News
Race, Violence, and Form in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
August 22, 2024
Dickens Universe 2024: A Spirited Celebration of Great Expectations
August 9, 2024
This summer, Charles Dickens readers converged on campus for the 43rd annual Dickens Universe, where a shared familiarity with Great Expectations added a sense of kinship and intimacy.
A “Reunion” of Dickens and Shakespeare
July 17, 2024
A renewed collaboration between The Dickens Project and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, including a summer offer!
An Oral History of the Universe
July 17, 2024
An ongoing project about the creation and continuation of our cornerstone conference. A story of community.
Coming Back for More
July 17, 2024
Glenna Matthews recounts her fateful discovery of the Universe and why she now returns every year.
Hannah Baumgarten’s Havisham! Explores a Bitter Life
July 17, 2024
Learn more about the Universe's featured dance screening from an interview with Artistic Director Hannah Baumgarten, who has a generational connection to the piece.
NEW! Dickensian Pet Profiles and Pet Calendar
July 17, 2024
Join in on some furry, Dickensian fun inspired by the Charles Dickens Museum in London! In the best and worst of times, our pets are with us through it all.
Meet One of Our First-Time Speakers: Elaine Auyoung
July 17, 2024
In this profile piece, Dr. Auyoung, associate professor of English at the University of Minnesota, discusses her recent work and relationship to Dickens. She will be giving a lecture at this year's Universe titled "Learning to Feel Ashamed of Home".
Updated! Lura Johnson and Jason Rudy to Perform This Summer
July 17, 2024
This summer's Dickens Universe will feature a performance by pianist Lura Johnson, the Resident Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony. Johnson will be joined by Jason Rudy, Professor of English at the University of Maryland, blending music, poetry, and discussion for a night to remember.
“I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”
July 11, 2024
After missing last summer's Dickens Universe, the Project's Assistant Director, Courtney Mahaney, is overjoyed to return this year–now with a new gait!
Dickens Universe Graduate Winter Conference Report
March 28, 2024
The Dickens Universe Graduate Winter Conference was a resounding success at the beginning of March. Graduate students from across the Dickens Universe Consortium assembled at the University of Maryland, College Park, to share research on Charles Dickens and Nineteenth-Century literature.
Project Offers Continuing Education Credit to Teachers
March 28, 2024
For the first time in a number of years, the Dickens Universe will offer 2.5 units of continuing education credit this summer through the UCSC Extension to high school teachers and community college instructors.
The 2024 Dickens Day of Writing Continues to Inspire Young Writers
March 28, 2024
“It was exciting to see students from across Santa Cruz County coming together to collaborate with each other and writing mentors. The [Dickens Day of Writing] program offers a supportive and innovative writing environment for students to explore and develop greater understanding of their own ideas and the works of Charles Dickens."
Nora Gilbert, Gaslighting, and the Friends Faculty Fellows
March 28, 2024
Nora Gilbert, the Spring Friends Faculty Fellow, explores how gaslighting, a psychological manipulation tactic, was depicted in Victorian literature and theater, highlighting the nuanced ways in which writers like Charles Dickens portrayed gaslighting as a tool of oppression and control, shedding light on its enduring relevance in understanding power dynamics and social issues today.
Dickens Day of Writing: The Intern’s Story
March 27, 2024
Berenize Marcelo Amezcua, the 2023-2024 CUIP Intern, reflects on the Dickens Day of Writing.
Dickens in Columbus
December 22, 2023
Charles Dickens didn’t make it to Columbus, Ohio, during his American tours, but he visited Columbus by proxy at the annual NCTE (National Council of the Teachers of English) conference this past November.
Dickens, Virtually
December 22, 2023
Last winter, I registered to attend the Dickens Universe in person, and I was, of course, looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. But then the hip happened. An arthritic hip suddenly got a lot worse, and I realized that the hills of Santa Cruz (and the dorm beds) were not going to happen. Luckily, there was a way I could still participate—the Virtual Universe!
The Dickens Project's First Intern
December 22, 2023
Meet Berenize Marcelo Amezcua, our accomplished intern selected through UC Santa Cruz's Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program! Berenize, a junior double-majoring in education and Spanish studies, is learning invaluable professional skills while supporting and expanding our Dickens Day of Writing program.
Remembering Trude
December 22, 2023
“Trude certainly made an impact on all of us—a true model of generosity and love of learning. I always looked forward to hearing from the co-teachers of her small discussion group, who invariably appreciated how she taught her fellow participants how to be the best students for one another.”
Hannah Baumgarten's World Premiere "Havisham!" February 7 & 8, 2024
December 18, 2023
'Great Expectations' is one of British master Charles Dickens’s most beloved novels, and the character he created for it of Miss Havisham is one of his most famous. Dance NOW! Miami Artistic Director Hannah Baumgarten will reimagine her in a world premiere dance theater piece, Havisham!, on February 7 and 8 at North Miami Beach’s iconic Ancient Spanish Monastery.
The 43rd Annual Dickens Universe: A Review
September 14, 2023
Reviewing the 43rd Annual Dickens Universe, retired teacher Beth Penney highlights the community this annual week-long event creates from the traditional farce to facing history and a loving farewell to dear friend and dedicated Universe attendee Trude Hoffacker.
