LaBudde '09 Enlightened by 18th Century Literature

While growing up in Freeport, Illinois, Amy LaBudde ’09, read at church and at high school never once being nervous.

Fast forward to her second year as a Knox College student and LaBudde is once again speaking to the crowd. She presented a paper ‘Catholic Substitution of Glamour and Wealth for Religion: The Monk’ , a review of Matthew Lewis’ novel, at the Illinois Philological Association’s Annual Conference at Millikin University. She found the experience “a little bit out of my league but it was a good experience, but it will prove to be good practice for senior seminar next year.”

It was an Enlightenment Literature class where LaBudde, an English Literature major, studied 18th century literature that explored themes of social upheaval, reversals of personal status and political satire.

The content of Matthew Lewis’ The Monk [1796] was radical. It is about a monk who is viewed as being very pious and ends up being a horrible person, LaBudde summarizes.

LaBudde was curious about how Lewis was able to produce such reactions to his novel.

“I was intrigued and also wondered if a writer should influence a reader to that extent,” she says. She looked at other sources to support her argument in order to examine precisely what it is that produces this reaction, and to what degree.

According to LaBudde, Lewis criticized what he thought were severe mortal sins of lust, murder and other atrocities as well as seemingly venial discretions of the adoration of Mary and ornamentation. “He was using this medium to criticize. It was not a scholarly paper. The book was a scandal at the time, but it was about a scandal in the church. He was a bit brash.”

Always interested in English Literature, LaBudde says she added history and religious studies as a minor soon after coming to Knox. She has worked for The Knox Student newspaper since coming to Knox and admits that the position eats up a lot of her time.

Her search for a small liberal arts school brought her to Knox for a visit and she says, “I came here and I knew this was the place for me. I didn’t want to be just a number at a bigger school.”

Her plans are to graduate in just three years from Knox. After just two years she says she sees herself as more responsible. She says she really likes the professors and finds them always available. “That’s important in an education.”

LaBudde plans on pursuing a career in book publishing.