ASECS Committees, 2024–2025
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
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.
Chair, Stephanie Hershinow (English), Women’s Caucus
Jeremy Chow (English), Queer and Trans Caucus and Race and Empire
Mehl Pemrose (Spanish and Portuguese), Member at Large
Olivia Sabee (Dance), Board Member
TBD: Disability Studies Caucus, Graduate Student/Early Career Studies Caucus
Note: The Harassment Committee (see this page) is responsible for receiving complaints from members.
Annibel Jenkins Biography Prize
Chair: David Alff
Rebecca Haidt
Robert Paulett
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.
Michael Lynn, Purdue University Northwest (chair)
Joseph Bartolomeo, University of Massachusetts Amherst (ex-officio)
Benita Blessing, ASECS Executive Director (ex-officio)
Jeremy Webster, Ohio University
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.
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.
2024 Committee:
Chair, Susan Lanser, Brandeis University
Jason Farr, Marquette University
Kristina Straub, Carnegie Mellon
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.
Chair: Susan Lanser, Brandeis University
Julia Fawcett , University of California – Berkeley
Luis Ramos, New York University
antiharassment@asecs.org
Note: ASECS also engages the services of an external, neutral Ombuds. That position is currently unoccupied; see the Ombuds page for updates and procedures.
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.
2024 Committee:
Chair: Steven Thomas, Wagner College
Juliette Paul, Christian Brothers University
Linda Troost, Washington & Jefferson College
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.
2024 Committee
Chair: James Mulholland, North Carolina State University
Masano Yamashita, University of Colorado Boulder
Jason Shaffer, United Stated Naval Academy
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.
2024 Committee
Chair: Elaine McGirr, University of Bristol
Melissa Mowry
Amelia Rauser, Franklin and Marshall College
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.
Chair, Benita Blessing, Executive Director
Karen Stolley (Executive Board Member), Emory University
ECS editor: Ramesh Mallipeddi, University of British Columbia
SECC editor: George Boulukos, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Nicole M. Wright, University of Colorado – Boulder
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.
2024 Committee
Chair: Yann Robert
Amanda Eubanks-Winkler
Michael Genovese
Jennifer Germann
Program Committee for Annual Meeting, Virtual 2025
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.
· Daniel O’Quinn, chair (doquinn@uoguelph.ca)
· Hilary Havens, Advisor for Accessibility, Disability, and Inclusion
· Monica Hahn
· Mary Bath Harris
· Emily Pearson
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 transnatianal, comparative, or cosmopolitan approach.”
Deadlines and Timeframe: The committee reviews submissions for the prize annually, usually due on Jan. 1.
Chair: George Boulukos, Southern Illinois University
Alexis Tadie, Sorbonne University
Valentina Tikoff, DePaul University
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.
Traveling Jam Pot Fund Committee
Charge: Awards ABDs and PhDs within one year of their completion $300 plus conference 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): Elizabeth Kraft, University of Georgia (through 6/2027)
International Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS): Chunjie Zhang, University of California Davis (through 6/2025)
New Committees for the 2025-2026 Membership Year:
Awards Committee
Charge: Works with the Executive Director to coordinate all awards, fellowship and prize subcommittees.
Careers and Mentorship Committee
Charge: Support mentoring and career development and advancement.
Membership Committee
Support the recruitment and retention of new and continuing members.