Posted on Monday, December 11, 2006
Dr. Matthew Sivils, Westminster College assistant professor of English, recently presented a paper at the Eastern Association of Pennsylvania State Universities conference on "Literature, Writing, and the Natural World."
"In my paper 'Panther Attacks and American Gothic Ecotones,' I argue that the panther attack scenes found in various works of early American fiction reveal the beginning of an American environmental ethic. These dramatic moments serve as reminders of the ways human activity conflicts (often in deadly ways) with the natural world. Taken together, these passages hint at a growing cultural concern about the human impact on the environment," Sivils said.
"Well attended by a host of literary scholars, and featuring a keynote address by the renowned environmental writer Bill McKibben, the EAPSU conference took as its theme the manner in which environmental concerns emerge from literature," he added.
Sivils, who is in his first year with Westminster College, earned his undergraduate degree from Arkansas Tech University and his master's and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.
Contact Sivils at (724) 946-7350 or email sivilsmw@westminster.edu for more information.
