Symposium: Rhetorics of Plague: Early / Modern Trajectories of Biohazard

Rhetorics of Plague: Early / Modern Trajectories of Biohazard

You are cordially invited to attend the upcoming symposium titled "Rhetorics of Plague: Early / Modern Trajectories of Biohazard," which will be held February 26-27 in the Standish Room on the University at Albany.  As a collaborative project, "Rhetorics of Plague" will be a multi-disciplinary exploration of the connections between 20th- and 21st-century representations and medical models of biological pandemic and those in earlier periods ranging from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.  Given the current prospect of devastating epidemic, our aim is to establish a dialogue that can address a diverse range of historical, disciplinary, and conceptual perspectives.  Over 30 researchers from several countries and from a number of fields--including anthropology, English, history, religious studies, pharmacology, public health, and Islamic studies--will convene to offer presentations on topics ranging from the Black Death and the arts, to the economics of contagion, to environmental factors of biohazard.

A full description of the symposium, including the two-day program and summaries of the keynote lectures, is available at the website: http://www.albany.edu/english/plague.shtml.  Attendance is free for all Albany staff, faculty, and students, as well as for students from any institution.  Registration is otherwise $10.  A flyer for the symposium is below.
 
We hope you will be able to come.  Please let us know if you have any questions. 
 
Sincerely,
 
The symposium organizing committee:
 
Richard Barney           rbarney@albany.edu  
Kir Kuiken
Ineke Murakami
Helene Scheck            hscheck@albany.edu
 
Department of English, HU 333
University at Albany, SUNY
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222