Editorships Ahoy – I recently received an email from Paula Eckard announcing the publication of the first issue of the Thomas Wolfe Review to come out under her editorship. This is a substantial issue. It is 248 pages long, and it includes nearly twenty articles and features. With Paula now at the helm of the Thomas Wolfe Review, there are currently three journals that are edited by members of our department. Pilar Blitvich is the co-editor of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, and I serve as the editor of RISE: A Children’s Literacy Journal.
The three journals that are currently edited by members of our department are not the first such publications that our English faculty have edited. Some other examples of English professors who have edited journals in the past include Lil Brannon, who edited North Carolina English Teacher, Robert Grey, who edited the Southern Poetry Review, Andrew Hartley and Kirk Melnikoff, who edited the Shakespeare Bulletin, Anita Moss who edited the Children’s Literature in Education for many years, Alan Rauch, who edited Configurations: A Journal of Literature, Science, and Technology, and Ralf Thiede, who edited the Southern Journal of Linguistics.
As Dean Nancy Gutierrez often points out, it is important for faculty members to be engaged in the conversations taking place within their fields. Editing journals is one way for faculty members to contribute to such conversations.
Inaugural UWP Conference — “Why can’t students write?” is a question often heard on college and high school campuses. To address this complex issue, UNC Charlotte’s University Writing Program will host writing instructors from throughout the region at its inaugural one-day regional writing conference on Friday, September 12.
The conference will be held at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th Street, Charlotte.
“Bridging Inquiries: Research, Process, and Literacy from High School to Higher Ed” will offer panels and round-table discussions on topics such as commonalities in curricula, partnerships across institutions, academic literacies, inquiry-guided learning and teaching, academic transferability, and best practices in the teaching of writing. Presenters will include educators and scholars from Charlotte-area K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Publisher representatives will offer writing resources for purchase, and lunch will provide a space for exchange and discussion.
University Writing Program welcomes participants from all UNC Charlotte departments and programs, particularly those who teach or are preparing to teach writing-intensive courses. The conference also invites educators from the Charlotte area: K-12 teachers, community college and universityinstructors of writing or writing-intensive courses, media specialists and librarians, administrators, and anyone interested in teaching and furthering student writing abilities.
Registration and additional information can be found at http://pages.charlotte.edu/uwpconference/.
University Writing Program is a free-standing academic program of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at UNC Charlotte, composed of pedagogical and research activities related to the development of writing ability as well as to disciplinary inquiry in the fields of rhetoric and composition.
SOAR News — Every summer hundreds of incoming students come to our campus to participate in our SOAR sessions. During these sessions, they learn about UNC Charlotte, meet with advisors, and register for classes. Throughout the summer, Aaron Toscano and Tiffany Morin have been representing the English Department in these SOAR sessions, and they report strong interest in our major among the new students. Aaron informed me that he has already signed up 35 new majors, and Tiffany has signed up over 20 students for our English Learning Community. There are still two more SOAR sessions to go, so these numbers are preliminary. Still, I am pleased with the numbers that have come in so far, and I am grateful to Aaron and Tiffany for so ably representing the English Department during the SOAR sessions.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:
August 5 — The last day of class for the second summer term.
Quirky Quiz Question — By editing the Thomas Wolfe Review, Paula Eckard is keeping editorship of this journal in Wolfe’s home state. In what city in North Carolina did Wolfe spend his childhood?