28th February , 2023

Dear readers of Conrad,

When the Joseph Conrad Society of America was founded in 1975, the world was a rather different place. In academic circles, new approaches to the work of literary appreciation and critique were just establishing themselves. Like postmodernism and postcolonialism, the prefix indicated that we were coming into a new set of understandings. It is more difficult to say where we stand now, except perhaps to note that single author studies have lately come under a good deal of pressure.  Our outgoing Society president, Professor Yael Levin, writes on the challenges facing literary studies:

“Seismic changes are unfolding before our eyes – pandemics, climate change and natural disasters, political polarization and the erosion of human rights. Such changes are accompanied by the dwindling of academic investment in English departments and the undervaluing of literary scholarship and the Humanities. In addition, Joseph Conrad scholarship is suffering from the tendency in popular and academic discourse alike to dismiss or marginalize canonical authors. That Conrad was himself an immigrant, a subject of colonial power and abuse, is a fact that uncannily disappears under the label of “dead white male.” His name all too often triggers a knee-jerk reaction: ‘a bloody racist’ – a voice to be silenced.” 

In an era in which understandings might be inflected by social media, artificial intelligence, and ideologically generated “false truths,” there is even more need for a writer like Conrad. A figure of cross-cultural currents and sometimes dire historical change, his works continue to address the fate of personal and social values in the face of combative civil discourses. Much has changed in the past fifty years, but the half-centenary of our society stands as a reminder of how major writers can still inspire new readings and readers.

It is in this spirit that Conrad scholars should look ahead with confidence. His example reminds us of the misdemeanors  of powerful figures and their systems of thought, while underlining the powerful role of literature in interrogating and shaping our own outlooks. Either as academics or general readers, those of us who engage with Conrad’s works form a community and it is to this end that societies such as our own are created and populated. Our goals have not changed greatly over the past half century: to provide an open space for the exchange of ideas and understandings relating to Conrad’s life and works; to foster study of this author both within society at large and in the academy; and to offer creative byways for readers of Conrad interested in augmenting their insights.

With these and other outcomes in mind, we welcome students, scholars, and readers.

Mark Deggan