The Community Virtual Library invites you to contribute research posters and presentations focusing on the topic of Charles Dickens and the Victorian Era for its third annual Dickens Research Project exhibit in partnership with Seanchai Library and the Dickens Project in Second Life.

RSVP with your proposal to CVL Director Dr. Valerie Hill (valibrarian in Second Life; valibrarian@gmail.com) by 11/20/18. A CVL member will assist in adding them to the exhibit by 11/30/18.

Recommendations for 2018 Presentations (message Val to find out whether a topic is still available!):

• Child Labor in the Victorian Era
• The Education System
• Fashion in the Victorian Era
• Food in the Victorian Era
• Inheritance Laws and Practices
• Money Lending and the Exchange
• Courting and Marriage
• Poverty and the Working Class
• Check out the Two Nerdy History Girls blog (tag: victorian era) for more inspiration!

Examples of past presentations include:

• Victorian Digital Curation: An Article Analysis
• Food in the Victorian Era (complete with a small display of virtual Victorian food)
• Clothing in the Victorian Era, demonstrating patterns from the Antique Pattern Library
• Dickens and the Law (w/ a notecard of links to information like: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/opinion/dickens-v-lawyers.html)
• The rise of heavy industry and population growth in Victorian London
• What was Wrong with Tiny Tim? A presentation on published work on the subject from the Univ. of Tennessee (It turns out he most likely had a combo of Rickets and Tuberculosis!)
• Debtor’s Prisons: a history of and glimpse into debtor’s prisons which are featured in many of Dickens’ novels
• Who was Old Fezziwig? Looking at the way Dickens based his characters on encounters from his own life
• A Virtual World Parody of A Christmas Carol made in the virtual world: HABBO HOTEL (linked to YouTube video with notecard about the performance)
• A Map of Victorian London showing the locations of Dickens’ works

Presentations typically are brief (5-10 slides/minutes of content) and include a slideshow, poster, image, or video focusing on particular aspects from Dickens’ works and represent/link to more information on them. Many also include audio and text elements, such as pre-recorded voice presentations or notecards. Additional formats (e.g. sculpture) may be welcome but must receive approval from CVL.

Researchers may work alone or with a partner/team. Participants will also have the opportunity to present their work at various exhibit tours throughout December. Check out this 3 minute video from CVL’s 2017 Dickens Research Project to see a 2017’s exhibit in action!

The Dickens Project in Second Life is set to open 11/30/18 at the Linden Endowment for the Arts Region 7 (SL URL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA7/114/149/21), and a full schedule of events will be released in early November 2018.