Patrick Conner, West Virginia University Press director and Eberly Centennial Professor, will beGetting Medievalwhen he speaks at the Cultural Center in Charleston Wednesday (March 12).

His talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Norman Fagan Theatre. It is free and open to the public.

In his lecture,Getting Medieval: How Relics of Medieval Culture Function in Modern Life,he argues for an American interest in medieval art, architecture and literature from the 19th century to the present as a means of solidifying an American identity.

Conner chaired WVU s Department of English from 1994 to 2000, and he teaches courses in medieval English literature, British literature, linguistics, research methods and humanities computing for both graduate and undergraduate students.

He earned his bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland in the Department of English and considers Anglo-Saxon culture his research specialty.

From 1991 to 1997, Conner served as executive director of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists and a member of the executive committee of the Old English Division of the Modern Language Association of America.

In 1993, he was named an Outstanding Teacher of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and a Benedum Distinguished Scholar. He was also honored with the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching.

In 1994, he was named Eberly College Centennial Professor in English, and in 2000, he was asked to assume leadership for the WVU Press, which he helped raise to national prominence.