ASECS Committees, 2025–2026
Engage with the society on a new level by joining a committee! ASECS has a number of standing committees, in addition to other limited-term task forces and subcommittees, that help advance the mission of supporting the interdisciplinary and global study and teaching of the long eighteenth century.
Below are some of our standing committees with their descriptions. Read about other volunteer opportunities, and learn how to express your interest in committee service, on our Volunteer Page.
Access and Belonging Committee
Charge: To support greater equity, inclusion, and accessibility for ASECS members, and to foster racial, ethnic, and gender diversity within the Society.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee meets throughout the year.
2025-2026 Committee
Chair and Member at Large, Mehl Penrose
Executive Board Member, Olivia Sabee
Disability Studies Caucus, Michael Reznicek
Graduate Student/Early Career Studies Caucus, Annie Schultz
Women’s Caucus, Lillian Lu
Race and Empire Caucus, Michael Berlin
Queer and Trans Caucus, Cass Turner
Note: The Anti-Harassment Committee (see this page) is responsible for receiving complaints from members.
Annibel Jenkins Biography Prize
Charge: Selects the author of the best book-length biography of a late seventeenth-century or eighteenth-century subject
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, David Alff
· Rebecca Haidt
· Robert Paulett
Awards Committee
Charge: Works with the Executive Director to coordinate all awards, fellowship and prize subcommittees.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Mattie Burkert
· Piper Milton, graduate student member
· Jason Schaffer
Careers and Mentorship Committee
Charge: Support mentoring and career development and advancement.
2025-2026 Committee
Chair, Yota Batsaki
Emily Spunaugle
Bethany Qualls
Development Committee
Charge: Identify areas of funding and financial development.
Composition: Treasurer, Executive Director, and 2-3 members
Deadlines and Timeframe: The Committee meets regularly throughout the year.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Joseph Bartolomeo
· Michael Lynn (ex-officio)
· Benita Blessing(ex-officio)
· Jeremy Webster
Graduate Student Prize Committee
Charge: Identifies best graduate student research essay prize and best graduate student conference paper.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions to Graduate Student Research Essay Prize, usually due Jan. 1, for papers submitted in the previous 12 months; it reviews submissions for the Graduate Student Conference Paper, usually due 2 weeks after the Annual Meeting.
- Jonathan Haddad
- Adam Schoene
- Helena Yoo-Roth
Hans Turley Prize in Queer Eighteenth-Century Studies
Charge: Selects the best paper on a topic in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual, or Queer Studies delivered at the ASECS Annual Meeting or a regional affiliate conference by a graduate student, an untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar.
Composition: Senior members of the Gay and Trans Caucus (and thus ineligible for the prize).
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually, usually due Oct. 1, for papers presented in the previous 12 months.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Susan Lanser
· Jason Farr
· Kristina Straub
Anti-Harassment Committee
Charge: The Harassment Committee is charged with receiving complaints from any participant in an ASECS-sponsored activity who has experienced a violation of the harassment policy.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee meets as necessary.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Susan Lanser
· Julia Fawcett
· Luis Ramos
antiharassment@asecs.org
Innovative Course Design Committee
Charge: Selects the most innovative examples of undergraduate teaching.
Composition: 3 members.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually in the fall.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Steven Thomas
· Juliette Paul
· Linda Troost
James L. Clifford Prize Committee
Charge: Selects the best article on an eighteenth-century topic.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually, usually due on Jan. 1.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Masano Yamashita
· Terry Robinson
· Douglas Fordham
Louis Gottschalk Prize Committee
Charge: Selects the best book in eighteenth-century studies.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually, usually due on Nov. 1.
2025-2026 Committee
Chair: Amelia Rauser
Logan Connors
Rachel Carnell
Media and Publications Advisory Committee (MPAC)
Charge: Advises the Executive Board and the Business Office on matters broadly related to communications and publications.
Composition: Executive Director (chair); one member at large; one Executive Board member; the editors of the two journals.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee meets as needed throughout the year.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Benita Blessing, Executive Director
· Executive Board Member, Al Coppola
· ECS editor, Ramesh Mallipeddi
· SECC editor George Boulukos
· Nicole M. Wright
Membership Committee
Charge: Support the recruitment and retention of new and continuing members.
2025-2026 Committee
Chair, Paul Kelleher
Brian Cowan
Myriam Iuorio
Chloe Nothrop
Nominating Committee
Charge: Prepares a slate of ASECS members to run for various offices. The offices to be filled annually include the Second Vice-President and two positions as Members-at-Large.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committees solicits and reviews candidates for service on the Executive Board annually. The report to the Executive Director is usually due in the fall.
- 2025-2026 Committee
- Chair, Jennifer Germann
- Jeremy Chow
- ·Catherine Jaffe
- ·Benjamin Pauley
Program Committee for Annual Meeting, Philadelphia 2026
Charge: Assists the Business Office to plan the Annual Meeting.
Deadlines/Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the Program to the Annual Meeting, usually due in the summer; and helps prepare the schedule and program for distribution 2-3 months before the Annual Meeting.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Hanna Roman
· Accessibility Coordinator, Tekla Babyak,
· Monica Hahn
· Robert Paulett
· Michele Pflug
Note: Please contact Executive Director Benita Blessing for questions about the Annual Meeting (director@asecs.org).
Srinivas Aravamudan Prize Committee
Charge: Selects best article in previous academic year that “pushes the boundaries, geographical and conceptual, of eighteenth-century studies, especially by using a transnational, comparative, or cosmopolitan approach.”
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually, usually due on Jan. 1.
· Chair, Valentina Tikoff
· Sarah Benharrech
· Blanca Missé
Travel Awards Committee
Charge: Reviews proposals to the ASECS travel awards and fellowships.
Deadline and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions annually, usually due Jan. 1.
2025-2026 Committee
· Chair, Barbara Abrahms
· David Mazella
· Jason Shaffer
Graduate Student Conference Support Fund Committee
Charge: Awards ABDs and PhDs within one year of their completion: one night at the conference hotel plus registration in order to attend the Annual Meeting.
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for funding annually, usually due 4-6 months before the Annual Meeting.
Delegates to Coalition Partners
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS): Nush Powell, Arizona State University (through 2029)
International Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS): Susan Carlile, CSU Long Beach (through 6/2027)