Most Sedgwick scholarship to date has centered on her identity as a rural New Englander, emphasizing her roots in Stockbridge, Mass. The fact that Sedgwick spent nearly half of her adult working life in New York City is too often overlooked. For the 2002 MLA Convention in New York City, the Catharine Maria Sedgwick Society invites proposals for a panel devoted to Sedgwick's New York City life, including her fiction set there; her civic and charitable activities, such as her work on prison reform; her connections to other New York writers, including Cooper, Bryant, Child, Irving and others; and her family and social life in the city.

Send cover letter with your name, affiliation, and contact information, and three separate copies of your proposal identified by title only (not your name)to Jenifer Elmore postmarked no later than Feb. 21. Or, submit electronically by sending a message and your proposal as a Microsoft Word attachment to jelmore@gate.net