Commencement — Last Saturday the UNC Charlotte held its Commencement ceremonies. A total of sixty-one English majors received their BA degrees, five students received their MA degrees in English, and one student received an MA in English Education. Also, four students were awarded Graduate Certificates in Technical and Professional Writing, including Brenda Shue, who was honored as the ringer of the Old Bell. As Kirk and I lined up the students in preparation for the ceremony, I could tell that despite the terrible weather they were excited and proud of their accomplishments. I congratulate all of them.
Charlotte Teachers Institute — Two faculty members from the English Department will lead seminar for the Charlotte Teachers Institute in 2014, Paula Connolly will lead a seminar titled Visual Storytelling in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. This seminar will meet at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture. Alan Rauch will lead a seminar titled Intersections of Science, Technology and Culture. This seminar will meet at Discovery Place. This upcoming year marks the first time that two UNC Charlotte faculty members from one department will lead seminars in the same year.
Of all the departments at UNC Charlotte, the English Department is the only department to provide seminar leaders every year since the inception of the program in 2010. The previous seminar leaders from English are Lil Brannon (2010), me (2011), Jeffrey Leak (2012), and Ralf Thiede (2013). Also, Brook Blaylock, one of our graduate teaching assistants, is a former CTI Fellow and member of the CTI Steering Committee.
Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Lil Brannon, together with our former colleague Tony Scott, published an article titled “Democracy, Struggle, and the Praxis of Assessment.” The article appeared in the December issue of College Composition and Communication, Vol. 65, No. 2, 273-298.
Boyd Davis, together with M. Maclagan, recently published a book chapter titled “Talking with Maureen: Extenders and Formulaic Language in Small Stories and Canonical Narratives.” The chapter is in Dialogue and Dementia, edited by R. Schrauf and N. Mueller, and published by Psychology Press, 87-120. Boyd has also been very busy delivering presentations at conferences all over the world. Here is a listing she sent me of her most recent conference presentations:
- Ganapathy, AKailas, P Juneja, B Davis, D Shenk 2013. An automated video recommendation system to enhance engagement levels in moderate-Dementia care patients. Wireless Health, Johns Hopkins NOV
- Davis B. 2013. Language & Social Context, Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Kaohsiung ROC OCT
- Maclagan M, Davis B. 2013. Extenders . NZ Language in Society Conference, Christchurch NZ NOV
- Davis B, Maclagan M, Pope C. 2013. Looking at density and complexity in conversations with oldest-old persons with dementia. Gerontology Society of America NOV
- Davis B, D Shenk. 2013. Beyond reminiscence: using generic video to elicit conversational language.GSA NOV
- Davis B, Shenk D. Convenors, Symposium on Technology-supported Interventions for People with Dementia: Facilitators and Barriers. GSA NOV
- Shenk D, Davis B. Convenors, Symposium on Using Technology to Support Communication with People with Dementia and their Caregivers. GSA NOV
Lara Vetter delivered a paper on Decmber 7 titled “‘L’Autre’ in H.D.’s Historical Fiction” at the “H.D. and Modernity Conference” held at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:
- December 17 — The CLAS Celebration of Faculty Achievement will take place in the SAC Salons A and B from 12:00 until 1:00.
- January 8 — First day of classes.
- January 17 — Last day to add classes and drop with no grade.
Quirky Quiz Question — Lara Vetter’s recent presentation in Paris is reflective of the fact that Lara is establishing herself as a leading authority on the writer and poet known as H.D. What does H.D. stand for? Lara is not allowed to answer this question.