Dr. Cynthia Bandish, associate professor of English at Bluffton University, will present her sabbatical research, "Exploring the Themes of Imprisonment in Gothic Novels," at a Bluffton Colloquium Friday, Sept. 10. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. in Stutzman Lecture Hall in Centennial Hall.

Bandish studied many gothic novels during her sabbatical last fall, focusing on books written in the 1790s but set in the Middle Ages. She delved into the way these novels indirectly reflect events that were taking place during the French Revolution.

In her presentation, she will focus mainly on themes of imprisonment from "The Mystery of Udolpho," by Ann Radcliffe, in which the central characters remain imprisoned due to threats of war and violence. She will also touch upon the topic of freedom within the novel, discussing ways in which the characters seem to be free but are really prisoners.

Bandish earned a Ph.D. with distinction in British literature and history from Drew University in Madison, N.J., as well as a master's degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.