The Tenants of Colson Hall: April 2009

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Suggestions

Although TCH has already attracted interest from as far away as Pittsburgh, we are always looking for ways to increase our readership (and, hence, the number of people who become aware of the many positive aspects of our department). So far, however, the suggestions we've received for increasing our web traffic have been a bit disappointing, viz:

1. Liveblog the faculty meetings. Downside: having to read a liveblog from the faculty meetings.

2. In the spirit of puppy cam: GTA cam. We put a plate of WV cookies and some alcohol in 130 Colson and watch as they cavort, nap, and tumble over one another. Downside: ungraded portfolios; extensive cleanup.

Needless to say, if you have better ideas for promoting The Tenants of Colson Hall, we'd love to hear from you.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

August Graduation Deadlines for GRADUATE Students

If you planning on graduating in August these are your deadline dates for all materials.

1. I (Amanda) must have your Application for Graduation by May 29th.

2. All Shuttle Sheet request forms have to be turned in to the Dean's office by Friday, July 10th. This means that I have to have your defense date and time, your committee and a title BEFORE then. I will take care of the paperwork I just need that information before the deadline date.

3. All defenses have to be done BEFORE Tuesday, July 21st. You will need your ETD signature form that day as well. If you don't have a copy of it let me know and I can print one off for you.

4. ALL thesis and dissertations MUST be submitted to WVU libraries by Friday, July 31st.

Please note that ALL deadlines are final and there will be NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please remember to pay your $39.00 graduation fee at Student Accounts located in the basement of Stewart Hall.

***All graduation forms can be found at http://www.wvu.edu/, then go to academics, choose the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, then choose graduate programs, then forms. NO graduation form will be accepted in pen or pencil if so it will be sent back to you.

Also, keep in mind that all of these forms will need your committee's signatures. Please do not wait until the very last minute to do any of this.

Thank You!!!

Foreign Languages Invites English to a Party

The Department of Foreign Languages Presents:
Spectacular Spectacular
Friday, 1 May 2009
6-8:30 pm in G 24 Eiesland Hall
Join us for an evening celebrating foreign languages through plays, skits, songs, music, dance, and poetry in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish! Everyone is welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Yes, poets do have quite a good time. Thanks for asking.

Just when you start to wonder if the grad poetry workshop really is The Most Fun Ever, you find out something like this….

Tonight’s final class of English 618 featured a buffet of fine foods, followed by workshop, followed by… Miller Lite and bowling in the Mountainlair!

High scorer was Aaron “Jack Tripper” Rote who bowled over 100 though this blogger can’t remember his actual score (114? 124?), probably because it was ever so slightly higher than hers.

Second was graduating poet Erin Veith who scored 98. Nice job and congratulations, Erin! We look forward to hearing you read on Thursday!

Third highest was their beloved teacher, yours truly, who wore her very own bowling shoes (thanks, Dad!) and scored an impressive 92.

All other bowlers---Charity Gingerich, Kori Frazier, Christina Rothenbeck, Lauren Reed, and Tori Moore---also earned very respectable scores.

Danielle Ryle sat this one out, but did provide moral support, which, as everyone knows, is absolutely crucial to good bowling.

Though the pin-setting-down-thing-y was slow and the balls were nicked and pocked and the graphics on the scoreboard were pretty lame (“Good Try!” said a cheerleader), everyone had The Best Time Ever.

The event was commemorated by a photo, taken by The Bowling Dude who, only moments before, had been waxing the lanes and minding his own business.

All in all, it was a magical evening and, of course, the perfect finale to another memorable (and life-changing) poetry workshop.

Finals-Week Advising

The advising office will be open during finals week at the following times:

Monday 1-3
Tuesday 10-12
Wednesday 10-12
Thursday 10-12

Summer advising will be handled by administrative assistant Marsha Bisset.

First C.A.L.F. Reading a Success

Last night, the undergraduate writing organization C.A.L.F. held its first reading at The Blue Moose Café. C.A.L.F. was founded as a way for undergraduate writers to get together to workshop outside of class. At this event, seniors Keegan Lester, Paul Miller, and Holt Barnitz read poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. They also invited writer Renée Nicholson, their former instructor, to read with them. The event was well attended by local artists, family, friends, and students from WVU, including the graduate program and its representative organization EGO, and members of the graduate writing organization COW. The readers all did an excellent job, and their warmth and gratitude made this reading a success. Congratulations, C.A.L.F.!

Jim Greene, ABD

Congratulations to Jim Greene, who has passed his Qualifying Examination for Doctoral Candidacy (that's the "booklist exam" to you plebes) and is now ABD.

The Best Reading of the Year

… and the social event of the season will happen this Thursday, April 30, when the graduating MFAs read their work at 7:30 p.m. in the Gold Ballroom.

This reading is always top-notch… and the outfits are usually pretty good too. Who can forget last year when Maggie Glover wore her grandma’s 1970's mint green gown?

So put on your most creative writing-worthy outfit and prepare to be dazzled as the following “emerging writers” read from their theses:

Matt Buchanan: Cloud Shaped Room

Sarah Beth Childers: The Preacher and Other Essays

Lori D’Angelo: Advance and Retreat: A Collection of Stories

Rachel Rosolina: Empty Lungs: Essays

John Shumate: The Zombie Parade

Erin Veith: I had to shut my eyes to tell that story

Updated List of Undergrads Going to Grad School

Congratulations to the following creative writing students who will be entering grad programs next year:

Justin Crawford: WVU, MFA in fiction

Jessica Dyche: Frostburg State University, Masters in Teaching/Secondary Ed.

Marit Ericson: University of Iowa, MFA in poetry

Nick Gaudio: University of Michigan, MFA in fiction

Maria Goodson: George Mason University, MFA in nonfiction

Micah Holmes: WVU, MFA in poetry

Keegan Lester: Columbia University, MFA in poetry

Paul Miller: University of Nebraska, MA in creative writing/fiction

Kelly Sundberg: WVU, MFA in nonfiction

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Good Works of Wendy Belcher

As a follow-up to Jess Queener's post, allow me to lend my highest endorsement to Wendy Belcher's Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks (Sage, 2009). Wendy, now a professor of comparative literature at Princeton, for many years taught a popular course at UCLA on which this book is based. I took it myself once--it helped me write the article that helped me get this job, and I've incorporated many of its techniques into my own teaching. You can find information at her website.

While I'm on the subject, Wendy also manages FLOURISH, a monthly electronic newsletter about scholarly writing and publication. Witty, breezy and empathetic, it's always a source of helpful hints and anecdotes. Archives and subscription information are here.

PWE Capstone Exhibition 4/28

[From Scott Wible]

PWE Concentration Capstone Exhibition

Tuesday, April 28

130 Colson Hall

Posters on Display: 10am - 4pm

Public Presentations: 4pm - 6pm

The exhibit will showcase the work that ENGL 491A students completed this semester during their Professional Writing and Editing internships. As is noted above, the posters will be on display all day in 130 Colson Hall, and you're invited to stop by at any time to see your fellow students' PWE work. During the public presentation portion of the event, you can ask the current ENGL 491A students any questions you might have about their internships . . . and you can enjoy Flyin' WV cookies and punch!

If you are a PWE concentrator or minor and plan to take the PWE capstone course (ENGL 491A) during an upcoming semester, come to the poster exhibit to get an idea of internship positions you might want to pursue -- and get a preview of the poster exhibit you'll be participating in soon enough.

If you're new to or considering the PWE concentration or minor, you might wonder what professional writing students do once they reach the "real world." Come to the poster exhibit, then, and gain a better idea of the types of places where professional writers work and the kinds of writing projects they produce.

If you have any questions about this event or would like more information, please feel free to contact me at Scott.Wible@mail.wvu.edu.

MA Hooray

Liz Faber successfully defended her MA Thesis-- The Spectre of Death: Suppression of Bodily Death through Representations of the Afterlife in Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and Ghost. You can thumb through the thesis at http://wvuscholar.wvu.edu:8881. Check it out; it has pictures!

Donald E. Hall's Latest Book

The Tenants congratulates Donald Hall on the publication of his latest book (his tenth!), Reading Sexualities: Hermeneutic Theory and the Future of Queer Studies (Routledge, 2009). For additional information, check out Routledge's description.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Academic Blogosphere: Academic Cog

Academic Cog, written by "Sisyphus," provides reflections by a (now former?) literature grad student on academic writing and publishing. Entertaining (in that *special* grad student humor kind of way) and informative. I recommend a useful book review on Wendy Belcher's _Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks_ and Dissertation Leftovers: A Play.

Friday, April 24, 2009

CFP: The Louisville Conference

Having just barely concluded this year's conference, the Modern Languages Department at the University of Louisville has, with admirable efficiency, just sent out a call for submissions for next year's conference:

The 38th annual Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900 will be held at the University of Louisville, February 18-20. Critical papers may be submitted on any topic that addresses literary works published since 1900, and/or their relationship with other arts and disciplines (film, journalism, opera, music, pop culture, painting, architecture, law, etc).

Work by creative writers is also welcome.

Visit our website for complete submission guidelines: www.modernlanguages.louisville.edu/conference
Click on *First Call for Papers*

Group Societies are welcome. Prearranged panels are also welcome.

Deadline for submission is September 15, 2009 (postmarked).

If you missed the _Calliope_ reading too...

It's here, along with a host of other great creative readings sponsored by the department:

http://www.clc.wvu.edu/projects/creative_reading_podcasts

These digital recordings are free, portable, and relatively harmless... so download them all! Great for road trips, flights to summer conferences, etc.

And let's not forget EGO

---The English Grad Organization, which must be Ken.

Look, here's Ken now, in his Mountaineer outfit:

"Against Readings" at The Chronicle

Mark Edmundson at UVA has a thought-provoking, and likely-to-be controversial column up at The Chronicle of Higher Ed, "Against Readings." After you read it, check out these two responses at a pair of my favorite daily-life academic blogs, Reassigned Time and Not of General Interest.

Lori D'Angelo to the rescue

Thanks to current COW president Lori D'Angelo for reminding the blog what COW stands for: Council of Writers.

As the organization of MFA writers, COW is indeed Barbie to CALF's Skipper.

Thanks, Barbie!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

If you're kicking yourself...

... for missing the 418 reading yesterday, there's still time to hear our terrific undergrad and grad writers at one of the following upcoming readings:

Thursday, 4/23 (that's today!), 7:30 p.m.: Calliope reading in the Mountainlair

Monday, 4/27, 7:30 p.m.: CALF reading at the Blue Moose. CALF, in case you don't know, is the Skipper to COW's Barbie. CALF = Children Acting Like Faculty. COW = something else that escapes memory at the moment...

Thursday, 4/30, 7:30 p.m.: MFA reading in the Mountainlair

And a wonderful time was had by all...

As early as 3:00 p.m. yesterday, parents were milling about in anticipation of the 4:00 p.m. English 418 Capstone reading. In addition to the creative writing faculty you might expect to see there---Professors High, Smith, Mitchell, and Samyn (Harms and Oderman were excused on account of teaching; Brazaitis was drinking wine or riding horses or trying to quiet attack dogs and parrots somewhere far, far away; Adams, in her darling cowgirl boots, was missed, of course)---Professors Brady, Lamb, Hathaway, and Blount were in attendance.

And as a Hathaway reported later (though, truth to be told, she left a little early…), there was “not a cringe-worthy moment anywhere!”

Just as impressive as the students’ writing were the intros by the MFA mentors. As is often the case, mentors and mentees alike marveled at the just right-ness of the pairings.

There were also many expressions of gratitude to the mentors and professors with whom the students have worked----to which we say: thanks and right back at ya.

Thanks, as well, to Marsha Bissett for designing the program and seeing to it that our event got its fair share of Flying WV cookies (which, one assumes, are baked by the thousand each day and gobbled up all over campus).

Congratulations to the undergraduates: Patrick Reiser, Jose Barreiro, Alyson Murphy, Jessica Dyche, Aubrey Mondi, Micah Holmes, Anthony Pardo, Maria Goodson, Nicole Bartow, Bryce Post, Andy Smith, Megan Wood, Samantha Bialek, Jared Martin, Michael Belknap, Holt Barnitz, Ilene Funck, Jeremy Gill.

Thanks to their mentors: Matt Buchanan, Danielle Ryle, Lori D’Angelo, Christina Rothenbeck, Sarah Beth Childers, Charity Gingerich, Aaron Hoover, Kori Frazier, Heather Frese, Tori Moore, Tony Clavelli, Renee Nicholson, Lori D’Angelo (yes, again!), Aaron Rote, Erin Veith, Ashley Jenkins, Emily Watson, Jason Freeman.

See you next time!

Vaguely Relevant Graphic Interlude to Celebrate the Writing Awards

Christine de Pizan

Faculty and Staff Recognition

Philip Bordinat Award
Jay Dolmage
for “Metis, Metis, Mestiza, Medusa: Rhetorical Bodies across Rhetorical Traditions”

Eberly College’s James and Arthur Gabriel/Gabriel Brothers Faculty Award
Cari Carpenter

Eberly College Outstanding Teacher Award
Catherine Gouge

Eberly College Outstanding Researcher Award
Cari Carpenter

WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching
Catherine Gouge

Senate Research Grant
Emily Mitchell
Mary Ann Samyn

Riggle Fellowship
Emily Mitchell
Kayode Ogunfolabi

Eberly College Outstanding Staff Award
Cynthia Baniak

Graduate Recognition

Jackson Family Scholarship
Jon Harvey
Nevena Stojanovic

Stephen Crocker Scholarship
Luminita Dragulescu

Rebecca Mason Perry Award
2007-08 M.A. Recipient: Morgan Richards
2007-08 M.F.A. Recipient: Emily Watson
2006-07 M.F.A. Recipient: Sarah Beth Childers

Zierold Creative Writing Award
Sarah Einstein

Eberly College Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, 2008-2009
Jason Stupp

Department of English Exemplary Teacher, 2008-2009
Jessica Queener
Emily Watson

Graduate Expository-Writing Awards

James Paul Brawner Expository-Writing Awards

First Place
Jericho Williams
“The Difficulty Will Not Me Offend: William Craft’s Reshaping of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in Running a Thousand Miles from Freedom”
Instructor: John Ernest (English 741)

Second Place
Teresa Pershing
“Lesbian (Out)Skirts: A Consideration of Lesbian Representation via Pop Culture Figures”
Instructor: Dennis Allen (English 782)

Third Place
Sarah Beth Childers
“Cursed Be All Such Magicians!: Medieval Romance Conventions and Contemporary Attitudes and Practices in Beroul’s The Romance of Tristan”
Instructor: Lara Farina (English 661)

Graduate Creative-Writing Awards

Russell MacDonald Creative-Writing Awards

Fiction Division
Jason Kapcala
“After the Fire”
Instructor: Mark Brazaitis (English 618A)

Nonfiction Division
Rachel Rosolina
“I & is & her”
Instructor: Mary Ann Samyn (English 632)

Poetry Division
Ashley Ryle
A group of poems
Instructor: Jim Harms (English 618)

Undergraduate Recognition

Eleanor Tucker Donley Memorial Scholarship
Amanda Berardi
Alexandra Castillo
Susan Crayne
Ahna Lewis
Sara Matheny
Benjamin Welton

Elena Illa Graham Memorial Scholarship
Amanda Berardi

Virginia Butts Sturm Creative Writing Scholarship
Kelly Sundberg

Virginia Butts Sturm English Scholarship
Sara Lewis
Rachel Viglianco

McKay Coast Scholarship
Carolyn Brewer
Nicholas Fagundo

Elsie M. and Ethel M. Jones Scholarship
Chelsea Clagg
Alysse Thompson

Eberly College Outstanding Senior English Major
2008-2009
Daniel Summers

Captain William Neely Award
Chelsea Clagg

Peterson Award
Brianna Leigh Lovell

Students Elected to Phi Beta Kappa
Jessica Duda
Chelsea Findlay
Rachel Hopkins
Jamie Kegg
Erin Long
Christa Lough
Sarah Massey
Jesse Potts
Daniel Summers
Sarah Vacovsky
Brittney Warnick

2008-2009 Inductees into Sigma Tau Delta
Nicole Bartow
Alexandra Castillo
Erin Dibbern
Jessica Dyche
Anthony Fabbricatore
Amanda Farley
Derek Fox
Ilene Funck
Lindsay Gainer
Kellen Harper
Iram Hasan
Ashley Herdman
Jaime Kegg
Lyndsey Loughry
Delhi Lucas
Carrie Martin
Austin Maynard
Jessica Murphy
Aimee Smith
Jennifer Stanley
Kelly Sundberg
Benjamin Welton
Vanessa White

Faculty Advisor: Emily Mitchell

Undergraduate Expository-Writing Awards

Jon Scott Nelson First-Year Writing Awards

Ashley Brown
“Perfect Imperfections”
Instructor: Jason Kapcala

Christopher Kees
“The Road to Social Righteousness (or How I Learned to Pick Up Girls)”
Instructor: Rebecca Schwab

Amy Purpura
“The Catch-22 of Medical Marijuana”
Instructor: Mary Angel Blount

Megan Thomas-Stevens
“The Selfish Gift I Gave That was Returned”
Instructor: Joy Greene

George Case, Owen Funck, Johanna Haggerty, Kenneth Hite, and Tessa Turek
“Energy Is Great”
Instructor: Randi Smith

Jon Scott Nelson Professional Writing and Editing Awards

First Place
Mark Guido
“Description of a Compound Light Microscope”
Instructor: Carolyn Nelson (English 305)

Second Place
Erin Long
“A Study of a Professional Book Editor at the West Virginia University Press”
Instructor: Scott Wible (English 301)

Third Place
Ashley Monahan
“Morgantown Vet Center Outreach”
Instructor: Elizabeth Juckett (English 304)

James Paul Brawner Expository Writing Awards

UNDERGRADUATE DIVISION

First Place
Marie Pellegrino
“Empowering the Feminine in M. Butterfly”
Instructor: Ryan Claycomb (English 342)

Second Place
Jessica Duda
“Gender and Family Dynamics in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire ”
Instructor: Adam Komisaruk (English 496)

Third Place
Jessica Murphy
“Catwatching”
Instructor: Ethel Smith (English 314)

ENGLISH 102 DIVISION

First Place
Joanna Thompson
“Informed Argument Paper―Final Draft”
Instructor: Andrea Bebell

Second Place
Kelly Bryant
“Twilight Takes a Bite Out of Feminist Movement”
Instructor: Erin Johns

Third Place
Brandy Hoover
“A National Disaster: Rebuilding a Welfare System Broken by Reform”
Instructor: Ryan Claycomb

Undergraduate Creative-Writing Awards

Jon Scott Nelson Freshmen Creative Writing Awards

First Place
Hannah McPherson
“Carousel”
Instructor: Mary Angel Blount (English 212)

Second Place
Abra Sitler
“The Syrian Date”
Instructor: Jo Ann Dadisman

Third Place
Amy Purpura
“The Ugly Sore Covered by Makeup”
Instructor: Mary Angel Blount (English 103)

Waitman Barbe Creative Writing Awards

Fiction Division
Andi Stout
“Sustained Joy”
Instructor: Emily Mitchell (English 212)

Honorable Mention:
Hayley Burdett
“Polaris”
Instructor: Emily Mitchell (Independent Study)

Non-fiction Division
Kelly Sundberg
“This is My Secret”
Instructor: Jim Harms (English 418)

Honorable Mention:
Aubrey Mondi
“Saving Skinhead Burton”
Instructor: Mary Ann Samyn (English 418)

Poetry Division
Brandy Hoover
Group of Poems
Instructor: Jim Harms (English 313)

Honorable Mention:
Keegan Lester
Group of Poems
Instructors: Mary Ann Samyn and Lauren Reed

Loop '08 (Online Literary Magazine)

From Jon Harvey, Center for Literary Computing:

At last, the CLC is ready to present the latest Loop! This year’s version includes:

1) Fakebook, by Emily Watson (with Sandy Baldwin and Jon Harvey)
2) Monongozon, by John Shumate and Matt Buchanan (with Jon Harvey)
3) Doll Baby Soul Angels, by Beth Staley (with Jeremy Justus and Nick Hales)
4) A special Rickroll, by Sandy Baldwin

Loop projects showcase creative writing and interactive multimedia. Each project has been lovingly and painstakingly crafted by creative writers, CLC denizens, and other English department folks, so please check them out. They’re a great diversion from end-of-semester stress. You can click on the link below to go directly to Fakebook and browse the other projects via the "banner ads" to the right:

http://www.as.wvu.edu/english/loop/loop08/monongazon/fakebook_profile%20-%20John.html

Or check out our own Myspace page which acts as a homepage for all the
projects:

http://www.myspace.com/fakeloop

Shop for a Meat Shirt at Monongazon! Peer into the insular lives on
Fakebook! Create your own fantastic doll on DBSA! Or get Rickrolled
like you’ve never been before (sound included)!

Enjoy… Thanks to all who contributed.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Doctoral Conference Presentations, Part 4

In yet another entry in our continuing series on graduate research, I'm pleased to announce the following conference presentations:

Andrea Bebell:

“‘Pass the Plum-Pudding’: Resistance and Community Building in Flora Annie Steel’s The Reformer’s Wife.” Victorians Institute Conference: DISRUPTING VICTORIAN STUDIES: Inconvenient Facts, Shocking Discoveries, Surprising Events, Forgotten Voices, Unknown Writings, Mangled Texts, University of South Carolina, Columbia, October 3-4, 2008

"Subaltern Maternalism in Baharati Mukherjee's The Holder of the World," The Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900, University of Louisville, February 19-12, 2009

Luminita Dragulescu:

“Spiegelman’s Maus: Negotiating between Personal Trauma and Restorative History,” The 32nd WVU Colloquium on Language and Literature, Morgantown, WV, 13-15 September, 2008

Courtney Novosat:

"Digital Literacy: Information Revolution (in a Capitalist Bell Jar?)," College English Association, Pittsburgh, March 26-28, 2009

EGO Last Lecture: Ryan Claycomb

Ryan Claycomb will present "To Delight and Instruct," the final EGO Last Lecture of the semester, this Friday, April 24th at 4:00 in 130 Colson. Rumor has it that tap dancing will be involved. Whether this will be discursive or actual remains to be seen.

Summer Course in Film Studies

Looking for an interesting summer course but don't have six weeks to dedicate to it?? English 230- Film Studies will meet at 9-11:45 daily from May 18th to June 8th. The class will offer an introduction to the study of film and will focus on three of the central components of film and film studies: narrative, miseen-scene, and cinematography.

Discuss great movies and have your afternoons free!

For more information contact: John Lamb (jlamb2@wvu.edu)

Monday, April 20, 2009

Doctoral Conference Presentations, Part 3

In yet another entry in our continuing report on doctoral student conference presentations for the year (and as further evidence of the department's need for a private jet to support student research), I'm pleased to announce the following presentations:

Jim Greene:

“Speech and Memory; Text and History: Transcribing the Crispus Attucks Commemorations,” Annual Convention of the Modern Language Association, San Francisco, Dec. 27-30, 2008

Jeremy Justus:

“Autopoeitic Meta-et-cetera: The Body in the Blind Spot in Hassan Elahi’s Tracking Transience.” The Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900. Louisville, KY. February 2009

“Web 2.0 and the Expansion of the Filmic Event.” Modern Language Association Conference. San Francisco, CA. December 2008

Lori Zerne:

"'What Wonder, What Strange Revolution': Gender, Class, and Pleasure Gardens in Evelina," Burney Society Conference, Newberry Library, Chicago, October 2-3, 2008

"'Too Much Beauty to Escape Notice': Women, Beauty, and Courtship Ideology in Frances Burney’s Evelina,"American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Annual Meeting, Richmond, March 26-28, 2009

Academic Blogosphere: University Diaries

Margaret Soltan's blog is an excellent way to get a handle on some of the big picture stuff of Higher Education. Posting often about higher ed. news, politics, and economics, from something of a reliably humanities standpoint, Soltan's blog offers a way to stay connected to the bigger issues in academe that affect (often directly) the day-to-day lives of a working academic. Enjoy!

Bolton Workshops: Meeting for Instructors

MFA students who participated/would like to participate in the Bolton Creative Writing Workshops are invited to a meeting on Monday, May 4, at 3 pm in 130 Colson Hall, to discuss next year's program.

Questions? Email MaryAnn [dot] Samyn [at] mail [dot] wvu [dot] edu

Proposed Departmental Mascot

Scone

PWE Capstone Exhibition

Scott Wible invites all faculty, staff, and students to attend the following event:

Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) Capstone Poster Exhibition
Tuesday, April 28
130 Colson Hall
Posters on Display: 10am--4pm
Public Presentations: 4pm--6pm

The exhibit will showcase the work that ENGL 491A students completed this semester during their professional writing and editing internships.

This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for the WVU community to learn more about how professional writers contribute to organizations on campus and throughout Morgantown. During this semester, students in the ENGL 491A capstone course worked as professional writers in various on-campus offices and local non-profit organizations, including the WVU Press; the WVU Business Incubator; the WVU Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Office; Positive Spin; and Monongalia County Literacy Volunteers.

The students’ poster exhibits will feature examples and analysis of the documents they produced during their respective internships. Their posters will be on display all day in 130 Colson Hall, and you're invited to stop by at any time to see the PWE students' work. During the public presentation at 4 p.m., the ENGL 491A students will be available to answer questions about their professional writing and editing internships.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Congratulations

... to the following undergrads who will be entering MFA programs in the fall:

Justin Crawford (fiction): WVU

Marit Ericson (poetry): University of Iowa

Nick Gaudio (fiction): University of Michigan

Micah Holmes (poetry): WVU

Keegan Lester (poetry): Columbia University

Kelly Sundberg (nonfiction): WVU

Doctoral Conference Presentations, Part 2

As the second installment in our summary of doctoral student research during 2008-2009, I'm pleased to announce the following conference presentations:

Teresa Pershing, "Lesbian (Out)Skirts: A Consideration of Lesbian Representation via Pop Culture Figures," Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, New Orleans, April 8-11, 2009

Sohinee Roy, "South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission: An Event that Launched a Process," South Atlantic Modern Language Association Convention, Louisville, KY, November 7 – 9, 2008

Rebecca Skidmore Biggio, "Resurrecting the Black Prophet: The Politics of Insurrection in Pauline Carrington Bouve's Their Shadows Before," MLA, San Francisco, December 27-30, 2008

Doctoral Conference Presentations: Part 1

As the first entry in our (school)year-end summary of doctoral students' conference presentations during the 2008-2009 academic year, I'm pleased to report that Beth Staley gave the following presentations:

“The Architecture/Architexture of the Archive,” Modern Language Association Convention, San Francisco, CA, December 26 – 29, 2008

“Voicescapes in Dickinson’s Late Fragments,” South Atlantic Modern Language Association Convention, Louisville, KY, November 7 – 9, 2008

“Editing Dickinson – Inevitable Antinomy, Architextural Possibility,” Association of Literary Scholars and Critics Conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 24 – 26, 2008

“Voice Loops through Brenda Hillman’s Pieces of Air in the Epic – Articulating the Social Lyric,” Lifting Belly High Conference on Women’s Poetry since 1900, Duquesne University, September 12 – 14, 2008

“‘Sequence ravelled / out of Sound –’ or ‘reach –’—Dickinson and the Provisions of Language,” Emily Dickinson International Society Discussion Institute, Amherst College, August 1 – 3, 2008

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Academic Blogosphere: Academhack

Occasionally, I'll post links from the academic blogosphere, a resource from which--even merely as readers--graduate students and faculty can glean a great deal about the profession and ways to navigate it.

There's a truckload of great sites out there, but today, I'll simply post a link to Academhack, a site that posts tech tips for academics. Today's news is the new blackboard app for iPhone, but there are lots of great timesavers and useful tools out there...Consider starting with their Top Ten post.

Ph.D. Graduates, Spring 2009 Part 3

Having successfully defended her dissertation, "Heavenly Genes: Eugenics and the New Woman in Fin de Siecle England," Jane Rago will graduate in May. Her committee was co-chaired by John Lamb and Dennis Allen, with Stephen Arata (University of Virginia), Gwen Bergner, and Donald Hall as the members of the committee. Dr. Rago is currently an Assistant Professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah.

MFA Reading

Congratulations to the following MFA students who successfully defended their theses and will read from their work on Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Gold Ballroom of the Mountainlair.

Matt Buchanan (poetry). Committee: Jim Harms (chair), Mary Ann Samyn, John Lamb.

Sarah Beth Childers (nonfiction). Committee: Kevin Oderman (chair), Mark Brazaitis, Ellesa Clay High.

Lori D’Angelo (fiction). Committee: Mark Brazaitis (chair), Emily Mitchell, Kevin Oderman.

Rachel Rosolina (nonfiction). Committee: Kevin Oderman (chair), Ethel Morgan Smith, Mary Ann Samyn.

John Shumate (fiction). Committee: Mark Brazaitis (chair), Emily Mitchell, Mary Ann Samyn.

Erin Veith (poetry). Committee: Mary Ann Samyn (chair), Jim Harms, Mark Brazaitis.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Ph.D. Graduates, Spring 2009

Congratulations to Heather Zias! She passed her defense on April 8th.

Her committee consisted of Byron Nelson (Chair), Lara Farina, Robert Markley, Sandy Baldwin, and Adam Komisaruk.

Summer Grants for Doctoral Research

As the spring semester wraps up, it comes time to consider applications for the Summer Grants for Doctoral Research, also known as Wilson Grants. Usually, the department can offer two $250 grants intended to support summer research to work on an article for publication.

Criteria:
"The principal consideration for the Wilson Grant is the likelihood that the proposed activity will result in publication. Preference will be given to applicants who have already taken steps toward that end and can express their plans in concrete terms. The application should address the nature, significance, current status and intended direction of your project; as well as the specific ways in which it would benefit from the Wilson grant."

To Apply:
Please submit a brief cover letter with your name and project, along with CV and a one-page description of the project to Amanda Riley by Monday, May 4, 2009. The committee will review projects on a blind-submission basis, so please include your name only on the cover letter.

Questions?
Email Ryan Claycomb. ryan [dot] claycomb [at] mail [dot] wvu [dot] edu