Peter Witkowsky (left), associate professor of English and chair of the Division of Arts & Letters at Mount Saint Mary College, and Mount alumna Elizabeth Hill-Caruso, will present the next Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) talk with "Analogies or Differences: Dickensian Déjà vu in Two Tales by Henry James," on Thursday, October 21 at 4 p.m.
The talk will take place virtually via Zoom. It is free and open to the public, but you must register to attend. Register at www.msmc.edu/iroc10_21
Mount students, faculty, and staff can attend the event in person in DC 218.
Déjà vu is often experienced while reading literature. "It can be an unsettling feeling," noted Witkowsky. "Particularly when, as in our case, two of us experienced the same curious sensation more or less simultaneously, while reading different chapters of the same book, and thinking of two different books, by a different author."
The authors in question: Charles Dickens and Henry James. The upcoming presentation will consider two examples of Dickens's apparent influence over James that have either not been noticed by most readers or have been written off as unimportant. No prior knowledge of either author or familiarity with any of the texts in question – "Dombey and Son" by Dickens and "Daisy Miller" and "The Turn of the Screw" by James – is required.
The goal of the college's iROC is to provide a forum for Mount faculty, staff, and students to showcase their research endeavors with the college and local communities. Presentations include research proposals, initial data collection, and completed research projects.
Mount Saint Mary College, ranked a Top-Tier University by U.S. News & World Report, offers bachelor's and master's degree programs for careers in healthcare, business, education, social services, communications, media, and the liberal arts.