Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Local Boy (and Prison Book Project) Make Good
The Daily Athenaeum just ran a great story about Jason Stupp's innovative English 102 class. It also has a nice photo of Katy and publicizes the Appalachian Prison Book Project. You can check it out here.
Creative Writing's New Web Site
Hello, friends --
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Creative Writing Program's new Web site, which you may access here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/
or here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/about_the_program
or here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/stories
but, alas, not here (yet):
DennisAllenForProfessorOfTheMillenniumAndChauffeurToTheStars@greatteaching.wvu.edu (forthcoming)
We're proud of our students, our faculty, and our staff (which is to say everyone in the Department) -- and we hope our Web site shows what makes the Creative Writing Program at WVU special.
Big thanks to the Creative Writing Program's graduate assistant, Emily Watson, as well as Rebecca Herod and Dustin Mazon in the Eberly College, for their fine work on the Web site.
Enjoy!
Mark Brazaitis
Professor of the Moment and Chauffeur to His Children
Oh -- and Director of the Creative Writing Program
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Creative Writing Program's new Web site, which you may access here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/
or here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/about_the_program
or here:
http://creativewriting.wvu.edu/stories
but, alas, not here (yet):
DennisAllenForProfessorOfTheMillenniumAndChauffeurToTheStars@greatteaching.wvu.edu (forthcoming)
We're proud of our students, our faculty, and our staff (which is to say everyone in the Department) -- and we hope our Web site shows what makes the Creative Writing Program at WVU special.
Big thanks to the Creative Writing Program's graduate assistant, Emily Watson, as well as Rebecca Herod and Dustin Mazon in the Eberly College, for their fine work on the Web site.
Enjoy!
Mark Brazaitis
Professor of the Moment and Chauffeur to His Children
Oh -- and Director of the Creative Writing Program
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Doctoral Student Meeting
The annual doctoral student meeting will be this Friday, October 30th, from 3:30-4:30 in 223 Colson, the Seminar Room. As it turns out, Lindsay will not be able to attend, but she did send gift bags so the first twenty people to show up will receive legwarmers.
Monday, October 26, 2009
New Writing Center Podcasts
The WVU Writing Center has several informational/instructional podcasts available for download. Our two newest episodes are:
# 3 - Making the Most of your Writing Center Visit. In this episode John and Nathalie talk about ways to make your tutoring session successful.
and
# 4 - How to Write a Professional Email (with Attachments). In this episode, Emma creates a screen cast to show the audience the most appropriate ways to write a professional e-mail. From the salutation, to adding an attachment, she includes everything that you need to know.
If you don't have iTunes visit the official WVU Writing Center website to stream all of our podcasts from your web browser.
Stay tuned to Tutor Talk, as there will be plenty more video podcasts on the way!
We recommend downloading Tutor Talk through iTunes via this link. iTunes is a free download to all users both Mac and PC. If you don't have iTunes, stream any of the podcasts from your browser by clicking HERE.
# 3 - Making the Most of your Writing Center Visit. In this episode John and Nathalie talk about ways to make your tutoring session successful.
and
# 4 - How to Write a Professional Email (with Attachments). In this episode, Emma creates a screen cast to show the audience the most appropriate ways to write a professional e-mail. From the salutation, to adding an attachment, she includes everything that you need to know.
If you don't have iTunes visit the official WVU Writing Center website to stream all of our podcasts from your web browser.
Stay tuned to Tutor Talk, as there will be plenty more video podcasts on the way!
We recommend downloading Tutor Talk through iTunes via this link. iTunes is a free download to all users both Mac and PC. If you don't have iTunes, stream any of the podcasts from your browser by clicking HERE.
Pumpkins!
Can you guess which pumpkin belongs to which TCH blogger? Oh, and yeah, we did grow them ourselves. And thanks, they are pretty darn impressive. We're glad you like them. Thursday, October 22, 2009
James Kincaid Lecture
The Department of English and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences are sponsoring the next Jackson Distinguished Lecture on October 27, from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in 130 Colson Hall.
James Kincaid's lecture is titled "Here’s Looking at You Kid." The lecture will discuss what we see when we look at a child. More to the point, what is involved in manufacturing that "child" in our culture, in causing us to look at all, and in forming the way we see? What constitutes illicit looking at kids? This talk is an experiment in looking, shifted over to the field of reading, exercising on The Catcher in the Rye a reading-through-the-eyes.
James Kincaid is Aerol Arnold Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting and Annoying the Victorians.
For more information, contact Donald Hall, Department of English, West Virginia University at 304-293-3100 or donald.hall@mail.wvu.edu.
James Kincaid's lecture is titled "Here’s Looking at You Kid." The lecture will discuss what we see when we look at a child. More to the point, what is involved in manufacturing that "child" in our culture, in causing us to look at all, and in forming the way we see? What constitutes illicit looking at kids? This talk is an experiment in looking, shifted over to the field of reading, exercising on The Catcher in the Rye a reading-through-the-eyes.
James Kincaid is Aerol Arnold Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting and Annoying the Victorians.
For more information, contact Donald Hall, Department of English, West Virginia University at 304-293-3100 or donald.hall@mail.wvu.edu.
Poets Do the Darnedest Things
What you have heard is true. The grad poetry workshop did end early last evening so that we could go, as a class, to see Where the Wild Things Are. And it was like watching a really intense lyric poem, so we’re pretty sure it still counts as class time. And we won’t spoil it for you, but we’re thinking it’s not a movie for kids. Or at least not for the footed pajama-wearing toddler who was up way past bedtime. This was the 9:30 show, after all, and teenagers were out in full force to prove that “school nights” mean nothing nowadays. We’ll include two photos for your enjoyment. One because we like the word “condiments,” and one because it’s actually pretty good.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
What's Your Story? (6 words or less)
So. . . .today is the day you've all been waiting for: the first-ever National Day on Writing.In addition to browsing the many, many contributions to the WVU gallery of writing at http://writing.wvu.edu, do some writing.
Today's challenge: tell a story in 6 words or less. Ernest Hemingway (the inspiration for the challenge) offered: For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.
What's your story?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Five College Dissertation Fellowships
Five College Fellowships offer year-long residencies for doctoral students completing dissertations. The program supports scholars from under-represented groups, and/or scholars with unique interests and histories, whose engagement in the Academy will enrich scholarship and teaching. Normally, four fellowships are awarded each year.
Each Fellow is hosted within an appropriate department or program at Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College or Smith College. (At Smith, recipients hold a Mendenhall Fellowship.) Fellows are provided research and teaching mentors and connected through the consortial office to resources and scholars across the five campuses, which include UMass Amherst. The office also supports meetings of the Fellows throughout the year.
The fellowship includes a stipend of $30,000, a research grant, health benefits, office space, housing or housing assistance, and library privileges at all five campuses belonging to the consortium.
While the award places primary emphasis on completion of the dissertation, most fellows teach at their hosting institution, but never more than a single one-semester course.
Date of Fellowship: August 31, 2010 to May 31, 2011 (non-renewable)
Stipend: $30,000
Review of Applications Begins: December 1, 2009
Awards will be announced by March, 2010
Application Materials are available here.
Each Fellow is hosted within an appropriate department or program at Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College or Smith College. (At Smith, recipients hold a Mendenhall Fellowship.) Fellows are provided research and teaching mentors and connected through the consortial office to resources and scholars across the five campuses, which include UMass Amherst. The office also supports meetings of the Fellows throughout the year.
The fellowship includes a stipend of $30,000, a research grant, health benefits, office space, housing or housing assistance, and library privileges at all five campuses belonging to the consortium.
While the award places primary emphasis on completion of the dissertation, most fellows teach at their hosting institution, but never more than a single one-semester course.
Date of Fellowship: August 31, 2010 to May 31, 2011 (non-renewable)
Stipend: $30,000
Review of Applications Begins: December 1, 2009
Awards will be announced by March, 2010
Application Materials are available here.
Ethel Smith and Ruby Dee
Ethel Smith provides the following report on her recent visit to Virginia Tech: "October 12th at Virginia Tech, Poet and Distinguished Professor Nikki Giovanni led more than 12 acclaimed artists in the reading of 100 of the best African American poems, which will be a book, CD, and DVD. But it was the amazing and acclaimed Ruby Dee reading poems by Gwendolyn Brooks who made us all feel bigger and better than we were. Other noted artists included Virginia Fowler, Joanne Gabbin, Val Ward Gray, Novella Nelson, and Ethel Morgan Smith. The event ended with the group singing "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks led by Ruby Dee."
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Is this a good-looking audience or what?
A large and enthusiastic and pretty darn attractive audience gathered for the COW reading this past Friday at Zenclay. Readers included creative nonfiction writers Sarah Einstein and Kelly Sundberg, fiction writers Aaron Hoover, Jason Freeman, Tony Clavelli, Justin Crawford, and Rebecca Schwab, and poets Lauren Reed, Danielle Ryle, and Christina Rothenbeck. Host Aaron Rote delivered his usual inspired haiku introductions, and copies of Joinery, the limited edition MFA publication, were available. In addition, in case you needed further convincing that our MFA program is the best ever, Aaron Hoover told us just that, remarking that we were, in fact, a much more receptive and attentive crowd than anything Purdue could ever muster. And Lauren Reed concurred with a story about a car accident, a phone tree, a text message ("Aaron Rote will come get you!"), and a rainy night rescue from near-certain doom. Elissa Hoffman won the raffle (a copy of Kevin Oderman's limited edition chapbook), and Mark Brazaitis, Ellesa Clay High, Ethel Morgan Smith, John Ernest, and yours truly nodded at all the right moments. Thanks to our COW officers and to our wonderful readers. See you next time.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Today in Pride Week: Friday = Dance Party
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
All Day, Mountainlair Food Court: Stop by our booth as we wrap up Pride Week and get ready for our fundraiser benefit.
10:00 PM, Vice Versa, 331 High St.
Vice Versa alternative dance club, presents a fundraiser benefit for BiGLTM. Members of the group will be on hand to distribute informational pamphlets, fliers, promotional items and other free stuff, and to accept donations.
All Day, Mountainlair Food Court: Stop by our booth as we wrap up Pride Week and get ready for our fundraiser benefit.
10:00 PM, Vice Versa, 331 High St.
Vice Versa alternative dance club, presents a fundraiser benefit for BiGLTM. Members of the group will be on hand to distribute informational pamphlets, fliers, promotional items and other free stuff, and to accept donations.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Today in Pride Week: Thursday = Sense (including our own Professor Komisaruk) and Sensibility
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
11:30 AM, Gluck Theater, Mountainlair
BiGLTM in association with the Office of Multicultural Programs presents a brown bag lunch and discussion on the film "Prayers For Bobby."
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
WVU Faculty Forum. A panel discussion with five distinguished WVU lecturers who will discuss several topics of interest to the LGBT community. Open audience Q&A will follow. Panelists include Dr. Scott Crichlow, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Daniel Ferreras, Associate Professor, Dept. of Foreign Languages; Dr. Adam Komisaruk, Associate Professor, Dept. of English; Nina Spadaro, Lecturer, WVU Honors College; and Melissa Chesanko, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Women's Studies.
11:30 AM, Gluck Theater, Mountainlair
BiGLTM in association with the Office of Multicultural Programs presents a brown bag lunch and discussion on the film "Prayers For Bobby."
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
WVU Faculty Forum. A panel discussion with five distinguished WVU lecturers who will discuss several topics of interest to the LGBT community. Open audience Q&A will follow. Panelists include Dr. Scott Crichlow, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Daniel Ferreras, Associate Professor, Dept. of Foreign Languages; Dr. Adam Komisaruk, Associate Professor, Dept. of English; Nina Spadaro, Lecturer, WVU Honors College; and Melissa Chesanko, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Women's Studies.
Women's Studies Website
The Center for Women's Studies has a brand new website. You can check it out at http://wmst.wvu.edu/
Super Baozi
Since we don't have a Fall break around here, I think we all could use a minute and a half interlude in which a steamed bun and a sushi roll recreate a scene from a Bruce Lee movie. Relevance? Once again, we'll call this Cultural Studies.
Super Baozi vs Sushi man from sun haipeng on Vimeo.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Today in Pride Week: Wednesday = Wedding Day
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
11:20 AM, Mountainlair Free Speech Zone
Equality Weddings. A series of mock ceremonies in which WVU students get "married" in protest of all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that real same-sex couples continue to be denied.
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
Stephen Skinner, attorney, LGBT advocate, and chairman of the board of Fairness WV, gives a presentation on the current state of LGBT legal equality in West Virginia. What rights do we have, what rights do we not have, and what can we all do to help bring about change?
Jobs: Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholars, Summer 2010
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is offering summer teaching opportunities to graduate students entering the final year of terminal degree and doctoral programs and preparing to be college teachers. These summer teaching positions are available at various PASSHE universities throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Selected scholars will teach and/or co-teach one course during one of the two 5 or 6 week Summer Sessions. The respective dates vary among each university but run from May 2010 through August 2010. At the discretion of individual campuses, Douglass scholar applications may be considered for full or partial year appointments.
In keeping with the spirit of Douglass' life of public service, the Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholars Summer Program is designed to provide graduate students teaching experiences and potential employment opportunities within university settings that are strongly committed to cultural diversity. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from diverse candidates, especially candidates from historically under-represented groups who will enrich the cultural diversity of our Universities.
Minimum requirements are: Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Enrollment into a doctoral program required and ABD or current doctorate degree preferred; academic background in one of the fields taught; and at least three favorable letters of recommendation from faculty or professionals in the student's field, including the student's advisor. Preferred: experience teaching or as teaching assistant. Scholars will be compensated as adjunct faculty, according to each university's collective bargaining agreement. Scholars may be expected to reside in on-campus residences or housing in an apartment that may be provided at no charge and to participate in campus activities. The appointment is for the scholar alone, not families, and scholars should have their own transportation. Priority consideration would be given to completed applications postmarked by November 6, 2009. Application and submission instructions can be obtained online at:
http://www.lhup.edu/equity/frederickdouglass.htm
Please contact each campus representative for more information about and academic disciplines.
In keeping with the spirit of Douglass' life of public service, the Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholars Summer Program is designed to provide graduate students teaching experiences and potential employment opportunities within university settings that are strongly committed to cultural diversity. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from diverse candidates, especially candidates from historically under-represented groups who will enrich the cultural diversity of our Universities.
Minimum requirements are: Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Enrollment into a doctoral program required and ABD or current doctorate degree preferred; academic background in one of the fields taught; and at least three favorable letters of recommendation from faculty or professionals in the student's field, including the student's advisor. Preferred: experience teaching or as teaching assistant. Scholars will be compensated as adjunct faculty, according to each university's collective bargaining agreement. Scholars may be expected to reside in on-campus residences or housing in an apartment that may be provided at no charge and to participate in campus activities. The appointment is for the scholar alone, not families, and scholars should have their own transportation. Priority consideration would be given to completed applications postmarked by November 6, 2009. Application and submission instructions can be obtained online at:
http://www.lhup.edu/equity/frederickdouglass.htm
Please contact each campus representative for more information about and academic disciplines.
Call for Papers: Open Words
Special Issue of the Journal
Open Words: Access and English Studies
Devoted to Disability Studies
Open Words: Access and English Studies is a journal dedicated to publishing articles focusing on political, professional, and pedagogical issues related to teaching composition, reading, ESL, creative writing, and literature to open admissions and non-mainstream student populations.
We will be devoting issue 5.1 (Spring 2011) to articles focusing on Disability Studies.
We invite manuscripts to explore Disability as identity, Disability Rights as a political movement, disability as rhetorical and as theoretical lens, disability and pedagogy, as well as the ways that
disability intersects with other approaches, identities, histories, and movements. Given the inter- and intra-disciplinary nature of the field of Disability Studies, a diversity of methodologies and modes of inquiry are invited.
How has disability shaped or been shaped by English studies? How can Disability Studies approaches help us to better understand issues of access? How are words such as “basic,” “normal,” “mainstream,” or “remedial” rhetorically charged by disability and how does this shape
space and practice? What are the locations of disability in education, and how might this geography be remapped?
Contact Guest Editor Jay Dolmage with submissions or with questions:
Jay.Dolmage@mail.wvu.edu
Deadline for Submissions: May 22, 2010
View past issues of Open Words HERE.
Alumni News: Marisa Klages
TCH always welcomes news of former tenants who have left to make their way in the larger world. Today, we're happy to be able to share the following update from Marisa Klages (Ph.D. '08):I'm an Assistant Professor at LaGuardia Community College. In the Spring I was appointed as the Director of Outcomes Assessment and I have also been appointed as the Project Director for a new grant funded by the Gates Foundation entitled "Global Skills for College Completion" which is LaGuardia Community College in conjunction with the League for Innovation in Community College and Knowledge in the Public Interest.
I recently had an article published in the Journal of Basic Writing with my co-author J. ELizabeth Clark entitled "New Worlds of Errors and Expectations: Basic Writers and Digital Assumptions." I also had another article published with my co-authors Patricia Sokolski and Evelyn Burg in the Journal of Learning Communities Research, "Beyond *Parallel Play*: Creating a Realistic Model of Integrative Learning with Community College Freshmen."
Today in Pride Week: Tuesday=Pie
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
12:30 PM, between Woodburn Circle and Armstrong Hall: Pie In the Face of Intolerance
For a small donation, throw a pie at volunteers from all over the WVU campus, including BiGLTM president C.G. Shields, and cardboard cutouts of a couple of your least favorite people.
8:30 PM, Blue Moose Cafe, corner of Walnut St. and Spuce St.
The Rev. Kris Haig, pastor at First Presbyterian Church and lecturer in New Testament studies at Waynesburg University, discusses contemporary Biblical scholarship on sexuality issues, and modern-day interpretations of what the New Testament texts really say about sexual identity. Audience Q&A follows. BiGLTM will provide a free coffee or beverage for all in attendance.
12:30 PM, between Woodburn Circle and Armstrong Hall: Pie In the Face of Intolerance
For a small donation, throw a pie at volunteers from all over the WVU campus, including BiGLTM president C.G. Shields, and cardboard cutouts of a couple of your least favorite people.
8:30 PM, Blue Moose Cafe, corner of Walnut St. and Spuce St.
The Rev. Kris Haig, pastor at First Presbyterian Church and lecturer in New Testament studies at Waynesburg University, discusses contemporary Biblical scholarship on sexuality issues, and modern-day interpretations of what the New Testament texts really say about sexual identity. Audience Q&A follows. BiGLTM will provide a free coffee or beverage for all in attendance.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Recent Achievements in English: October 2009
RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENGLISH
News of Student, Faculty, and Staff Professional Activity
Issue 2009 No. 6
REBECCA SKIDMORE BIGGIO's essay "The Specter of Conspiracy in Martin Delany's Blake" appears in African American Review 42.3-4 (Fall/Winter 2008): 439-454.
*
MARK BRAZAITIS's short stories appear in recent volumes of New Madrid ("Mouse") and the Notre Dame Review ("Classmates"). His story "One Long Last Drive," featuring -- gasp -- a hallucination in the form of John McCain -- is forthcoming in as-yet-untitled anthology on the 2008 presidential election. His short story "The Incurables" was shortlisted for the Best American Short Stories 2009. Ever since he stepped into John Ernest's class to read a poem unannounced, he has had fantasies about doing this in other venues, including, most recently, the Sideling Hill Exhibition Center.
*
From ALLEN MENDENHALL: The Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives has accepted my paper, tentatively titled "Haunted by History: A Literary Critique of the Dred Scott Decision and its Historical Treatments," for publication in 2010 (Vol. 1, No. 2).
*
SCOTT WIBLE published a review of Internships: Theory and Practice by Charles Sides and Ann Mrvica in the October 2009 issue of Technical Communication Quarterly.
*
KIRK HAZEN will give the keynote address at the 2010 OSU Linguistics Pedagogy conference.
Details at http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-3182.html
*
MICHAEL GERMANA's book Standards of Value: Money, Race, and Literature in America, was published by University of Iowa Press. See http://www.uipress.uiowa.edu/books/2009-fall/germana.htm for details.
*
Publications by ETHEL MORGAN SMITH:
(Essays)
"Outside of Dreams" Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers, ed Joanne Gabbin. University Press of Mississippi.
"Deferred Dreams" Thatminoritything.com-April 6, 2009 (featured writer)
"Mother" The New York Times- Motherlode a very popular online site about parenting-May 9, 2009
Note: That Minority Thing is an online community for individuals and groups currently underrepresented in the mainstream media. It’s a place where minority voices - ethnic, racial, religious, the disabled, gender and sexual minorities - can come together, united in their interest and need to express themselves. In addition to being a forum for interaction and discourse, That Minority Thing is also a reliable filter for news from across the globe that is of special interest to these traditionally underrepresented groups. By providing specialized news and a distinctive community, That Minority Thing is the go-to site for meaningful dialogue about the unique issues facing the diverse audiences in our society today. And it is the second largest of such a site.
Honors and Awards:
West Virginia Writers Contest-Second prize-novel-The House of Flowers
West Virginia Writers Contest-Third prize-play for the stage-African Violets
*
KIRK HAZEN received a Research Experience for Undergraduates supplement to his current NSF grant on Englishes in Appalachia. This grant, funded by the NSF, allows for interactive learning about linguistic research for two undergraduate students.
KIRK HAZEN will also serve on the National Science Foundation Linguistic Advisory Panel for Fall 2009, his eighth semester in all.
*
NATALIE SYPOLT recently won first place in the West Virginia Fiction Competition sponsored by Shepherd University (judged by Silas House) and the Ruth Gabehart Prize sponsored by the Kentucky Women Writers' Conference. She was also awarded second place in the James Still Short Story Contest judged by Ann Pancake. Additionally, Natalie has had two flash fiction pieces accepted for publication: "Boy in the House" will appear in the fall edition of Flashquake and "What Will Be Saved" will appear in a upcoming issue of The Queen City Review.
*
HEATHER FRESE: three of my poems ("August--," "Domesticity," and "Did it Call to Mind the dead in Your Life, Too") got picked up by the journal Front Porch.
*
MARILYN FRANCUS presented "'When will these discoveries end!': Gothic Motherhood in Radcliffe's The Italian" at the East-Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in October.
*
LORI ZERNE presented "That Amiable Family: The Redefinition of Female Duty in Sarah Scott's Millenium Hall" at the East-Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in October.
*
DONALD E. HALL's article "Building Bridges" appeared in the inaugural issue of the journal TEACHER-SCHOLAR: THE JOURNAL OF THE STATE COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY. He served on the NCTE/MLA response panel to the new state standards for English Language Arts proposal being overseen by the American Council on Education.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Students, Faculty, and Staff Members in English are encouraged to send notices of all recent professional achievements to donald.hall@mail.wvu.edu for collation and distribution to the department in the next issue of "Recent Achievements in English," appearing soon.
News of Student, Faculty, and Staff Professional Activity
Issue 2009 No. 6
REBECCA SKIDMORE BIGGIO's essay "The Specter of Conspiracy in Martin Delany's Blake" appears in African American Review 42.3-4 (Fall/Winter 2008): 439-454.
*
MARK BRAZAITIS's short stories appear in recent volumes of New Madrid ("Mouse") and the Notre Dame Review ("Classmates"). His story "One Long Last Drive," featuring -- gasp -- a hallucination in the form of John McCain -- is forthcoming in as-yet-untitled anthology on the 2008 presidential election. His short story "The Incurables" was shortlisted for the Best American Short Stories 2009. Ever since he stepped into John Ernest's class to read a poem unannounced, he has had fantasies about doing this in other venues, including, most recently, the Sideling Hill Exhibition Center.
*
From ALLEN MENDENHALL: The Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives has accepted my paper, tentatively titled "Haunted by History: A Literary Critique of the Dred Scott Decision and its Historical Treatments," for publication in 2010 (Vol. 1, No. 2).
*
SCOTT WIBLE published a review of Internships: Theory and Practice by Charles Sides and Ann Mrvica in the October 2009 issue of Technical Communication Quarterly.
*
KIRK HAZEN will give the keynote address at the 2010 OSU Linguistics Pedagogy conference.
Details at http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-3182.html
*
MICHAEL GERMANA's book Standards of Value: Money, Race, and Literature in America, was published by University of Iowa Press. See http://www.uipress.uiowa.edu/books/2009-fall/germana.htm for details.
*
Publications by ETHEL MORGAN SMITH:
(Essays)
"Outside of Dreams" Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers, ed Joanne Gabbin. University Press of Mississippi.
"Deferred Dreams" Thatminoritything.com-April 6, 2009 (featured writer)
"Mother" The New York Times- Motherlode a very popular online site about parenting-May 9, 2009
Note: That Minority Thing is an online community for individuals and groups currently underrepresented in the mainstream media. It’s a place where minority voices - ethnic, racial, religious, the disabled, gender and sexual minorities - can come together, united in their interest and need to express themselves. In addition to being a forum for interaction and discourse, That Minority Thing is also a reliable filter for news from across the globe that is of special interest to these traditionally underrepresented groups. By providing specialized news and a distinctive community, That Minority Thing is the go-to site for meaningful dialogue about the unique issues facing the diverse audiences in our society today. And it is the second largest of such a site.
Honors and Awards:
West Virginia Writers Contest-Second prize-novel-The House of Flowers
West Virginia Writers Contest-Third prize-play for the stage-African Violets
*
KIRK HAZEN received a Research Experience for Undergraduates supplement to his current NSF grant on Englishes in Appalachia. This grant, funded by the NSF, allows for interactive learning about linguistic research for two undergraduate students.
KIRK HAZEN will also serve on the National Science Foundation Linguistic Advisory Panel for Fall 2009, his eighth semester in all.
*
NATALIE SYPOLT recently won first place in the West Virginia Fiction Competition sponsored by Shepherd University (judged by Silas House) and the Ruth Gabehart Prize sponsored by the Kentucky Women Writers' Conference. She was also awarded second place in the James Still Short Story Contest judged by Ann Pancake. Additionally, Natalie has had two flash fiction pieces accepted for publication: "Boy in the House" will appear in the fall edition of Flashquake and "What Will Be Saved" will appear in a upcoming issue of The Queen City Review.
*
HEATHER FRESE: three of my poems ("August--," "Domesticity," and "Did it Call to Mind the dead in Your Life, Too") got picked up by the journal Front Porch.
*
MARILYN FRANCUS presented "'When will these discoveries end!': Gothic Motherhood in Radcliffe's The Italian" at the East-Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in October.
*
LORI ZERNE presented "That Amiable Family: The Redefinition of Female Duty in Sarah Scott's Millenium Hall" at the East-Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in October.
*
DONALD E. HALL's article "Building Bridges" appeared in the inaugural issue of the journal TEACHER-SCHOLAR: THE JOURNAL OF THE STATE COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY. He served on the NCTE/MLA response panel to the new state standards for English Language Arts proposal being overseen by the American Council on Education.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Students, Faculty, and Staff Members in English are encouraged to send notices of all recent professional achievements to donald.hall@mail.wvu.edu for collation and distribution to the department in the next issue of "Recent Achievements in English," appearing soon.
Today In Pride Week
All Day: WVU Coming Out Day / Blue Jeans Day
Stop by our booth in the Mountainlair Food Court for information about National Coming Out Day and the coming out process. Wear blue jeans to show your support for those WVU students who are coming out today!
6:00 PM, Rhododendrom Room, Mountainlair:
Dr. T. Anne Hawkins, interim clinical director at the Carruth Center, speaks about the coming out process. A panel discussion follows, featuring coming out stories from members of WVU's student LGBT community.
Stop by our booth in the Mountainlair Food Court for information about National Coming Out Day and the coming out process. Wear blue jeans to show your support for those WVU students who are coming out today!
6:00 PM, Rhododendrom Room, Mountainlair:
Dr. T. Anne Hawkins, interim clinical director at the Carruth Center, speaks about the coming out process. A panel discussion follows, featuring coming out stories from members of WVU's student LGBT community.
Last Call
. . . for contributions to the online gallery of writing: http://writing.wvu.edu/
The deadline is midnight tonight (Oct 12).
The gallery goes live a week from tomorrow (Oct 20).
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Congratulations to Irina
Always the bearer of good tidings, Professor Ryan relates:
"I am honored to announce that Irina Rodimtseva has passed her booklist exam and joined the austere company of ABD. Serving on her committee were Gwen Bergner, Tim Sweet, Kayode Ogunfolabi, Katy Ryan, and Nancy Condee (U of Pitt). Congratulations to Irina! A wonderful performance, an extraordinary journey."
"I am honored to announce that Irina Rodimtseva has passed her booklist exam and joined the austere company of ABD. Serving on her committee were Gwen Bergner, Tim Sweet, Kayode Ogunfolabi, Katy Ryan, and Nancy Condee (U of Pitt). Congratulations to Irina! A wonderful performance, an extraordinary journey."
Friday, October 9, 2009
We could help
Read the heartbreaking article here and join me in responding by collecting money to have cookies sent to Harvard's English Faculty. It would a positive and sweet thing to do, given the state of their affairs.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
CFP: "Spanking and Poetry": A Conference on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
"Spanking and Poetry": A Conference on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
English Student Association Conference, Feb 25-26, 2010
The Graduate Center
The City University of New York
New York, New York
Submit abstracts of 300 words or less to sedgwickconference@gmail.com by November 15, 2009. Check http://sedgwickconference.wordpress.com for further information as the conference approaches.
"When I was a child the two most rhythmic things that happened to me were spanking and poetry." (Tendencies 182)
Eve Sedgwick lovingly, if none too gently, slapped open the sphincter-tight boundary rings of critical scholarship on the sexual and affective relations between bodies. This conference invites continued play with the tools she created for examination of "all the different surfaces that make a self for most of us, printed pages, 'our' ideas, institutional relations and activism, vibrations of a voice, the gaping abstractions and distractions of creativity, the weird holographic projections of our names and public personae, the visible and impressible extent of the parts of our bodies" (Tendencies 104-05). We welcome paper proposals on any aspect or application of her critical, literary, and artistic work, inviting scholars to broadly consider and reconsider Sedgwick's intersections with and influences upon their fields. In the spirit of her own perversion of academic style, we particularly encourage proposals that expand the boundaries of the conventional conference paper through experimental or creative critical practices. We also seek papers engaging with Sedgwick's pedagogical practices and proposals, as expressed in her written work or as performed in her classes at The Graduate Center or other institutions.
Professors Jonathan Goldberg and Michael Moon of Emory University will be presenting the keynote address entitled "On the Eve of the Future." Professor Goldberg will be discussing the Eve Sedgwick's unpublished work that he's assembling as her literary executor, while Professor Moon will speak about the continuing impact of Sedgwick's work.
Topics may include but are in no way limited to
Aesthetics of the critical eye
Affect and the critical project
Beside the repressive hypothesis
Binary structures and Buddhist practice
The body in queer theory
Experimental critical writing
Fisting-as-écriture
Habit
Identification and loss
Near-miss pedagogy
Non-Oedipal & postmodernist psychologies
Performativity and peri-performativity
Queer gods and goddesses
Queer theory and mortality
Reparative reading
Sedgwick and Ricoeur's 'hermeneutics of suspicion'
Shame and generic discipline
Textiles & fiber art
The conference is open to scholars at all levels. Contact Tracy Riley and Margaret Galvan at sedgwickconference@gmail.com with any questions about the conference.
English Student Association Conference, Feb 25-26, 2010
The Graduate Center
The City University of New York
New York, New York
Submit abstracts of 300 words or less to sedgwickconference@gmail.com by November 15, 2009. Check http://sedgwickconference.wordpress.com for further information as the conference approaches.
"When I was a child the two most rhythmic things that happened to me were spanking and poetry." (Tendencies 182)
Eve Sedgwick lovingly, if none too gently, slapped open the sphincter-tight boundary rings of critical scholarship on the sexual and affective relations between bodies. This conference invites continued play with the tools she created for examination of "all the different surfaces that make a self for most of us, printed pages, 'our' ideas, institutional relations and activism, vibrations of a voice, the gaping abstractions and distractions of creativity, the weird holographic projections of our names and public personae, the visible and impressible extent of the parts of our bodies" (Tendencies 104-05). We welcome paper proposals on any aspect or application of her critical, literary, and artistic work, inviting scholars to broadly consider and reconsider Sedgwick's intersections with and influences upon their fields. In the spirit of her own perversion of academic style, we particularly encourage proposals that expand the boundaries of the conventional conference paper through experimental or creative critical practices. We also seek papers engaging with Sedgwick's pedagogical practices and proposals, as expressed in her written work or as performed in her classes at The Graduate Center or other institutions.
Professors Jonathan Goldberg and Michael Moon of Emory University will be presenting the keynote address entitled "On the Eve of the Future." Professor Goldberg will be discussing the Eve Sedgwick's unpublished work that he's assembling as her literary executor, while Professor Moon will speak about the continuing impact of Sedgwick's work.
Topics may include but are in no way limited to
Aesthetics of the critical eye
Affect and the critical project
Beside the repressive hypothesis
Binary structures and Buddhist practice
The body in queer theory
Experimental critical writing
Fisting-as-écriture
Habit
Identification and loss
Near-miss pedagogy
Non-Oedipal & postmodernist psychologies
Performativity and peri-performativity
Queer gods and goddesses
Queer theory and mortality
Reparative reading
Sedgwick and Ricoeur's 'hermeneutics of suspicion'
Shame and generic discipline
Textiles & fiber art
The conference is open to scholars at all levels. Contact Tracy Riley and Margaret Galvan at sedgwickconference@gmail.com with any questions about the conference.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ethel Morgan Smith Reading on October 15th
Author Ethel Morgan Smith will be the featured speaker during Morgantown Poets 7 p.m. literary event Thursday, Oct. 15, at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).
The reading is free and open to anyone interested in the arts. The MAC is at 107 High St., Morgantown.
Smith is the author of From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College as well as the winner of numerous prizes and awards.
The reading is free and open to anyone interested in the arts. The MAC is at 107 High St., Morgantown.
Smith is the author of From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College as well as the winner of numerous prizes and awards.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Coming Soon: Pride Week at WVU
During the week of October 12th, WVU will celebrate Gay Pride Week. The program offers a series of events designed to promote visibility of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and allied community at WVU, to raise awareness about issues of importance to that community, and to have a little fun. BiGLTM (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian & Transgendered Mountaineers) and others have planned a series of events, speakers, and panels that will appeal to a wide variety of students, faculty, and staff at WVU.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
All Day: WVU Coming Out Day / Blue Jeans Day
Stop by our booth in the Mountainlair Food Court for information about National Coming Out Day and the coming out process. Wear blue jeans to show your support for those WVU students who are coming out today!
6:00 PM, Rhododendrom Room, Mountainlair:
Dr. T. Anne Hawkins, interim clinical director at the Carruth Center, speaks about the coming out process. A panel discussion follows, featuring coming out stories from members of WVU's student LGBT community.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
12:30 PM, between Woodburn Circle and Armstrong Hall: Pie In the Face of Intolerance
For a small donation, throw a pie at volunteers from all over the WVU campus, including BiGLTM president C.G. Shields, and cardboard cutouts of a couple of your least favorite people.
8:30 PM, Blue Moose Cafe, corner of Walnut St. and Spuce St.
The Rev. Kris Haig, pastor at First Presbyterian Church and lecturer in New Testament studies at Waynesburg University, discusses contemporary Biblical scholarship on sexuality issues, and modern-day interpretations of what the New Testament texts really say about sexual identity. Audience Q&A follows. BiGLTM will provide a free coffee or beverage for all in attendance.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
11:20 AM, Mountainlair Free Speech Zone
Equality Weddings. A series of mock ceremonies in which WVU students get "married" in protest of all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that real same-sex couples continue to be denied.
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
Stephen Skinner, attorney, LGBT advocate, and chairman of the board of Fairness WV, gives a presentation on the current state of LGBT legal equality in West Virginia. What rights do we have, what rights do we not have, and what can we all do to help bring about change?
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
11:30 AM, Gluck Theater, Mountainlair
BiGLTM in association with the Office of Multicultural Programs presents a brown bag lunch and discussion on the film "Prayers For Bobby."
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
WVU Faculty Forum. A panel discussion with five distinguished WVU lecturers who will discuss several topics of interest to the LGBT community. Open audience Q&A will follow. Panelists include Dr. Scott Crichlow, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Daniel Ferreras, Associate Professor, Dept. of Foreign Languages; Dr. Adam Komisurek, Associate Professor, Dept. of English; Nina Spadaro, Lecturer, WVU Honors College; and Melissa Chesanko, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Women's Studies.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
All Day, Mountainlair Food Court: Stop by our booth as we wrap up Pride Week and get ready for our fundraiser benefit.
10:00 PM, Vice Versa, 331 High St.
Vice Versa alternative dance club, presents a fundraiser benefit for BiGLTM. Members of the group will be on hand to distribute informational pamphlets, fliers, promotional items and other free stuff, and to accept donations.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
All Day: WVU Coming Out Day / Blue Jeans Day
Stop by our booth in the Mountainlair Food Court for information about National Coming Out Day and the coming out process. Wear blue jeans to show your support for those WVU students who are coming out today!
6:00 PM, Rhododendrom Room, Mountainlair:
Dr. T. Anne Hawkins, interim clinical director at the Carruth Center, speaks about the coming out process. A panel discussion follows, featuring coming out stories from members of WVU's student LGBT community.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
12:30 PM, between Woodburn Circle and Armstrong Hall: Pie In the Face of Intolerance
For a small donation, throw a pie at volunteers from all over the WVU campus, including BiGLTM president C.G. Shields, and cardboard cutouts of a couple of your least favorite people.
8:30 PM, Blue Moose Cafe, corner of Walnut St. and Spuce St.
The Rev. Kris Haig, pastor at First Presbyterian Church and lecturer in New Testament studies at Waynesburg University, discusses contemporary Biblical scholarship on sexuality issues, and modern-day interpretations of what the New Testament texts really say about sexual identity. Audience Q&A follows. BiGLTM will provide a free coffee or beverage for all in attendance.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
11:20 AM, Mountainlair Free Speech Zone
Equality Weddings. A series of mock ceremonies in which WVU students get "married" in protest of all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that real same-sex couples continue to be denied.
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
Stephen Skinner, attorney, LGBT advocate, and chairman of the board of Fairness WV, gives a presentation on the current state of LGBT legal equality in West Virginia. What rights do we have, what rights do we not have, and what can we all do to help bring about change?
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
11:30 AM, Gluck Theater, Mountainlair
BiGLTM in association with the Office of Multicultural Programs presents a brown bag lunch and discussion on the film "Prayers For Bobby."
7:00 PM, Greenbrier Room, Mountainlair
WVU Faculty Forum. A panel discussion with five distinguished WVU lecturers who will discuss several topics of interest to the LGBT community. Open audience Q&A will follow. Panelists include Dr. Scott Crichlow, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Daniel Ferreras, Associate Professor, Dept. of Foreign Languages; Dr. Adam Komisurek, Associate Professor, Dept. of English; Nina Spadaro, Lecturer, WVU Honors College; and Melissa Chesanko, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Women's Studies.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
All Day, Mountainlair Food Court: Stop by our booth as we wrap up Pride Week and get ready for our fundraiser benefit.
10:00 PM, Vice Versa, 331 High St.
Vice Versa alternative dance club, presents a fundraiser benefit for BiGLTM. Members of the group will be on hand to distribute informational pamphlets, fliers, promotional items and other free stuff, and to accept donations.
How to Submit Writing to the Gallery
Step-by-step guides to help you (and your students) contribute writing to writing.wvu.edu can be downloaded as PowerPoint or Word documents. Deadline for contributions: Oct 12.- PowerPoint: http://community.wvu.edu/~lab020/contribute-writing.ppt
- Word document: http://community.wvu.edu/~lab020/contribute-writing.doc
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Congratulations to Jason Stupp
Professor Ryan reports:
"Congratulations to Jason Stupp, who passed his booklist exams with grace & verve. If world enough and time, his committee--Michael Germana, Catherine John (U of Oklahoma), Gwen Bergner, John Ernest, and Katy Ryan--would have continued to ask questions about his important work for many more hours. Well done, Jason!"
"Congratulations to Jason Stupp, who passed his booklist exams with grace & verve. If world enough and time, his committee--Michael Germana, Catherine John (U of Oklahoma), Gwen Bergner, John Ernest, and Katy Ryan--would have continued to ask questions about his important work for many more hours. Well done, Jason!"
Friday, October 2, 2009
Five Month Anniversary
It was just a little over five months ago that the Tenants came up with the idea of doing a blog one sultry afternoon in their clubhouse when there was nothing good on TV. Since then, we've passed the 5,000 "unique visitors" mark (and all our visitors are unique) and are rapidly approaching 10,000 pageviews.
In celebration of that, we're posting the map showing which states our visitors are from. The different shades of green, admittedly a bit difficult to see given the picture size, show the numbers of visitors from each state. Aside from West Virginia and Pennsylvania, we are particularly popular in New Jersey (possibly because of that mention on Real Housew
ives) and Iowa. Sadly, there are eight states where our existence is as yet unknown so, if you know someone who lives in one of these places, have them give us a look so we can finish up with this and get started on our collection of state quarters.
P.S. The blog has also had visitors from 45 other countries. More on that later.
In celebration of that, we're posting the map showing which states our visitors are from. The different shades of green, admittedly a bit difficult to see given the picture size, show the numbers of visitors from each state. Aside from West Virginia and Pennsylvania, we are particularly popular in New Jersey (possibly because of that mention on Real Housew
ives) and Iowa. Sadly, there are eight states where our existence is as yet unknown so, if you know someone who lives in one of these places, have them give us a look so we can finish up with this and get started on our collection of state quarters.P.S. The blog has also had visitors from 45 other countries. More on that later.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Congratulations to Beth Staley
Congratulations to Beth Staley who passed the Examination for Admission to Doctoral Candidacy.
Beth's sure-to-be dazzling dissertation will focus on Emily Dickinson's "fragments."
Beth's booklist committee included Dennis Allen, John Ernest, Katy Ryan, Marta Werner (D'Youville College), and Mary Ann Samyn, all of whom were impressed and proud, a little humbled and, truth be told, a little tearful at the conclusion of such a lovely exam.
Congratulations, Beth!
Celebrate Writing--Please!
Please demonstrate the value of writing at WVU by submitting a sample of new _or existing_ writing to http://writing.wvu.edu/Simply upload documents (or links to existing online writing) to the gallery website or at http://writing.wvu.edu/. Be sure to choose the Local Gallery called "Celebrate Writing at WVU" as the site where work will appear.
Deadline for Submissions: Oct 12, 2009 (one entry per person). Gallery submissions will be on public view starting October 20, 2009.
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