Conference Schedule

Thursday, July 9, 2015
3:00-6:00	Registration
5:30-6:00	Opening Announcements and Remarks, Dix Room Introductions: Tammy Clewell, Professor of English, Kent State University Welcome: James L. Blank, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences, Kent State University
6:00-7:00	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Neither Immersion nor Distraction: How We Engage the Arts” Gabrielle Starr, Professor of English and Sheryl Kushner Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, New York University Introduction: Deborah Barnbaum, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Kent State University
7:00-10:00	Reception with Cash Bar

Friday, July 10, 2015
8:00-10:00	Breakfast Buffet and Registration
9:00-10:15	Concurrent Sessions A. Teacher Workshop: Encouraging Empathy through Immersion Reading, Dix Room Suzanne Keen, Professor of English and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Washington and Lee University Introduction: Tammy Clewell, Professor of English, Kent State University B. Developing Key Cognitive Capabilities through Literary Study, McGilvrey Room 1. ”’Some Powerful Rankling Passion’: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Joanna Baillie’s Passion Plays,” M. Soledad Caballero and Aimee Knupsky, Allegheny College 2. “Theory of Mind and Feminist Dystopian Fiction,” Barbara Simerka, Queens College Chair: Nicole Robinson, Outreach Manager, Wick Poetry Center, Kent State University C. Promoting Peace and Justice in History and Economics Courses, Kent Room 1. “Historical Perspective and Empathy in the Undergraduate History Classroom,” Elizabeth Smith-Pryor, Kent State University 2. “Why the ‘History’ in my ‘History of Violence’ Class Still Matters: Illumination and Justification from New Developments in Behavioral, Cognitive and Neurological Sciences,” Daniel Thiery, Iona College 3. “A Role for the Humanities in Economics Courses and Discourses,” Eric Touya, Clemson University Chair: Patrick Coy, Professor of Political Science and Director, School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University
10:15-10:30	Break
10:30-11:30	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Indirect Communication: Artistic Literature as a Social Influence that Enables People to Be Themselves” Keith Oatley, Professor of Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto Introduction: Eric Mintz, Professor of Biological Sciences and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Kent State University
11:30-12:00	Break
12:00-1:00	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Life and Reading: Wayfinding Cognition, Cultural Evolution, and Literary Processing” Nancy Easterlin, Research Professor of English, University of New Orleans Introduction: Ryan Hediger, Assistant Professor of English, Kent State University
1:00-2:00	Lunch
2:00-3:15	Concurrent Sessions A. Teacher Workshop: Taking the Perspective of Problematic Students, Dix Room Hunter Gehlbach, Associate Professor of Education, Harvard University Introduction: Kenneth Bindas, Professor and Chair, Department of History, Kent State University B. Fostering Empathy through Literature, McGilvrey Room 1. “Engagement with Popular Young Adult Fiction Influences Empathy,” Louise Freeman, Mary Baldwin College 2. “’Taking Refuge in How’: Empathic Mirroring in The Bluest Eye,” Kay Satre, Carroll College 3. “Evil and Empathy: Supervillain’s Origins and Imagining Pain,” Valentino Zullo, Kent State University Chair: Babacar M’Baye, Associate Professor of English, Kent State University C. Cognitive Functions of Narrative, Kent Room 1. “Toward a Narrative-Based Pedagogy,” Collin Bjork, Indiana University 2. “Hands of Gods: The Narrative Dilemma of Overdetermined Agency,” Eric Luttrell, Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi 3. “Capgras Delusion, Narrative Selves, Ethics, and Tragedy,” David Palmer, Massachusetts Maritime Academy Chair: Robert Trogdon, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Kent State University
3:15-3:30	Break
3:30-4:30	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Literature and Theory of Mind: Reading Habits and Moral Judgments” David Comer Kidd, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, The New School for Social Research Introduction: Catherine Wing, Associate Professor of English, Kent State University
4:30-5:00	Break
5:00-6:00	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Empathy and Immersion Reading” Suzanne Keen, Professor of English and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Washington and Lee University Introduction: Brooke Horvath, Professor of English, Kent State University
6:00-9:00	Reception with Cash Bar
6:45-8:00	Guided Tour of May 4 Memorial and Visitors Center Tammy Clewell, Professor of English, Kent State University

Saturday, July 11, 2015
8:00-10:00	Breakfast and Registration
9:00-10:15	Concurrent Sessions A. Teacher Workshop: Experience, Narration, Analysis: Gwendolyn Brooks’s "The rites for Cousin Vit," Dix Room Nancy Easterlin, Research Professor of English, University of New Orleans Introduction: David Hassler, Director, Wick Poetry Center, Kent State University B. Promoting Empathy and Solidarity through Writing 1. “Prompting Student Empathy: Content, Relations, and Writing Pedagogy,” Eric Leake, Texas State University 2. “Writing and Culture: A Sociolinguistic Approach to Embracing the ‘We’,” Mica Hall Chair: William Kist, Associate Professor of Education, Kent State University C. Transforming Ableist Cognition through Disability Studies in Literature 1. “A Cognitive Approach to Blindness and Life-Writing,” René Harrison, Purdue University 2. “Empathetically Interrogating Ideologies: Transformations Promising Social Justice,” Rachel Mazique, University of Texas at Austin 3. Response, Sara Newman, Kent State University Chair: Sara Newman, Professor of English, Kent State University
10:15-10:30	Break
10:30-11:30	Plenary Session, Dix Room “Theory of Mind In the Classroom,” Lisa Zunshine, Bush-Holbrook Professor of English, University of Kentucky Introduction: Tammy Clewell, Professor of English, Kent State University
11:30-12:00	Break
12:00-1:00	Plenary Session “Approaching Literature Scientifically: Is It Still Literary?” David Miall, Professor Emeritus of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta Introduction: Susan Roxburgh, Professor of Sociology, Kent State University
1:00-2:00	Lunch
2:00-3:15	Concurrent Sessions A. Teacher Workshop: Reading to Live Many Lives and to Understand Other Minds, Dix Room Keith Oatley, Professor of Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto Introduction: Natasha Levinson, Associate Professor of Education, Kent State University B. Promoting Solidarity through the Humanities, McGilvrey Room 1. “Addressing the Humanistic Needs of Teacher Candidates: Helping the Teacher Help the Student,” Rebecca Chism, Kent State University 2. “Solidarity: A Key Word in Allende’s Social Experiment,” Amado J. Lascar, Ohio University 3. “Christina Rossetti’s Environmentalist Reconceptualization of the Revelation,” Todd O. Williams, Kutztown University Chair: Rebecca Chism, Associate Professor of Foreign Language Pedagogy, Kent State University C. Moral Development through the Humanities, Kent Room 1. “Reading for Justice: Bioethics and Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure,” Donald Beecher, Carleton University 2. “A Sino-Jewish Encounter, A Humanitarian Fantasy,” Haiyan Lee, Stanford University 3. “Beyond Bystander Status: Re-claiming Empathy and Engagement in the Face of Genocidal Violence,” Roderic L. Owen, Mary Baldwin College Chair: Michael Byron, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Kent State University
3:15-3:30	Break
3:30-4:30	*Plenary Session, Dix Room*** “Social Perspective-Taking” Hunter Gehlbach, Associate Professor of Education, Harvard University Introduction: Elizabeth Smith-Pryor, Associate Professor of History, Kent State University
4:30-5:00	Break
5:00-6:00	*Plenary Session, Dix Room*** “Interdisciplinary Research and the Value of Literary Study: Neuroscience and the Humanities” Natalie Phillips, Assistant Professor of English, Michigan State University Introduction: Douglas Delahanty, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Initiative of Clinical and Translational Research, Kent State University
6:00-7:00	Reception with Cash Bar
7:00	Banquet with Cash Bar, McGilvrey Room “The Science of Storytelling: How Empirical Research into Literature Can Re-Program Hollywood and Nurture Democracy” Angus Fletcher, Associate Professor of English and Film Studies, The Ohio State University Introductions: Mark Bracher, Professor of English, Kent State University Welcome: James L. Blank, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences, Kent State University

Sunday, July 12, 2015
8:00-10:00	Breakfast and Registration
9:00-10:30	Concurrent Sessions A. Teacher Workshop: Aesthetic Issues: Empirical Answers, Dix Room David Miall, Professor Emeritus of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta Introduction: Gina Zavota, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Kent State University B. Developing the Cognitive Bases for Social Justice in Literature Classes, McGilvrey Room 1. “’Faulty’ Stereotypes: New Forms of Assessment in the Multi-Ethnic Literature Classroom,” Mayuri Deka, College of the Bahamas 2. “Understanding the Native American Experience: Correcting Faulty Person-Schemas,” Dustin Horner, Kent State University 3. “Enhancing Social Cognition and Promoting Social Justice: Teaching Literature in the Developmental Classroom,” April Mason, Lakeland Community College Chair: Sarah Rilling, Associate Professor of English, Kent State University C. Fostering Critical Thinking through the Humanities, Kent Room 1. “Empathy’s Contribution to Critical Thinking,” Kevin Cutright, St. Louis University 2. “Critical Thinking as a Tool for Meta-Cognition and Improved Decision-Making: A Case Study in Evolutionary Epistemology from a NC Correctional Institute,” Joseph Osei, Fayetteville State University 3. “Interpretation and Scientific Method: A Unity of Purpose and Process,” Brad Sullivan, Western New England University Chair: Dirk Remley, Associate Professor of English, Kent State University
10:30-11:00	Break
11:00-12:30	Plenary Session, Dix Room Moving Forward: How to Advance the Humanities with the Cognitive and Neurosciences Presiding: Mark Bracher, Professor of English, Kent State University
12:30	Lunch, McGilvrey Room