UMA Lunch & Learn with English Department Faculty
The UMA English Program recently hosted a Lunch and Learn at Katz Library in Augusta featuring three faculty members presenting research they previously shared at national conferences.
Professor Robert Kellerman talked about 鈥淢odern Medieval Music Makers,鈥� a topic he shared with the Medieval and Renaissance Forum at Keene State College in New Hampshire in 2025. He has developed an interest in medievalism studies 鈥� the reception of the Middle Ages 鈥� and here explores modern musicians who are appropriating medieval music in various ways.
Professor Lisa Botshon鈥檚 work, 鈥溾�楲et us have our bathrooms鈥�: Harriet Beecher Stowe鈥檚 Prescient Plumbing鈥� is an outgrowth of her recent interdisciplinary course, Stalled: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Bathroom. She argues that Stowe was an early influencer regarding the bathroom, which was not a standard fixture in American homes until well into the 20th century.
Professor Ellen Taylor鈥檚 scholarship on poet and essayist Celia Thaxter, is a continuation of earlier work on Thaxter鈥檚 ornithological advocacy and her cultivation of the first American summer salon on Appledore Island. Taylor鈥檚 paper, 鈥淣asturtium and Neuralgia: Celia Thaxter鈥檚 Gardening Rest Cure鈥� discusses how Thaxter turned to the garden to deal with chronic illness and inadequate medical care.