ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Department of English will host a conference "Some Futures for the Twentieth Century," Oct. 25 and 26 in Goldwin Smith Hall D. All talks, including a post-conference reception and Saturday luncheon buffet, are free and open to the public.

"In the wake of the millennium, scholars of British and U.S. 20th-century literature and culture are exploring innovative ways to think about their period -- a period that now has not only a beginning but an ending," said Molly Hite, Cornell professor of English and conference coordinator. "They are basically asking: What exactly was the 20th century?"

Similar to recent English department conferences on Romanticism, the 18th century and Victorianism, this event marks the return of former Cornell graduate students (two Ph.D.s and two MFA/Ph.D.s) who are now faculty members involved in some of the most important new approaches to 20th-century studies.

Here is the conference schedule:

Friday, Oct. 25:

4:30 p.m.: Keynote address, Douglas Mao, Associate Professor of English at Cornell, "Arcadian Ithaca: Joyce, Benjamin, and Utopian Sentiment." Reception follows.

Saturday, Oct. 26:

9:30 a.m. (in 258 Goldwin Smith Hall): Jodie Medd, Carleton University, Ottawa, "Strong Hard Filth: Literary Obscenity and the Erotics of Modernist Patronage."

11 a.m.: Mark Scroggins, Florida Atlantic University, "New Modernisms, New Biographies."

Noon: Luncheon buffet, public invited.

1:30 p.m.: Timothy Melley, Miami University, Ohio, "Postmodern Amnesia."

3 p.m.: Panel discussion and question and answer session, including conference speakers and Cornell faculty addressing other new directions in 20th-century studies.

4:30 p.m.: Reception.

For more information, contact conference coordinator Molly Hite at mph7@cornell.edu , or Marianne R. Marsh, Cornell English department administrative manager, at mrm4@cornell.edu or (607) 255-6799.