Elizabethtown College English Literature Minor Presents Research at Conference

Elizabethtown College Social Studies Education major and English Literature minor Haley Bateman ’26 recently presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA) on Nov. 14 in Chicago, Ill.

“Presenting at the MMLA Convention in Chicago was incredibly beneficial and rewarding,” Bateman said. “Sharing my research with those in the English field was a great experience, and receiving meaningful questions and feedback on my work was very helpful for my future writing and research.”

Bateman’s paper, “‘A White Woman’s Falsehood:’ Myths of Chivalry and Black-on-White Rape in Ida B. Wells’s Pamphlets,” addressed Wells’ work on lynching in the United States, which was published during the 1890s. The presentation was based on a paper Bateman wrote for EN 203: American Literature and Culture II: 1866-Present, taught by Assistant Professor of English Literature Patrick S. Allen.

Allen and Bateman co-presented a paper on Carmen Mario Machado’s memoir, “In the Dream House.” Their joint presentation was based on an article the two published in the journal Midwestern Miscellany, titled “‘We can’t stop living:’ No Love for Queer Memoirs in the Heartland.” The pair began working together on the subject in May 2023 through Allen’s Queer Literature course.

In addition to presenting, Bateman got the chance to learn from other scholars and listen to their perspectives and analyses on a variety of literary works.

“It was an absolute pleasure witnessing Haley present (both on their own and with me) at this conference,” Allen said. “They’re doing work at a level typically expected of graduate students. I was proud to have Haley represent English literature at Etown with me given the deep, critical analysis they put forth in both their papers.”

Allen and Bateman were able to connect through Bateman’s English Literature minor. The minor allows students to conduct close literary analysis that relates to their interests while working closely with Etown’s English faculty and staff who specialize in a variety of literary areas.