (2002), on Monday 8th May at Darwin College from 7.30-9pm. A version should be available online here for those with University access, and editions of the book can also be found in several College, University, and local libraries. For full details of the term's readings please see this previous post.

All welcome!

Easter Term 2017 - Water

In Easter Term our exploration of the four elements reaches the water. Appropriately enough for this most protean of substances, we will engage with several forms of media: a poem, a short story, a play, and two essays. In very different ways, these works comment on the relationships between literature and water: experiencing and analysing, surviving and following, cherishing and chronicling its varied appearances as river, rain, ice, and sea.

We will meet at Darwin College from 7.30-9pm as usual. All are welcome to join us, whether new or old members of the group! Follow us on Twitter @scilitreadgrp or look at our blog for full news and updates.

8th May – River

Alice Oswald, Dart (2002). Also in several College and University libraries.

22nd May – Rain

Ray Bradbury, 'Death-By-Rain', Planet Stories (1950). Republished as 'The Long Rain' in several collections of his short stories, or contact MK for a copy.

5th June – Ice

Wilkie Collins, The Frozen Deep (written 1856, published 1866).
 

26th June – Sea

R.L. Carson, 'Undersea', Atlantic Monthly (1937), 322-325; and 'The Edge of the Sea', address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1953). Republished in Linda Lear (ed.), Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson (1999), or contact MK for a copy.

Next Term - Water

Our aquatic reading list is coming together for next term (at the moment: Bradbury, Carson, Collins, Oswald): meanwhile, here are the scheduled dates for our meetings.

Additional links to whet (wet?) your appetite:

• An old Guardian article on rain in literature  
• 'Making Waves', an exhibition of seascapes at the Fitzwilliam Museum until 21st May 
• A water-themed playlist from the British Council 
• An old Financial Times article about 'A world without water'

Conference Programme - Water

The Northern Nineteenth-Century Network presents

Water, a one-day conference

7 April 2017

9.30-10.30                          Keynote address: Professor John Chartres, University of Leeds (chaired by Professor Karen Sayer)

10.30-10.45                       Refreshments

10.45-12.15                       Parallel panels

Cleanliness and Class

Claire Rennie                        Cleanliness in Early Nineteenth Century Health Regimens

Amanda Sciampacone        'Dirty Father Thames' and the Microscopic Grotesque: Cholera and Water after John Snow

Françoise Baillet                 Picturing the 'Submerged Tenth': Matt Morgan's Representations of Pauperism for the Illustrated London News as Discourse on Class Anxiety. The Example of 'A Soup-Kitchen in Ratcliff-Highway' (1867)'

Slavery and Liberation

Ciarán Rua O'Neill              Bearing Vessels of Lustration and Vases of Libation: Water Carriers in Nineteenth-Century Painting

Melissa Gustin                     Go Down, Moses: The Fountain Forms of Edmonia Lewis's Forever Free

Eva McGrath                        Crossing the River into Freedom: Borders, Form and Maternal Connection in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin

Water Stories

Haythem Bastawy               One Sea, Too Many Stories: The Thousand and One Nights in European Myths and Fairy Tales

Tess Somervell                    Sea Rocks and Inland Waters: Wordsworth's Ocean in Motion

Simon Rennie                       From 'sparkling rills' to 'ocean grave': Water Imagery in the Poetry of the Lancashire Cotton Famine, 1861-65

12.15-1.15                          Lunch

1.15-2.15                            Presentations by Light Vessels Project

Karen Sayer                          Between Water and Land: Illuminating Light Vessels in the Long Nineteenth Century

Elise Liversedge & Mary Hooper

LAST STATION: Artistic Responses to Bodies of Water & Waterways

2.15- 3.45pm                    Parallel panels

Policies of Water

Andrew McTominey          Two Bad Neighbours? The Civic Rivalry of Leeds and Bradford c.1850-1890

Rachel Hurley, James Rothwell & Jamie Woodward

Contaminated Cottonopolis: Legacies of Historical Industry in Manchester's River Network

Samuel Grinsell                   Constructing the Nile Valley: Empire, Environment and Building, 1880s-1920s

Writing Water

Marco Canani                       'One whose fate was writ in water': Percy Bysshe Shelley and the Water Sublime

François Ropert                   'The wave that breaks against a forward stroke': The Metronomics of Swimming in A.C. Swinburne's Sea Poems

Joan Passey                          The Sound of the Sea: Sonic Gothic Seascapes in Victorian Cornwall

Watering Places

Joe Davey                              Sailor Criminality in a Port City – Bristol 1850-1914

Joanne Knowles                   'Favourite and Popular Watering Places', Piers and Other Waterside Attractions

Martha Cattell                      Whale Watching: Vision and Visuality in Nineteenth Century Arctic whaling marine paintings

3.45-4.15 pm                    Refreshments

4.15 – 5.45 pm                 Parallel Panels

Transport and Industry

Helen-Frances Pilkington  "Being scientific"? Clouds in hot air balloon narratives in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Jodie Matthews                    Canals in Nineteenth-century Literary History

Richard Byroms                  William Fairbairn's Hydraulic Engineering

Dangerous Waters

Stephen Basdeo                   The Role of Water in GWM Reynolds' The Mysteries of London (1844-48)

Odile Boucher-Rivalain     The Ambiguity of Water in George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss (1860)

Laura Ettenfield                   The Octopussy: Exploring Representations of Female Sexuality and Animality in Victor Hugo's The Toilers of the Sea (1866) and The Laughing Man (1868)

Close of conference

Supported by the British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS)

CFP - Water

The Northern Nineteenth-Century Network presents "Water", a day conference at Leeds Trinity University,  Friday 7 April 2017, 10am to 5pm

Keynote Speaker: Professor John Chartres, University of Leeds
Call for Papers: Deadline 30th January 2017

We invite submissions from postgraduate students and academic staff across the humanities from the constituent universities AND other universities (particularly in the Yorkshire and Humberside region) on the theme of ‘Water’.

Paper proposals are invited on topics including but not limited to:

• bodies of water, waterways, & water-related transport (canals, rivers, lakes, seas, streams, barges, boats, ships, ferries, steamboats and trains, lightships)
• communities living & working on or near water (sailors and the navy, bargemen/boat people, fishermen/fishwives, whalers, ports, harbours, seaside towns and tourism, coastal communities, Lake Districts and Fenland communities).
• water in various forms (steam, mist, fog, liquid, ice, frost, snow) and science and medicine dealing with water/water-borne diseases (cholera, biology of water creatures fish, birds, bugs, etc, aquaria, flushing toilets)
• the politics of water (sanitary reform, the provision of clean drinking water, reservoirs and sewers, wells, ponds, privies, public baths, laundry industry, the ‘great unwashed’)
• water mythology and creatures and their cultural representations (the Kraken, Moby Dick, mermaids, naiads, the Lady of the Lake, the Lady of Shallot, Neptune)
• artistic, musical, and literary representations of water, and water-related architecture (seascapes, maritime novels, travel literature relating to the sea/arctic, angling stories, musical events on or featuring water, harbours, piers, bridges, lighthouses)
• religious and spiritual uses of water (living water, baptism, truth in a well, the temperance movement) and material forms of water (watery foods e.g. soups, ice-cream)

The theme of water will be interpreted broadly, as too the chronological range of the nineteenth century (1780s-1920s). Please send an abstract of 250-300 words for a paper of 20 minutes to NNCNWater@leedstrinity.ac.uk

CFP - Underwater Worlds

Underwater Worlds: Aquatic Visions in Art, Science and Literature

An interdisciplinary conference at the University of Oxford, 15-16 September 2015

See call for papers here.

24th May - Water

We meet once more from 7.30-9pm in the Skillicorn Room at Homerton College; a modified reading list is below. If you have trouble accessing the second reading then let me know and I can email you a pdf document.


All welcome!

1.'The Drop of Water’, Hans Christian Andersen (1848)

2. ‘The Water-Drops: A Fairy Tale’, [Henry Morley], Household Words, 17 August 1850, pp. 482-9. [.cam domain]

3. 'Water Bewitched’, John Cargill Brough, The Fairy-Tales of Science (1859).

4. ‘A Drop of Water on Its Travels’, Arabella Buckley, The Fairyland of Science (1879).