The Kate Chopin International Society

Our mission

The mission of The Kate Chopin International Society is to provide a network and forum for the study of American author Kate Chopin (1850-1904). The society encourages and supports scholarship and activities that illuminate Chopin’s contribution to the American literary tradition, and it seeks to preserve her literary significance for future generations.

Our history--we are six years old now!

The Society was formed in 2004 by Heather Ostman and Avis Hewitt, both English professors at American universities, after the conference of the American Literature Association, an organization made up of scholarly societies devoted to the study of American authors. Most better-known American authors have a society of their own, and Heather and Avis thought Kate Chopin deserved a scholarly society focused on her work, even though the Kate Chopin Society of North America, with a different emphasis, already existed in St. Louis.

The Kate Chopin International Society sponsored a panel at the 2005 ALA conference and created an advisory board made up mostly of Chopin specialists. It sponsored panels at the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 ALA conferences and will sponsor one at the 2011 conference (to be held in Boston in late May). It also sponsors panels at other conferences. You can learn about those through the links on the left.

Our officers

Heather Ostman continues as president of the society and Avis Hewitt acts as secretary.

On the advisory board are Heather (State University of New York: Westchester Community College) and Avis (Grand Valley State University), Thomas Bonner (Xavier University of Louisiana), Barbara Ewell (Loyola University of New Orleans), Bernard Koloski (Mansfield University of Pennsylvania), John May (Louisiana State University), Kathleen Butterly Nigro (University of Missouri--St. Louis), Mary Papke (University of Tennessee), John Staunton (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Helen Taylor (Exeter University, UK), and Emily Toth (Louisiana State University).

Kelli O'Brien is our conference coordinator.

A partial listing of our members--Summer, 2010:

Melanie M. Austin
Seattle University

Thomas Bonner, Jr.
KCIS Board Member
Xavier University of Louisiana
tbonner@xula.edu

Christina G. Bucher
Berry College
cbucher@berry.edu

Vickie Burns
Lord Fairfax Community College
vlb2037@email.vccs.edu

P. K. Collier
Author; Niantic
Connecticut
PKcollier@yahoo.com

Suzanne L. Disheroon
Cedar Valley College
Lancaster, Texas
drsusiedish@gmail.com
sdisheroon@dcccd.edu

Miranda Elkins-Livingston
Texas Woman's University
Denton, Texas
melkins@twu.edu, lilymae2@hotmail.com

Kate S. Flynn
Roosevelt High School
Saint Louis
KateSFlynn@gmail.com

Meredith Frederich
Northern Illinios University
mfrederi@niu.edu

Farrah Gilbert
North Greenville University
fgcheer@hotmail.com

Terri Hennessy
Grays Harbor College
thenness@ghc.edu

Avis Hewitt
KCIS Board Member
Grand Valley University
Avis.Hewitt@gmail.com

Lenora Hobbs
Kate Chopin Society of North America

Trece Jordan-Larsen
Slidell High School
Slidell, Louisiana
trece.jordan-larsen@stpsb.org

Bernard Koloski
KCIS Board Member
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
bkoloski@katechopin.org

Sonja Lynch
Wartburg College
Waverly, IA
sonja.lynch@wartburg.edu

John R. May
KCIS Board Member
Louisiana State University
jmay2@lsu.edu

Gary Mayer
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas
gmayer@sfasu.edu

Kerry Meehan McCann
Northern Regional College
Northern Ireland
Kerry@mccannfamily.plus.com

Crescida McCue
Humble High School
Houston Baptist University
crescida.mccue@humble.k12.tx.us

Diane Meeks
Freelance writer
dianemeeks2@gmail.com

Patricia A.C. Milanes
York College
City University of New York
pmilanes@york.cuny.edu

Tom Morgan
University of Dayton
morgantz@notes.udayton.edu

Cindy Murillo
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
ccmur@unm.edu

Jennifer Nader
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
jennader@unm.edu

Kathleen Butterly Nigro
KCIS Board Member
University of Missouri--St. Louis

Kelli Purcell O’Brien
Conference Coordinator
University of Memphis
Kobrien1@memphis.edu

Kathryn O’Donoghue
CUNY Graduate Center
New York
kathryn.erin.odonoghue@gmail.com

Heather Ostman
KCIS President
Westchester Community College
SUNY; Valhalla, NY
Heather.Ostman@sunywcc.edu

Mary Papke
KCIS Board Member
University of Tennessee
papke@utk.edu

Kyllikki Persson
Belmont University
Nashville, Tenn
kyllikki.persson@gmail.com

Josh Privett
Bob Jones University
jpriv491@students.bju.edu

Melinda Roberts
Westchester Community College
SUNY; Valhalla, NY
Melinda.Roberts@sunywcc.edu

Verna B. Robinson
Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, Maryland
vbrobinson@aacc.edu

Debby Rosenthal
John Carroll University
Cleveland, OH

Aparecido Donizete Rossi
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Brazil
lordhydden@gmail.com

Meg Sempreora
Webster University
St. Louis, MO

Reinaldo Silva
University of Aveiro
Portugal
reinaldosilva@ua.pt

Nikki Singh
Yale University
nikki.singh@yale.edu

Martha Sledge
Marymount Manhattan College
New York
msledge@mmm.edu

John Staunton
Eastern Michigan University
jstaunto@emich.edu

Helen Taylor
KCIS Board Member
University of Exeter
United Kingdom
helen.taylor@exeter.ac.uk

Emily Toth
KCIS Board Member
Louisiana State University
etoth@lsu.edu
emtoth14@yahoo.com

Karen Walker
University of Arkansas
kaw10@uark.edu

Related scholarly organizations:

ALA: American Literature Association

MLA: Modern Language Association

SSAWW: Society for the Study of American Women Writers

SSSL: Society for the Study of Southern Literature

PCA/ACA: Popular Culture & American Culture Associations