Dean McKnight Presents at the Dickens Society Annual Symposium
Natalie McKnight, dean and professor of humanities at Boston University College of General Studies, recently gave a panel presentation at the Dickens Society 21st Annual Symposium: Adapting Dickens. Held from July 11-13 in Reykjavik, Iceland, the conference featured scholars from around the world discussing the rich and varied adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novels. The presentations covered a wide range of Dickens adaptations– from stage readings, musical theater and ballet to Dickens on the Victorian stage and on film.
McKnight, who also serves as vice president and president-elect of the Dickens Society, spoke on a panel organized around the theme “Dickens and Animation,” with fellow panelists Patrick G. Fleming, Chelsea Midori Bray, and chair Meoghan Cronin.
McKnight’s presentation focused on Mister Magoo’s A Christmas Carol as a “gateway drug to Dickens” while her colleagues discussed Disney adaptations and The Muppet Christmas Carol. Mister Magoo’s A Christmas Carol first aired as an animated holiday show in 1962 and has been rebroadcast through the decades since. McKnight deems it one of the “most effective and efficient adaptations” of Dickens’ classic holiday novel.
“Everyone felt the conference was particularly good,” McKnight said. “The quality of the papers was exceptional, the venue was stunning, and the conference participants came from across the globe: U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan, China, and Taiwan.”
The conference was held at the waterfront venue, Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre. Simon Vance, an award-winning audio book reader and lifelong fan of Dickens, read selections from Dickens and answered questions during the annual Dickens dinner.
McKnight will be presenting her paper again as part of a CAS WR 100 course this Fall semester.