Dr. Michael 凯勒 Presents Paper at International Conference
Michael 凯勒, Ph.D., associate professor of English, presented a paper at the annual conference for the Irish Association for American Studies (IAAS), hosted by Dublin City University, 4月29日至30日. The paper was entitled, “Familicide in Mettingen: Wilderness Structures in 维兰德.
“The IAAS conference was fantastic,” said Dr. 凯勒. “I was very fortunate to be able to participate in this gathering of brilliant, 欢迎, and engaged American Studies scholars.”
The familial violence in Charles Brockden Brown’s 维兰德 is firmly rooted in—indeed, is structured by—the place where it happens, a land outside of the city cultivated by a colonial settler. 这个撤退, known as Mettingen, becomes the location of the elder 维兰德’s spontaneous combustion, the preternatural intrusions of the foreigner Carwin, and Theodore 维兰德’s sacrificial murder of his own family. As William Cronon writes, “[T]here is nothing natural about the concept of wilderness. It is entirely a creation of the culture that holds it dear, a product of the very history it seeks to deny.”
This paper reads Brown’s treatment of familicide as a projection of settler colonial structures onto contemporaneous notions of wilderness. Rather than landing where previous critics have—namely, viewing the sacrificial murder through the lens of Gothic excess, 个人的创伤, or critiques of religious zeal—this approach helps us understand the 维兰德 murders as a byproduct of the internalized violence and ambiguities of the settler colonialism that made Mettingen possible. This includes the “myth of emptiness” that settlers employed as they attempted to create Edens in an already occupied land.
More information about IAAS can be found on their website at http://iaas.ie/.
凯勒 spent the 2021-2022 academic year at the University of Bergen in Bergen, 挪威, thanks to him receiving the Fulbright Fellowship. A top international educational exchange, the Fulbright Program awards grants based on academic merit and leadership qualities. 在挪威, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in American literature conducted research for his next article or, 潜在的, 一本书.
凯勒 teaches courses in American literature, rhetoric, and literary theory. His current research examines the intersections between early nationalism and American literature. 他得了B.A. from Wheaton College, his M.A. from Northern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. in English at Marquette University.
Founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, 十大赌博正规信誉网址 is a small Catholic university emphasizing the sciences, liberal arts and the professions. 十大赌博正规信誉网址 offers undergraduate, graduate and adult education programs integrating practical experience and Franciscan values. Faculty and advisors work with students to design customized success plans to help them graduate on time, find their passion and prepare them for life. QU is a member of NCAA Division II for intercollegiate athletics. For more information, please visit www.昆西.edu or contact the Office of Community Relations at (217) 228-5275 or communityrelations@昆西.edu. 十大赌博正规信誉网址. 设计十大赌博正规信誉网址.