The Dickens Society is a non-profit organization founded on 29 December 1970 by 40 participants at the Modern Language Association Convention in New York City.[1] The Dickens Society's purpose is "to conduct, further, and support research, publication, instruction, and general interest in the life, times, and literature of Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)."[2] In Dickens After Dickens (2020), Emily Bell notes, "The rise of neo-Victorian fiction in the 1960s further deepened the public interest in the author, and the establishment of the Dickens Society in 1970 represented another formal, international recognition of the value of academic study of Dickens."[3]

Annual symposium

To increase engagement from its global membership in both hemispheres, the Dickens Society alternates its symposium location between various institutions and major cities in North America or Europe.[4] One important feature of the event is that there is no keynote; graduate students, early career researchers, independent scholars, and tenured faculty are allotted equal space and time to present research.[2]

Scholarships

Each year, the Dickens Society funds several competitive scholarly awards and other financial support for its members, encouraging "research into almost anything to do with Dickens."[5] As Nancy Aycock Metz states, "The society still honors many of the original goals - an annual MLA seminar, transatlantic scholarly exchanges, prizes and stipends to support the work of young professionals."[4] The David Paroissien Prize is awarded "to the best peer-reviewed essay on Dickens published in a journal or edited collection." [6] The Robert B. Partlow Jr. Prize is conferred upon the best paper written and submitted prior to the annual symposium by a graduate student, independent scholar, or untenured faculty member.[6]

Dickens Quarterly

The journal of the Dickens Society, Dickens Quarterly, is published four times a year by Johns Hopkins University Press. A subscription to it is included in the cost of annual membership.[7] Recent issues are featured on Project Muse, and its archive appears on JSTOR. Together with the Dickensian (Dickens Fellowship) and Dickens Studies Annual, it forms a triad of leading publications devoted to presenting new research into the life and times of Charles Dickens.

Upon its first publication in 1970, the journal was entitled Dickens Studies Newsletter[8] and edited by Robert Patten before it was changed to Dickens Quarterly in March 1984.[9] The journal's long-time general editor was the late scholar David Paroissien, who published a detailed retrospect about the organization and journal's history in 2010.[10] Currently, it is edited by Dominic Rainsford (Aarhus University).

References

  1. ↑ Meckier, Jerome (June 2011). "The History of the Dickens Society, Continued". Dickens Quarterly. 28 (2): 164 – via JSTOR.
  2. 1 2 "The Dickens Society Mission Statement". The Dickens Society. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Bell, Emily (2020). Dickens After Dickens (1st ed.). York: White Rose. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-912482-20-7.
  4. 1 2 Aycock Metz, Nancy (2010). "Recent Dickens Studies: 2010". Dickens Studies Annual. 43: 269 – via JSTOR.
  5. ↑ Abrams, Marc (12 April 2023). "Helluva twist: Did Dickens create the first android in literature?". NewScientist. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Awards". The Dickens Society. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Mooney, Gerry (14 October 2022). "Charles Dickens and Race". Gerry Mooney Illustrating Dickens. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Paroissien, David (2000). "Dickens Quarterly". In Schlicke, Paul (ed.). Oxford reader's companion to Dickens. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866253-2.
  9. ↑ "History". The Dickens Society. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Paroissien, David (1 March 2010). "The Dickens Society: A Retrospect". Dickens Quarterly. 27 (1): 67–71 – via JSTOR.
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