[As we near the
dog days of summer, a series on a handful of AmericanStudies scholars bringing
the fire through their work and voices. I’d love to hear in comments about
scholars whose work lights a fire under you!]
Three of the
many reasons to keep an eye on Lucas Dietrich.
1)
His organizational service: While still a graduate
student at UNH, Luke contributed significantly to one of my favorite scholarly
organizations, the New
England American Studies Association (NEASA) Council. He’s also brought a
lot to conferences for the Northeast MLA (NeMLA), the American Literature
Association (ALA), and THATCamp, among
other work. Now that Luke has received his PhD and moved into the next stage of
his career (with a gig at Lesley University), I look for him to add his voice
to these and other organizations even more fully.
2)
His online scholarship: I first met Luke through
Twitter, where he’s one of the
many young scholars turning that social media site into a nuanced, thoughtful, evolving,
communal conversation. He’s also written for a number of other websites and
spaces, as illustrated by this
wonderful piece for the Humor in America blog. In these and other ways,
Luke is modeling what 21st century public scholarship can be and
offer, and I look forward to seeing where he takes his online writing and voice
next.
3)
His dissertation project: Those first two arenas
would be meaningful even if Luke didn’t have a first book in the works that
seems destined to blow everyone away. But he does—that recently defended
dissertation, on the role that turn of the 20th century publishing
and print culture played in the careers of ethnic authors such as Charles
Chesnutt and Sui Sin Far, promises to become a truly ground-breaking,
innovative, important book project. I’ve spent a good part of the last decade
thinking about Chesnutt, Far, and their contemporaries, and every time I’ve
heard Luke share elements of his work, he has added immeasurably to my perspective
and knowledge. Can’t wait for the book!
Next scholar
tomorrow,
Ben
PS. Scholars you’d
share?
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