Newsletter

Cervantes Society of America

February 1994

Belated Winter greetings from Ohio, where a thaw finally appears to be under way. The various Cervantine activities at last December's MLA Convention in Toronto (as announced in the October Newsletter) were successful and warmly received. Equally warm was the hospitality of Toronto and our colleagues there, though the elements outside blew in another, rather more Boreal key. There is lots to report, so we will get right to the mintues.

     In Attendance were: J. Allen, A. Cruz, W. Clamurro, A. Martín, M. McGaha, and A. Williamsen. (Due to confusion about time and place, other members missed this meeting; but despite lack of a quorum, we went forward anyway.)
     The meeting was called to order at 1:50pm by Vice President Jay Allen. Minutes of the previous meetings (27 & 28 Dec. 1992) were read and approved.
     After some brief announcements by Prof. Allen, M. McGaha gave his Editor's Report, which he had written out, as follows:
     “During the past year sixteen articles have been submitted to Cervantes. We accepted three of those articles, invited the authors of five others to revise and resubmit them, and rejected eight. Two articles have been revised and accepted on resubmission. As usual, I have published Monique Joly's paper from last year's business meeting. Vol. XII, no. 2, was a special issue guest edited by Daniel Eisenberg and J. A. Cerezo, containing ten of the papers presented at the symposium on “Eroticism and Witchcraft in Cervantes” in Montilla in November and December of 1991. Except for the book reviews, that entire issue was in Spanish. I was especially pleased that seven of the papers were by professors from France and Spain, and one of the contributors was from Japan. I hope that publishing these papers will help to make our journal better known in Europe. The organizers of the conference in Montilla ordered 400 extra copies for distribution there. This undertaking has been so successful that I also plan to publish selected papers from the conference on “La construcción del personaje en la obra cervantina” held in Castro del Río last month. Vol. XIII, no.2—a regular issue—was mailed out to our subscribers earlier this month.
     “I have just sent off Vol. XIV, no. 1—also a regular issue—for typesetting. It contains five articles and three book reviews. The lead article is Ted Riley's “Cipión Writes to Berganza in the Freudian Academia Española.” Vol. XIV, no. 2, will contain the papers from last April's Southern California Cervantes Symposium.
     “I am very grateful to Ed Friedman and Bill Clamurro for all their help during the past year. I should mention that I have recently appointed Daniel Eisenberg to the Editorial Board. Now that he is no longer editing the Journal of Hispanic Philology, he should have time to read some articles for us. As I'm sure you know, he is a very demanding editor, and his comments are always erudite and interesting.”
     Next, Wm. Clamurro gave the Treasurer's Report for the calendar year 1993 (see the Report at the end of this Newsletter). Happily, we seem to be in better financial shape than we were at the same time a year ago.
     J. Allen brought up, under the heading of Old Business, the unresolved problem that the terms of Executive Council members all begin and end at the same time, creating in a lack of “continuity” that might result from some overlap of terms. Allen suggested that we ,odify this so that members of the council would be elected in a “staggered” fashion. Discussion ensued. It was agreed that, to achieve this staggering of terms, we would suggest at the Open Meeting that, for just this one time, we extend from two to three years the terms of one group of the council members to be elected for the next term (1995 & 1996). After that, elections for the regional council members will take place in alternate years from the elections of the at-large members.
     It was then moved to elect a three-person nominating committee for the next set of elections (in addition to new Executive Council members, an election is needed for President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer, all of whose terms end at the end of 1994). Prof. Ed. Friedman was nominated and elected without opposition to be on this committee; two additional people would be elected at the Open Business Meeting.
     Suggestions were made for next year's (December 1994) guest speaker. Several names were mentioned, including Agustín Redondo, Michel Moner, and Rosa Navarro. Prof. Allen will explore these and other possibilities.
     Concerning the CSA's panel at the next MLA convention, it was first decided to keep it an “open topic” situation. Subsequently, it was decided to have the topic reflect the themes of the recently published Quixotic Desire, edited by Ruth El Saffar and Diana Wilson; the tentative title would be “Reflections on ‘Quixotic Desire’: Psychoanalytic Readings Pro & Contra.” The deadline for submission of proposals is March 15, 1994. J. Allen brought up the issue of whether or not we wished to continue holding the annual CSA meeting in conjunction with the MLA convention. Discussion ensued. The sense was that, as undesirable as is the time of year (holidays), we may have little alternative. But other ideas will be pursued (e.g., meeting at the Kentucky Foreign Language conference).
     The idea of exchanging e-mail addresses was again brought up. (Subsequently, in February of 1994, a couple of possibilities for e-mail linked Cervantes Discussion Groups have emerged; see the enclosed announcements from G. Díaz Migoyo and J. T. Abraham)
     It was agreed that the Secretary would reprint the CSA Constitution and get copies to the Executive Council members and other officers.
     It was mentioned that J. M. Casasayas has stepped down from his position in the Asociación Internacional de Cervantistas and that the association will now be headquartered in the Centro de Estudios Cervantinos in Alcalá.
     The meeting was adjourned at 2:40pm.

     The meeting was called to order at 3:30pm by Jay Allen, who made several announcements (including mention of our President Ruth El Saffar's current condition, the idea of exchanging e-mail addresses, and other issues previously discussed in the Executive Council meeting).
     The Editor's and Treasurer's Reports (as included above and at the end of this newsletter) were made.
     J. Allen brought up the above mentioned proposal for achieving a structure of staggered terms for Executive Council members. R. ter Horst moved to approve this proposal; the motion was seconded by P. Kenworthy, and was passed unanimously.
     Concerning the nominating committee, Prof. Allen announced the selection of E. Friedman. Ellen Anderson and Teresa Sears were also nominated. It was moved to close nominations; Anderson and Sears were elected by acclamation. It was agreed that the Sec.-Treas. would get in touch with the members of the nominating committee and give instructions about the process, along with the reprinted Constitution.
     J. Allen introduced Prof. Amy Williamsen, who introduced the invited speaker, Prof. Geoffrey Stagg (U. of Toronto), noting Prof. Stagg's distinguished contributions to Cervantine studies. Prof. Stagg delivered his address, “The Composition and Revision of La Galatea.”
     The session ended at 4:25pm.

Concerning e-mail and electronic discussion groups, the following announcement was received from Prof. Gonzalo Díaz Migoyo:

     CERVNTES is a new Internet mailing list-based discussion group devoted to all aspects of Cervantes' times, life, and works. We hope that CERVNTES can serve as a shared resource for on-going conversation among scholars working in any and all Cervantine subjects throughout the world. Students and people outside the academy who have an interest in things Cervantine are also welcome on CERVNTES
     Why was it called CERVNTES, instead of CERVANTES? Simple: the current mailing list's system allows only eight characters in the title. Then again, the lack of this middle “A” doesn't impede recognition, while it lends a distinctive electronic allure to the group's name. Don't you agree?
     All you need to participate in this group is an e-mail account that can send & receive mail to & from the Internet. Many US educational and research institutions, and many others worldwide, offer this capability; typically, free of charge to its employees. You will not be getting into something that will make any demand on you; joining the group means only that you will receive any messages sent to CERVNTES. You don't have to answer, or even read, them.
     As with any list, CERVNTES will soon adapt itself to the interests of the people who participate in it. We will try to keep things as informal as possible. The list manager has no rigid program in mind and no aversion to controversy, as long as arguments are pursued in a manner appropriate to the poblic nature of the list. This is an unmoderated list. I rely on your discretion.
1. To subscribe to CERVNTES, just send an e-mail message from your own e-mail address to:

The body of the message should read:

For example, if Juan Gallo de Andrade wanted to subscribe, he would write:

2. Once subscribed, your e-mail address will be automatically recorded and you will be able to send and receive comments, queries, etc., to/from the list as e-mail messages. They will be automatically distributed to all members.

PLEASE NOTE: Once subscribed, you will be sending and receiving messages ONLY to/from this address:

3. If you have difficulties signing on, or have further questions about the list and how it works, do not hesitate to contact me (regular mail, e-mail, voice phone, or fax) at the address below:

List manager:	Gonzalo Díaz Migoyo
	Department of Hispanic Studies
	Northwestern University
	Evanston, IL 60208-2202
e-mail:	gdmigoyo@nwu.edu
Voice phone:	708-491-8658
FAX:	708-491-8128

CERVNATES is supported by Northwestern University's Academic Computing & Networking Services and by its Dept. of Hispanic Studies.

A second list group has evidently been initiated by James T. Abraham, at the U. of Arizona. Its name, slightly different from Prof. Díaz Migoyo's list, is CERVANTE (reinserting the A and dropping the final S). Mr. Abraham sends the following instructions:
     To subscribe to CERVANTE, a discussion of Cervantes, send an email message to:
          listserv@arizvm1.ccit.arizona.edu
     Do not type anything on the subject line.
     In the actual letter, type:
          subscribe cervante your personal name
          (example: subscribe cervante William Clamurro)
     Send the note.

     In a few minutes, the listserv will send you back confirmation and further instructions. At this point, you're ready to begin discussing Cervantes!

News notes from all over, publications, etc.

     We are pleased to announce that our colleague James A. Parr (UC Riverside) received a Significant Achievement Award from the College or Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, his alma mater, on November 15, 1993. During the spring quarter of 1994 he will be in residence at the U. of Alabama in Huntsville as Eminent Scholar in the Humanities, offering a graduate-level course on Don Quixote in English translation.
     Recent publications that have come to our attention include the following: Stephen Harrison, La composición de Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (Madrid: Editorial Pliegos, 1993); Francisco Sánchez, Lectura y representación: Análisis cultural de las Novelas ejemplares de Cervantes (NY, etc.: Peter Lang, 1993); Alison Weber, “Pentimento: The Parodic Text of La gitanilla,” HR winter 1994; 62(1): 59-75. Forthcoming from Van der Heijden Publishers, in The Hague, Karl-Ludwig Selig, ed., Polyanthea: Essays on Art and Literature in honor of William Sebastian Heckscher, which contains Prof. Selig's study, “Don Quixote and Sancho Panza meet the Duke and the Duchess —Don Quixote, II, 30.”
     Last November's Coloquio of the Asociación de Cervantistas (held in Alcalá) included 25 ponencias and 8 plenary addresses. The plenaries were R. Reyes Cano, “La presencia de Sevilla en la vida y las obras de Cervantes”; F. J. Díez de Revenga, “Cervantes poeta y su recepción por los poetas de nuestro siglo”; M. Moner, “Cervantes y la desconstrucción del texto literario”; A. Close, “Cervantes, satírico literario”; R. Navarro, “Escenas y gestos en las Novelas ejemplares”; M. McGaha, “La Gran Sultana: La ‘delicia turca’ de Cervantes”; D. Eisenberg, “Cervantes, autor de la Toponimia de Argel publicada por Diego de Haedo”; and P. Jauralde, “El Quijote: II, 28.”
     Our colleague Salvador J. Fajardo (SUNY Binghamton) is directing an NEH Summer Seminar for School Teachers, “Reading Don Quixote,” 27 June-5 Aug. '94.
     Finally, we are informed that the upcoming Fourteenth Annual Symposium on Golden Age Spanish Drama (to be held at the U. of Texas, El Paso, March 9-12) will include several papers on Cervantes's theatre: Brian N. Stiegler (Penn State U.), “The Coming of a New Jerusalem: Apocalyptic Vision in Cervantes's La Numancia”; Charles Oriel (Washington U.), “La Numancia and Speech-act Theory”; Frederick de Armas (Penn State U.), “The Necromancy of Imitation: Lucan and Cervantes in La Numancia”; Francisco J. Martín, “La novela en los Entremeses de Cervantes”; David Castillo & William Egginton (U. of MN), “The Rules of Chanfalla's Game”; Frances Meuser-Blincow (U. of Alabama, Birmingham), “Narrativity in the Comedias of Miguel de Cervantes”; and Ellen Anderson (York U.) and Dawn L. Smith (Trent U.), “Depth Perception: Cervantes's Dramas, with Interludes.”

Final Reminders: The Deadline for submitting a proposal for the CSA panel at the upcoming MLA Convention (San Diego) is March 15th; please contact or send your proposal to Prof. John J. Allen, Dept. of Spanish & Italian, U. of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40506-0027.
Please note the year number to the right of your name on the mailing label of this Newsletter. We would like all members to be paid up through '94. Your checks are warmly welcomed. Best wishes for a well-deserved spring!

Cervantes Society of America
c/o William H. Clamurro
Department of Modern Languages
Denison University
Box M
Granville, OH 43023

Fred Jehle jehle@ipfw.edu	Publications of the CSA	H–Cervantes
URL: http://www.h-net.org/~cervantes/csa/nwsltw94.htm