Brian Croxall, an Emory University English professor whose research explores representations of technology within fiction and philosophy, is the featured speaker at the Futures of the Book Symposium April 27. The symposium will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries at the University of Georgia.Croxall’s talk, titled “Harder Better Faster Stronger: Books from the Future,” will be at 11:15 a.m. Technology is not only the subject of his work, but also the method of his research and pedagogy. His work in the digital humanities uses geospatial tools to plot literary events, and he writes about integrating digital tools with his teaching in journals such as Writing and Pedagogy and The Chronicle of Higher Education’s blog, ProfHacker. He co-edited an issue of Neo-Victorian Studies on the subject of steampunk and is a cluster editor for the #alt-academy project.
The symposium also will include a workshop on futurist books led by Jed Rasula, Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor of English, and a UGA faculty panel featuring Eileen Wallace, Mark Callahan, Elizabeth Davis and Christopher Eaket. “Unbound in Time: Futures of the Book,” an exhibit curated by doctoral students in the English department will be featured in the gallery of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The event is sponsored by the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, Ideas for Creative Exploration and the department of English.