Amidst Pandemic
Note from the Editor
I’ve always wanted Enfilade to be an informative site for people who want to better understand the eighteenth century. Even more than that, I’ve hoped that it would also be a space that would cultivate intellectual pleasure. Amid the many pressures we all face—as academics, museum professionals, gallerists, dealers, independent scholars, writers, &c., &c.—news of exhibitions and new books, calls for papers and other opportunities were, I trusted, a welcome antidote to an inbox overflowing with countless, mind-numbing chores. With its very predictable, entirely out-dated format (it is still very much the web as things looked in 2009), the site has aimed to provide a small, incremental conception of where the field now finds itself—where you all have, as a community of scholars, taken it.
And now, of course, with the global spread of the Coronavirus, we all find ourselves displaced from our regular ways of working, living, and being. Upcoming events listed here weeks ago will not happen (I’m still stunned to have missed out on what promised to be a brilliant ASECS in St. Louis), it’s hard to know quite what to make of calls for papers (at least in the short-term), and all of those current exhibitions so carefully installed sit entirely quiet, waiting for when museums will again open their doors. I realize, in other words, that much of the regular content of Enfilade now takes on a strange hue.
With advanced apologies for anything that sounds tone-deaf or insensitive in the midst of a pandemic, I plan to keep at it, largely in hopes that the site might continue to offer useful information, as well as providing something that feels familiar when so much doesn’t. And I suspect news of forthcoming books will be more welcome than ever (please don’t be bashful in sending in news items). If you’ve not yet started following HECAA’s Instagram account, have a look: Katherine Iselin—who just recently defended her dissertation at Missouri under the direction of Michael Yonan—does a brilliant job with it. And in the coming weeks, HECAA will launch a new website exclusively for members. There is, then, a thriving community of dixhuitièmistes, even in these days of isolation.
Particularly in the weeks and months ahead, take care of yourselves and be well.
–Craig Hanson
Enfilade 
Please continue; it will be a lifeline for many of us!
Thank you Craig, you are doing a great job, as ever! Look after yourself ________________________________
Bless you 🙂
Enfilade is part of my day.
Thank you very much for your efforts Craig, even I didn’t write a single word to you, I’m a daily reader of the blog.
Take care!
From The Netherlands,
Sergio Lunansky
Thanks a lot for all you do Craig.
I was thinking about your “present and past” concern when seeing my agenda turning day after day future to scratched present!
Best wishes. Take care.
Pierre-Henri
PS My wife and I take the opportunity of the quarantine for having a careful look at all our fans. (Alas) it will last long enough for the task. Maybe we shall find one till now misregarded one dealing with your topic?
Thank you for this kind and much appreciated letter. Keep up your brilliant work!
Thank you Craig for all your work and for keep posting it is like fresh air from our confinement.
Take care and warm wishes from Madrid!
Pilar
Dear Craig, thank you from all the dixhuitièmistes.
CSF
Your words as ever are thoughtful, welcome, and your statement beautifully crafted. As said above by one and surely felt by all, Enfilade is a key part of every day. Thank you, Craig, for nurturing us and championing our interests. And in this moment, for truly connecting us. Maureen