Exploring the Diversity of Southern Childhoods — On Thursday and Friday of this week, Sarah Minslow and I are co-hosting a curriculum development workshop for thirty-two K-12 teachers titled Exploring the Diversity of Southern Childhoods. This workshop will take place at UNC Charlotte Center City. The first day of the workshop will focus on Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, and the second day will focus on the film version of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The workshop speakers include Janaka Lewis, Ashli Stokes, and Sam Shapiro.
This two-day workshop is truly a collaborative undertaking. Scott Gartlin and Robin Mara from the Charlotte Teachers Institute have helped with the planning of the workshop, and Angie Williams has provided valuable administrative support. Peter Stanton and Kristen Morse of the CLAS Office of Research have helped us deal with the details involved with administering a large external grant. Without the help of all of these people, Sarah and I would never have been able to organize this workshop.
The Exploring the Diversity of Southern Childhoods curriculum workshop is the concluding event related to a two-year initiative funded by the North Carolina Humanities Council. Titled the Child in Southern Literature and Film, this initiative has resulted in a number of events, including a film series, author presentations, a student performance, and several participatory activities for children. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library has partnered with us throughout the entire two years. In many ways, this initiative is part of the English Department’s longstanding commitment to combine cultural education and civic engagement.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department. Here is the latest news:
Balaka Basu recently presented a paper titled “Social Work and Classism in Novels for Girls” at the Children’s Literature Association Conference held in Indianapolis.
Ralf Thiede recently presented a paper titled “A Developmental Approach to Empathy through Children’s Literature” at the Children’s Literature Association Conference held in Indianapolis.
Lara Vetter recently gave a plenary talk titled ““On Love and the American Canon: H.D., Robert Duncan, and ‘Venice-Venus'” at the Robert Duncan Centennial Conference, Sorbonne University, Paris, France. She also chaired a session titled “Duncan, H.D. and Beyond.”
Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about upcoming events and deadlines:
July 1 — Final grades for the first summer session courses are due by noon on Monday, July 1. July 1 —The first day of classes for the second summer session is Monday, July 1.
Quirky Quiz Question — What state serves as the setting for To Kill a Mockingbird?
Last week’s answer: Maine
The musical Carousel is set in a part of the United States where it really doesn’t start getting warm until June. In which state is Carousel set?