Lee University’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, held its 12th annual literary symposium featuring critical and creative work.
The symposium program included 34 presentations from 31 presenters from nine different schools and four different states, including a student from as far away as Pennsylvania. Participating universities included Lane College, Young Harris College, Georgia Gwinnett College, Tennessee Temple University, University of Tennessee, the University of Montevallo, Tennessee Technological University, and Westminster College, five of which had not previously been represented at the symposium.
There were a wide range of critical papers featuring topics such as John Milton, William Wordsworth, Zora Neale Hurston, British Modernism, 20th and 21st century fiction and the formation and repression of identity. In addition, a variety of fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry was presented.
"The symposium was a rewarding opportunity to present my work to an audience of my peers while also being allowed to appreciate other undergraduates’ work,” said Jacqueline Campbell, a Lee University student and presenter at the symposium. “The discussions in the panels were really thought-provoking, and it’s truly inspiring to see what others my age are capable of creating.”
The presenters at the symposium came together for lunch and a guest plenary speaker. Dr. Matthew W. Irvin, associate professor of English at Sewanee: The University of the South, presented “Once More, With Feeling: Chaucer’s Affective Poetry,” a discussion about the concepts of pity, compassion, and emotion in Chaucer’s poetry.
“This year’s symposium represented a tremendous opportunity for our Sigma Tau Delta chapter, our Language and Literature department, and our university, to increase our visibility within the region and to bless a wide variety of students and sponsors with our acumen, warmth, and hospitality,” said Dr. Chad Schrock, assistant professor of English at Lee.
For more information about Sigma Tau Delta, visit www.english.org/sigmatd.
For more information about Lee’s Department of Language and Literature, call 614-8210.