Erin Severson is a fourth-year student pursuing a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in the
History of Science & Medicine. In fulfillment of an English departmental honors thesis, her
present research involves eighteenth-century English translations of Cervantes’s Don Quixote
and the extent to which these texts allow us to read the act of translation as “curative.” The
career of long-underappreciated 18th-century author-translator-physician Tobias Smollett is the
focus of her project. Erin’s thesis is being advised by Dr. Helen Deutsch, distinguished UCLA
English professor and director of the Center for 17th-18th Century Studies at the William
Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Erin’s commitment to material studies manifests itself in her
use of primary sources in her research (utilizing UCLA’s many special collections resources – the
Clark, YRL, the Biomedical Research Library, &c.) and her interest in the history of the book.
Upon completion of her B.A., Erin intends to pursue a career in academia as either English
professor or academic librarian.