Armstrong Browning Library & Museum and Texas A&M Partner for a Unique Symposium Experience

Baylor’s Armstrong Browning Library & Museum and Texas A&M University will host linked symposia on February 7-8 and February 14-15, 2025. These symposia, collectively titled “Cultures of Correspondence,” leverage the substantial collections of 18th- and 19th-century archival materials at each institution and reflects their commitment to creating accessible digital archives and scholarship.

"The idea for the symposium came up through discussions with colleagues at A&M who were interested in the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum’s digitization projects,” said Dr. Kristen Pond, Associate Professor of English and the Margarett Root Brown Chair in Robert Browning and Victorian Studies. “We all began wondering who else was working with correspondence materials and developed this symposium to bring researchers and librarians together so we could identify and support one another. It is good to see it coming to fruition!"

Foregrounding 18th- and 19th-century letters, the symposia focus upon a range of issues—including the curation and maintenance of letters in library archives and digital collections, the theory and practice of editing letters in print and digital formats, the use of letters in scholarly research and publications, and pedagogical approaches to letters in the classroom. The complementary symposia, which are held onsite and via Zoom Webinar, include keynotes, panels and roundtables, and opportunities for workshops/hands-on events.

“Cultures of Correspondence” features keynote lectures by:

• Anne Longmuir, Professor of English, Kansas State University
• Nicole Pohl, Professor Emerita in Early Modern Literature and Critical Theory, Oxford Brookes University
• Tim Fulford, Professor of English, De Montfort University
• Hilary Havens, Associate Professor and Director of the Digital Humanities Interdisciplinary Program, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Brent Kinser, Professor of English, Western Carolina University
• Leon Litvack, Reader in the School of Arts, English, and Languages, Queen’s University Belfast

Julia Carlson (University of Cincinnati), Denae Dyck (Texas State University), Ira Dworkin (Texas A&M), Amy Earhart (Texas A&M), Martha Groppo (Eastern Kentucky University), Maura Ives (Texas A&M), Carrie Johnston (Southern Methodist University), Olivera Jokić (City University of New York), Nick Laiacon (Performant Software), Laura Mandell (Texas A&M), Matt Poland (University of Washington), Robin Runia (Xavier University), Rebecca Schneider (New Mexico Highlands University), and Bryan Tarpley (Texas A&M) will also present during the symposium.

Participants in the symposia will think together about best practices for incorporating letters in their research, and editing letters in print and digital formats. They will gain hands-on experience transcribing letters, they will acquire knowledge of tools that can facilitate editing and digitizing letters, and they will build networks with other scholars working with letters for future collaborations.

The symposia are free and open to faculty, students, and the general public with separate online registrations required for Baylor and Texas A&M locations. The registration deadline for the sessions at Baylor is January 24 at midnight. The deadine for Texas A&M is January 23 at midnight.

“We are proud to co-host these linked symposia with our colleagues at Texas A&M,” said Jennifer Borderud, Director of the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. “The spirit of collaboration throughout the planning process between colleagues at our two great universities is a model for symposia of this sort going forward.”

The symposium is sponsored by Armstrong Browning Library & Museum at Baylor University, the

Brown Foundation, the Baylor University Graduate School, the Center of Digital Humanities Research at Texas A&M University, the College of Arts & Sciences at Texas A&M University, the Departments of English at Baylor University and Texas A&M University, the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research at Texas A&M University and the Division of Research, Arts & Humanities Fellowship at Texas A&M University.

Visit either library.web.baylor.edu/culturesofcorrespondence or liberalarts.tamu.edu/codhr/cultures-of-correspondence for additional symposium information and registration.