Downton Abbey comes alive at Northeastern State University – Feb. 19-24

Visiting scholar Dr. Laura Harrison covers topics such as suffragette, domestic service and class relations, and gender; living literature class and a day of Fulbright activities round out week

(Tahlequah, Okla.)-- Northeastern State University will host a Fulbright scholar Dr. Laura Harrison on its campuses fromFeb. 19 to 24, for five days of Downton Abbey learning.

Harrison is from Great Britain and graduated from University of Glasgow. She attended University of York for her Master of Arts degree and completed her doctorate in history at the University of Leeds. Harrison is visiting NSU through a grant she received as a Fulbright scholar, paid for via the Outreach Lecturing Fund.

Harrisons primary scholarly interest examines young people and urban space in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, considering how young working people understood and engaged with their environment, with a particular focus on their leisure and courtship activities.

Harrison will give a series of lectures that are free and open to the public with the schedule as follows:

Feb. 19 and 21:Downstairs at Downton Abbey: Domestic Service and Class Relations in Edwardian England, at 5 p.m. in the Broken Arrow Administrative Services Annex for first presentation, then at Circle Cinema, Tulsa at 2 p.m. for the second

Feb. 20:Suffragette vs. Mary Poppins Sister Suffragette: a highlight of issues of Class and Gender, at1:30 p.m. in the Broken Arrow Administrative Services Annex

Feb. 24:Dangerous Amusements: Leisure, courtship and the young working class in Britain, 1880-1920 from11 a.m.on the Tahlequah campus in the Webb Auditorium

Also on Feb. 19 and20, there will be a special NSU class called Living Literature Weekend Course: Downton Abbey, taught by Dr. Andrew Vassar, associate professor of humanities. This course will focus on the modern television series Downton Abbey and the many associations surrounding it: class, gender, World War I and the downfall of the gentry alongside the rise of the middle class, and more, all through the lens of the manners and meanings of the shows presentation. Harrison will present a special guest lecture during the second day of class.

NSU Fulbright Day 2016 rounds the week out. OnFeb. 23, two representatives from Fulbright, Sarah Causer, Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund Coordinator, and Cecilia Kocinski-Mulder, Senior Program Officer for Visiting Scholars from Europe and the Scholar-in-Residence Program, will accompany Harrison to visit with faculty and conduct a presentation about Fulbright opportunities. Fulbright Day will entail two lectures from Harrison, a lunch meeting for NSU faculty with interest in Fulbright opportunities, and a meet-and-greet hosted by the Office of International Programs.

OLF creates an opportunity for Fulbright Visiting Scholars who are currently in the United States to travel to other higher education institutions across the country. OLF allows these scholars to share their specific research interests, speak on the history and culture of their home country, exchange ideas with U.S. students, faculty and community organizations, become acquainted with U.S. higher education and create linkages between their home and host institutions.

For more information regarding the lectures, Fulbright day, and the Living Literature course, please contact Vassar at vassar@nsuok.eduor 918.444.2728.

Published: 2016-02-18 09:27:51.263000