Dr. James Crane to give talk entitled “The Aesthetics of Interiors in ‘The Morgesons”

James Crane, assistant professor of English at St. Scholastica, will give a talk entitled "The Aesthetics of Interiors in ‘The Morgesons'" at 3:40 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in room 4119 of Tower Hall on the College of St. Scholastica campus. The public is welcome to this free event; refreshments will be served.

"In this talk, I examine links among aesthetics, the history of ideas, and literary studies," Crane said. "I use the novel to help me trace the ongoing transformation and adaption of the notion of literary ideality from Immanuel Kant through the British romantics and, subsequently, through romantic U.S. writers like Elizabeth Stoddard."

"The Morgesons" is an 1862 novel written by Elizabeth Stoddard that centers around the life of Cassandra Morgeson. Each time Cassandra undergoes any personal transformation, she redecorates. In the novel, domestic interiors become symbols of shifting emotional states while Cassandra discovers a quality in herself that she calls "ideality."

The talk is part of a faculty colloquium series sponsored by the College's School of Arts and Letters to highlight diverse faculty research projects. The presentation will include a 40-minute lecture followed by 20 minutes of questions and answers.

For more information contact Nathan Carroll at (218) 723-6144 or ncarroll@css.edu.

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest colleges in the Midwest. The 2010 "America's Best Colleges" survey by U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of Midwestern universities. The Washington Post has rated St. Scholastica as one of the nation's 100 "hidden gems" among U.S. colleges and universities.