Hidden Gems — Student Niner Media recently published a tabloid called Welcome Back to UNC Charlotte 2015. I thumbed through it this weekend and came across an interesting article titled “Hidden Gems in the UNC Charlotte Course Catalog” by Casey Aldridge, the Opinion Editor for the student paper. In her article, she features several of the most “exciting” courses offered at UNC Charlotte this fall, and nearly half of them are classes being taught by members of our department. She especially highlights “Sexing Shakespeare,” which Kirk Melnikoff and Kent Brintnall are co-teaching. She also includes Tony Jackson’s “I Can’t Believe My Eyes: Storytelling, Movies, Science Fiction” and Valerie Bright’s “Blood, Sweets, and Beers: Forbidden Food in Literature and Culture.”As this article underscores, the English Department is offering a wide range of engaging courses, and the preliminary enrollment figures indicate that a record number of students are signing up for these classes. The current enrollment figures for our undergraduate courses (including LBST courses) add up to a total of 2,335 seats filled. Last fall semester, we had 2,079 seats filled. This represents a 12% increase. In reviewing these figures, I am very pleased that the English Department is having such success in attracting so many students to our courses.
News from Our English Learning Community — Tiffany Morin, the Director of our English Learning Community, recently sent me the following report:
The members of the English Learning Community are settling in after completing their first week of college. This year we have 18 very enthusiastic students, who are ready to start planning their Fall Events. They are currently completing their profile collages, so you can soon learn more about the individual members from the ELC bulletin board, located by 290-B. If you would like to involve the ELC in any upcoming events, please contact Tiffany Morin.
Sarah Minslow recently published an article titled “Challenging the Impossibility of Children’s Literature: The Emancipatory Qualities of Edward Lear’s Nonsense” in Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature.
Coleen Muir published an article titled “The Price of Diversity.” It was published through The Rumpus on August 25. Here is the link: http://therumpus.net/2015/08/the-price-of-diversity/
Quirky Quiz Question — In her article about Edward Lear’s nonsense poetry, Sarah Minslow discusses many of Lear’s poems. One of Lear’s most famous poems is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.” In this poem, the owl and the pussy-cat eat “slices of quince” with an unusual utensil. What is this utensil called in the poem?
Last week’s answer: Harold Hill and Miss Marian
Does anybody know the name of the salesman in The Music Man? For extra credit, does anybody know the name of the librarian?