14th Arthur Miller Society Conference

Death of a Salesman at 75

October 18-19, 2024
Sponsored by the Arthur Miller Society and
the Arthur Miller Writing Studio at
The Minor Memorial Library
23 South St.
Roxbury, Connecticut

The Fourteenth International Arthur Miller Conference celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, held in Miller’s beloved, bucolic town of Roxbury where he wrote the play in the writing studio that he built with his own hands and which still stands on the Tophet Road property he once owned.

This one-day conference emphasized the relevance and influence of how for 75 years Death of a Salesman has connected to readers and audiences throughout the world. As Lynn Nottage wrote in her foreword to the 2015 Centennial edition of Miller’s collected plays (Penguin Random House), “Miller’s plays have transcended time, not simply because they are beautifully crafted, but also because they are important social documents that capture moral conundrums that resonate powerfully for audiences today.”

Biographies of Presenters (click to download)

Link to LIVE STREAM

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18

6:00 p.m.: Screening of the 1985 TV production of Death of a Salesman, starring Dustin Hoffman, followed by group discussion.

LOCATION: The Spring Hill Vineyard, 292 Bee Brook Road, New Preston, Connecticut

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19

All sessions located in the exhibit hall of the Minor Memorial Library.

9:00 a.m.: Welcome

Sarah Griswold, President, The Arthur Miller Studio, Inc.
Jane K. Dominik, President, The Arthur Miller Society
Stephen Marino, Editor, The Arthur Miller Journal

Session I: 9:10-10:45 a.m.: International Reception of Death of a Salesman

Kornelia Slavova, University of Sofia, St Kliment Ohridski

“Staging Death of Salesman in the Soviet Era: Censorship and Translation Politics”

Roundtable Discussion (via Zoom): The International Reception of Death of a Salesman

Moderators:

Ramon Espejo-Romero, University of Seville, Spain
Kornelia Slavova, Sofia University, Bulgaria

Participants:

Dr. John London (Queen Mary University of London)
Dr. Michael Hooper (Independent Scholar, UK)
Dr. John Bak (University of Lorraine, France) ACTiF, ANR Project
Dr. Emeline Jouve (University of Toulouse, France) ACTif, ANR Project
Dr. Alessandro Clericuzio (Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy)
Dr. Esther Marinho (Sao Paulo University, Brazil)
Dr. Ambika Singh (Independent Scholar, India)
Dr. Tomas Kacer, Marsaryk University, Czechia

Session II: Keynote Address: 11:00 a.m.: Susan Abbotson, Rhode Island College

“Why Arthur Miller is the Best American Playwright and Death of a Salesman his Best Play”

Session III: 1:00-2:30 p.m.:

Reading:

Arthur Miller explains Death of a Salesman to a student in a newly-discovered 1949 letter — read by Kimiye Corwin

Teaching Death of a Salesman

A roundtable of educators discuss their experiences engaging students

Moderator:

Jane K. Dominik

Participants:

Joshua Polster, Emerson College
Jan Balakian, Kean University
Davyne Verstandig, University of Connecticut
Shennen Flannery, Central Connecticut State University
Marla Truini, Westover School
Ramon Espejo-Romero, University of Seville
Kent Burnham, The Frederick Gunn School
Ricky Oliver, The Hartt School

Session IV: 2:45-3:45 p.m.: Learning Death of a Salesman

A panel of students from St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, Queens, delivered papers and discussed their experience with the play

Moderators:

Eric Hafker and Elizabeth Prohaska, St. Francis Prep

Special Presentation: 4 p.m.: The Arthur Miller Foundation: Jaime Hastings, Executive Director

“Arthur Miller Foundation: Equitable Access to Sustainable Public School Theater Education”

Session V: 4:15-5:15 p.m.: Remembering Arthur Miller

Local Roxbury residents reminisced about the man they knew.