About the Melville Society
|
About the Melville Society |
«» Established in 1947, the Melville Society is one of the largest international single-author societies with over 750 individual and institutional members. Its primary activities are the publication of two scholarly journals, LEVIATHAN and EXTRACTS, the sponsorship of two annual meetings, and the promotion of various events and programs. This non-profit organization strives to facilitate and enhance intellectual discourse throughout the world concerning the life, associates, works, reputation, and influence of nineteenth-century American novelist and poet Herman Melville. While largely an academic organization, the Melville Society is open to all readers of Melville.
«» The Society's Executive Board, openly elected by all members, consists of a Secretary (Christopher Sten), Treasurer (Dennis Berthold), Editor (John Bryant), and Historian (Frederick Kennedy), who serve three year terms, as well as the President and two Program Chairs, who serve one-year terms. As directed by the Society's by-laws, the Board coordinates the Society's annual and special programs, membership roles, publications, business, and finances.
«» The Melville Society meets twice a year. Its main business meeting and panels are conducted each December at the Modern Language Association convention; a program is also conducted in late May at the American Literature Association conference. In addition, the Society sponsors special programs, generally at venues related to Melville's life. In 1991 we conducted a centennial observation of Melville's death, in Pittsfield (where Melville wrote many major works including Moby-Dick) and New York City. In 1997 the Society held its first International Conference in Volos, Greece, and a second in Mystic Seaport (1999). Upcoming conferences include Moby-Dick 2001, a celebration of the sesquicentennial of the publication of Melville's masterpiece, to be held on 18-20 October 2001, at Hofstra University's Cultural Center. A conference in Hawaii is projected for 2003.
«» The Society sponsors various outreach programs such as ISHMAIL (an online mailserv discussion group established in 1994), the Melville Gallery and Lyceum committee (Elizabeth Schultz, Robert Wallace, and Christopher Sten) seeking to establish exhibition space for the Society, a Book Exchange committee (Wyn Kelley and Juana Djelal) which attempts to help individuals and institutions overseas in need of texts, and the Melville Electronic Library project (John Bryant and Haskell Springer).
«» For information concerning Melville Society programs and projects, contact Christopher Sten (Secretary), Department of English, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail: csten@gwu.edu.
«» For information concerning Melville Society publications, contact John Bryant (Editor), Department of English, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549. E-mail: engjlb@hofstra.edu.
«» To join the Melville Society, and to receive its publications, send your check for $15 (made out to the Melville Society) to Dennis Berthold (Treasurer), Department of English, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843. E-mail: d-berthold@tamu.edu.
