By Steve Esser
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — Students represented Young Harris College at the 38th University of Virginia-Wise Medieval Renaissance Conference, speaking on a variety of research topics related to the medieval and Renaissance periods.
Current students Aidan Vrazel and Ralph Elver presented essays at the academic conference in Wise, VA. Academic conferences are public gatherings of scholars based on disciplines – or fields of study – and often are a ground level for research scholarships.
The presentations were:
- Aidan Vrazel: “Militaristic Christianity in Song of Roland”
- Ralph Elver: “Women in Shakespeare: Transgressive or Passive”
“This event was significant because it gave our Young Harris students an opportunity to present on some facet of research that they are working on,” said Dr. Daniel Helbert, an assistant professor of English at Young Harris College. Helbert arranged and organized the trip for the students. “This, then, enables further conversation, networking, and ultimately publication of their research.”
“I heard about the conference from Dr. Helbert, and it sounded like a great learning experience and a good opportunity to share my ideas,” said Ralph Elver, an English major. “I learned a lot of interesting perspectives on literature, and I particularly enjoyed Sydney Gnoth from ETSU’s presentation on numerology in Dante’s Divine Comedy.”
Aidan Vrazel, also an English major at YHC, agreed: “I had a great time at the conference, and I was particularly impressed by the students who presented during the Dante section, which gave me ideas for future research and a paper for the class. I went on the trip to challenge myself and get experience in presenting scholarship to help me prepare for graduate school.
“I was also impressed by how encouraging everyone was. The atmosphere did not put pressure on you but felt like an open space to share interesting and intellectual ideas and research with other students. As a nerd myself, it was cool to connect with others and hear research from people who have similar interests.”
The annual UVA conference is based around the medieval and Renaissance periods, popular areas of research. The event is also interdisciplinary, meaning there were other English scholars as well as historians, art historians, and music historians. Conferences like this are often at the graduate level or higher, meaning the participants either have or are pursuing a graduate degree in the field.
“However, the UVA Wise Renaissance conference has a healthy undergraduate program every year as well. That’s what our YHC students were presenting and why it was such a great opportunity,” Helbert said. “All the presentations were very well received by the academic community, and these young scholars were fantastic representatives of Young Harris College.”
The conference wasn’t all work, though, as the group was able to take a post-conference excursion, including a visit to Natural Tunnel State Park in Virginia and a float trip down the Clinch River in Tennessee.
