Gary Totten, associate professor of English, co-organized the seventh biennial conference of the International Society for Travel Writing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., March 30-April 1.

Totten collaborated with colleagues from Georgetown University; Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom; and Misericordia University, Dallas, Pa., to referee papers and organize the conference program. Totten presented the paper, “The Politics of Local Color in Dreiser Looks at Russia,” related to his larger book project on Theodore Dreiser’s travel writing, and also delivered the concluding remarks at the conference.

Totten serves on the steering committee for the International Society for Travel Writing, which encourages and fosters the work of scholars, publishers and practitioners of travel writing through a range of activities including conferences, a monthly newsletter and affiliation with the peer-reviewed journal, Studies in Travel Writing.