John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies
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Cameron Seglias
Research Interests
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Eighteenth Century Transatlantic Antislavery
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Print Culture and the History of the Book
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Religion and the Public Sphere
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Mysticism
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Critiques of Early Capitalism
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Modern and Post-Modern Anglo-American Poetry and Poetics
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Theater and Performance
Education
| 10/2015 - 09/2017 | Master in North American Studies
Concentration in Literature and Cultural Studies John-F.-Kennedy-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Master’s Thesis: “Hints Left in Writing: Print History, Hermeneutics, and the Creation of a Readerly Ethics in John Woolman’s Journal.” Advisor: Frank Kelleter |
| 08/2008 - 05/2012 | Bachelor of Arts
Major in Languages and Literature Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA Senior Project: “Within This Hazel.” Advisior: Robert Kelly |
Prior Academic Positions
| 11/2017 – 09/2018 | Interim Research Assistant
Department of English and American Studies Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany Coordinator for English Language Offerings Schreibzentrum|Writing Center Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany |
| 10/2016 - 04/2017 | Teaching Assistant
Department of Literature John-F.-Kennedy-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany |
| 08/2012 - 08/2013 | Academic Assistant
Bard College Berlin Berlin, Germany |
| 05/2011 - 09/2011 | Archivist
Department of Art History Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA |
Awards
| 05/2012 |
Academy of American Poets Prize |
| 05/2011 | Irma Brandeis Prize
Best Proposal for a Thesis in the Humanities Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA |
| 05/2011 |
Mary McCarthy Prize Best Prose Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA |
Conferences
| 10/2018 | Transatlantic Conversations: New and Emerging Approaches
to Early American Studies (Academic Conference), 4-7 Oct. 2018, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany |
Academic Service/Other
| 09/2017 | Certification as Writing Tutor
Schreibzentrum|Writing Center Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany |
| 09/2010 - 05/2011 | Student Member, Professorship Appointment Committee
Department of Medieval Studies Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA |
Memberships
Member, German Association for American Studies (DGfA/GAAS)
| Summer 2018 |
War and Peace in American Culture from the Colonial Era to the Present Department of English and American Studies Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg |
The Published Self: Benjamin Lay, John Woolman, Olaudah Equiano, and the Emergence of an Eighteenth Century Abolitionist Public Sphere (Dissertation Project)
Mentoring team:
First supervisor: Prof. Frank Kelleter
Second supervisor: N.N.
Third supervisor: N.N.
My dissertation will examine the role of the “published self” within an emerging eighteenth century abolitionist public sphere, focusing in particular on the major writings of the Quakers Benjamin Lay (1681-1759) and John Woolman (1720-1772), as well as the former slave Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797). With the use of the term “published self,” I seek to establish a new paradigm through which to investigate the meaning of these important examples of eighteenth century life writing in bolstering the antislavery cause. I will argue that this term places itself in opposition to previous scholarly characterizations of eighteenth century life writing that offer accounts of “exemplary” or “authorial” selves. (1) While the “exemplary” and “authorial” self both imply a clear and controlled “literary form and image of self” that “synthesize private and public histories in accordance with […] dominant ideals,” (2) the “published self” is framed as an argument for the necessity of changing one’s life. In so doing, a “published self” exposes the ways in which the language used to account for the self is in fact always “provided by the other.” (3) Moreover, the “published self” is distinguished by its explicit textual concern with the medium of the printed book, the overturning of traditional humility topoi in a pose of literal self-denial, as well as the inclusion of other technologies of communication such as letter-writing, public statements, and excerption.
| 09/2014 | For Else, Metambesen (Poetry) |
| 06/2014 | “Julian Beck/Now in Paradise,” Mousse Magazine (Review) |
| 11/2013 |
Christina Mirabilis (Play) Directed by Marie Schleef Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA |
