Dickens Matters? A Collaborative Story About Our Spring 2019 Dickens Seminar Told in Six Parts

abstract:This collaborative article takes six different looks at what it means to read and study Dickens today in both the graduate and undergraduate classrooms, as well as in the culture at large. The responses examine Dickens and Dickens studies from viewpoints including feminist studies, transmediality, adaptation, childhood and youth studies, as well as raise questions about the viability of single-author studies. Equal parts supportive defense and tough cross-examination, young scholars explore whether and how Dickens matters in both literature and culture today.