We are pleased to report that NAVSA's second annual conference was a grand success. Taking place on the University of Toronto's downtown campus from 28 to 31 October 2004, the conference was expertly run by Co-Chairs David Latham (York) and Jill Matus (Toronto), with the aid of Pam Gravestock (Conference Co-Ordinator) and the conference committee, Katey Anderson (York U), Christine Bolus-Reichert (U Toronto), Corey Davies (U Western Ontario), Richard Dellamora (Trent U), Dennis Denisoff (Ryerson U), Sara Malton (Cornell U), and Lisa Smith (U Toronto). We are particularly thankful for the generous support we received from Ryerson University (Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, the Faculty of Arts, and the Department of English), the University of Toronto (Office of the Vice-President and Provost, the Faculty of Arts & Science, and the Department of English), Trent University (Cultural Studies Program, Dean of Graduate Studies, Department of English), the University of Western Ontario (Office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Department of English), York University (Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, office of Research Services), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
The 2004 conference featured speakers from a wide range of disciplines, including Art History, English, History, and the History of Science. The conference theme, "Victorian Frontiers," inspired a rich array of diverse panels. The first day of the conference offered papers on such broad subjects as Victorian state formation, nationality, and the law, as well as on more narrow subjects, such as Victorian waxworks or dining out in the nineteenth century. That first day concluded with a keynote address by Patrick Brantlinger (English, Indiana) on "Cannibals and Missionaries" and was followed by cocktails in the University of Toronto's beautiful rare book library. Conference participants then took advantage of Toronto's exceptionally fine downtown restaurants. Highlights from the second day include a plenary address delivered by Linda and Michael Hutcheon (English and Faculty of Medicine, Toronto), accompanied by Helmut Reichenbächer and several Victorian Wagner aficionados, who appeared live and in person in the form of paper masks (and hats). Friday also featured an evening banquet in Toronto's handsome Great Hall (complete with Victorian music provided by some of Toronto's talented opera graduate students), where James Eli Adams (English, Cornell) awarded the first Donald Gray prize for best essay in the field of Victorian Studies. Saturday not only featured additional panels, but also a plenary address by Harriet Ritvo (Arthur J. Conner Professor of History, MIT) as well as special seminars on works in progress by James Eli Adams (English, Cornell), Audrey Jaffe (English, Independent Scholar), Dianne Sachko Macleod (Art History, California-Davis), Jerome McGann (John Stewart Bryan Professor of 19th and 20th Century, History and Theory of Texts, Virginia), and James Vernon (History, California-Berkeley). The conference concluded on Sunday with Kate Flint's (English, Rutgers) plenary address on "Indian Frontiers."
We are grateful to all those who presented their fine work, and look forward to seeing you at future NAVSA conferences: 2005 at the U of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA); 2006 at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN); and 2007 at the U of Victoria (Victoria, BC).
Patrick Brantlinger at the Thursday night reception
Michael Hutcheon, Linda Hutcheon, and Helmut Reichenbächer after the Friday afternoon plenary talk
Jason Camlot, Dino Felluga, Michael Eberle-Sinatra, and Jill Matus
