Writing, the State, and the Rise of Neo-Nationalism: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Concerns

In January 1868, John William De Forest took to the pages of The Nation with a call that would resound over the next century and a half: the writing of the “Great American Novel.” In so doing, he asserted both the shaping force of the nation on the arts, and the importance of the arts for the national imaginary. On the sesquicentennial of De Forest’s essay, the College of General Studies at Boston University will host an interdisciplinary conference to explore the broader intersection of writing and the nation. The conference will feature a keynote address by Daniel Karlin, Winterstoke Professor of English at the University of Bristol. The conference is free and open to the public thanks to funding and administrative support from Boston University College of General Studies, the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning, and from Boston University–London.