Willson Center co-sponsors Symposium on the Humanities and the Sea in Mystic, Conn.
The Willson Center is a co-presenter of “Imagining the Coast,” a public, interdisciplinary symposium that brings together students, community members, faculty, artists, museums, and historical societies to discuss the importance of the Connecticut coastline and seas to our understanding of the region’s history, culture, ecology, and identity, including its global connections. The coast of Connecticut and its bordering states will be the primary focus, but given the inherently global nature of maritime zones, oceanic connections to other regions will also be considered.
Nicholas Allen, Franklin Professor of English at UGA and director of the Willson Center, will take part in a featured panel on “Connecting the North Atlantic.” The conference schedule is available at the symposium’s website.
Through a series of panels and exhibits over the course of the three-day symposium, participants and attendees will think about how shorelines and maritime histories tell the story of the region— socioeconomically, politically, culturally, spiritually, and environmentally—including its connections to other locations via the sea.
The final day of the conference on September 16 will feature a light schedule to allow participants to explore the Mystic Seaport Museum.
“Imagining the Coast” is directed by Fairfield University’s Humanities Institute in the College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Mystic Seaport Museum, CT Humanities, the Maritime Studies Program of the University of Connecticut, the Willson Center, and the Atlantic Archipelagos Research Consortium.