St Andrews and William & Mary staff unite
Dr Clare Fisher, Dr Asha Hornsby and Dr Katie Garner visited the College of William & Mary from Wednesday 5 March to Friday 7 March 2025 to participate in the biennial staff symposium, hosted by the St Andrews-William & Mary joint degree programme. It is designed to bring together faculty members from both institutions to share current and future research projects and to explore ways in which their various interests might lead to fruitful collaborations.
The symposium theme was '(Re)imagine' and it began with a double session dedicated to (re)imagining the ocean in the nineteenth century. Dr Asha Hornsby (St Andrews), gave a paper on the celebration of May Day aboard whaling ships, drawing on her research into ships' doctors' diaries, while Professor Deborah Morse (William & Mary), examined the connections between whaling, naval impressment and enslavement in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Sylvia's Lovers. Professor Francesca Sawaya (William & Mary) discussed the transnational politics of mermaid ballets, and Dr Katie Garner (St Andrews) examined collaborations between mermaids and dolphins in Romantic poetry.
Presentations also highlighted students' involvement in research projects at both institutions. Dr Clare Fisher (St Andrews) reflected on her work as part of the Commemorative Cultures project and teaching the Virtually Integrated Project (VIP), Monuments: Conflict and Movement, while Professor Arthur Knight (William & Mary) outlined student involvement in analysing data collected from tables of contents in literary anthologies.
Further participants from William & Mary included Professor Suzanne Hagedorn, who spoke on Amazons in medieval literature, Professor Liz Losh on the challenges of AI literacy, Professor Kim Wheatley on John Cowper Powys and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Professor Brett Wilson on Edmund Burke’s Gothic language.
Later this month, Dr Sara Lodge will visit William & Mary as part of the longstanding staff exchange between both institutions, while Professor Adam Potkay will visit St Andrews in April. Professor Liz Losh also visited the School on 14 March.
The BA International Degree celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024. There are currently 26 students enrolled on BA International honours English who spend an equal amount of time studying St Andrews and at the College of William & Mary.
