Women of the World — UNC Charlotte’s International Women’s Day Celebration took place on March 26, 2015. Both Pilar Blitvich and Boyd Davis were among the 2015 Honorees who were celebrated at the event. This much deserved recognition underscores the prominent roles that the English Department’s faculty, staff, and students have long played in supporting women’s and gender studies on our campus. I think it worth noting that the first director of UNC Charlotte’s Women’s Studies Program was Shelley Crisp, who taught in the English Department at the time, and the current director of the the Women’s and Gender Studies Program is Katie Hogan, who is also a member of the English Department.
A literal example of women from the English Department playing feminist roles can be seen during Tuesday’s performance of The Vagina Monologues. This production will take place on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, at 7:00 pm in the McKnight Hall. The performers include Janaka Lewis, Tiffany Morin, and Angie Williams from the English Department as well Shannon Bauerle and Allison Walsh, who are part of our department’s greater sisterhood. When Eve Ensler wrote this play in 1996, she wanted to express support for female solidarity on a global level. This theme also runs through her more recent work titled I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls around the World, which came out in 2010. Given Ensler’s global perspective, Tuesday’s performance of The Vagina Monologues is a perfect follow-up to last week’s International Women’s Day Celebration.
Sanskrit — When our friend and colleague Jim McGavran passed away at the end of last year, he was serving as a juror for Sanskrit, UNC Charlotte’s literary arts magazine. Two other members of the English Department, Chris Davis and Lara Vetter, also served as the literature jurors for this year’s edition of Sanskrit. This edition is now published. I thumbed through the issue this weekend, and I was pleased to see that it is dedicated to Jim McGavran.
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:
Sonya Brockman’s article titled “Social Anxieties and Social Metamorphosis in The Taming of the Shrew” has been published in Journal of Early Modern Studies and available online at http://www.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-jems/article/view/15808.
Paula Connolly was interviewed by the New Books Network. The interview is part of the New Books Network’s discussion of African American Studies. Here is a link to the interview: http://newbooksinafroamstudies.com/2015/03/26/paula-t-connolly-slavery-in-american-childrens-literature-1790-2010-u-of-iowa-press-2013/
Dina Massachi, one of our graduate students, presented a paper titled “What Makes a Child’s Utopia: Thomas More and L. Frank Baum” at UNC Greensboro’s Power of Place conference.
Hannah Mayfield, one of our graduate students, presented a paper titled “Gender in the Gift Economy: Where Gender Stands in Discourse 2.0” at UNC Greensboro’s Power of Place conference.
Kirk Melnikoff has been given a contract to edit James IV by Robert Greene. The play will be printed in the Anthology of Non-Shakespearean Drama, Ed. Jeremy Lopez (Routledge, 2019).
Liz Miller recently presented a paper titled “(In)convenient fictions: Ideologies of multilingual practice and repertoires as resource for constituting identity and social order” at the Georgetown University Roundtable conference. She also presented a paper titled “The Ideology of Agency and the Neoliberal Self” at the American Association of Applied Linguistics conference in Toronto. Both papers were part of colloquia she helped organize.
Julia Morris, one of our graduate students, recently presented a paper titled “The Evolved Female Métier in Anna Kanvan’s Let Me Alone” at the 7th Annual Southeast Regional Graduate Conference held at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
Olivia Rines, a current grad student and co-president of EGSA, has been accepted into the Applied Linguistics Ph.D. at Arizona State University. She is one of only three applicants to have been offered financial support in the form of a generously funded TAship, tuition waiver and health benefits.
Becky Roeder presented a paper titled “Conflict & Community: Spanish in the Linguistic Landscape of Charlotte, NC” at the Georgetown University Roundtable in Linguistics (GURT) conference.
Megan Weaver, a graduate of our M.A. Program, has been accepted into a PhD program at Old Dominion University (with a first-year fellowship).
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:
March 31 — A performance of The Vagina Monologues (faculty and staff cast) will take place on Tuesday, March 31, at 7pm in McKnight Hall (Cone Center). Angie, Janaka, and Tiffany will each be performing in this important event. This year’s production is being directed by Shannon Bauerle, a former English grad student, ELC Coordinator and part-time instructor. All proceeds will benefit Safe Alliance. Admission tickets are $10. For admission ticket and a t-shirt $15. ONLY CASH will be taken at the door. To purchase tickets online:https://ecom.uncc.edu/C21561_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=104&SINGLESTORE=true
April 2 — Micah Nathan, our visiting creative writing professor, will have a reading/book signing at Park Road Books (4139 Park Road) on Thursday, April 2, at 7:00 pm. If you need directions to the bookstore, please click on the following link: http://www.parkroadbooks.com/
April 8 — Matt Johnson will give a presentation titled “Pressing Matters: The Conservation Books and their Enduing Legacy” as part of the Julian D. Mason Talks on Rare Books. The event will take place at the Atkins Library’s Halton Room and will begin at 3:30 p.m.
April 8 — A poetry reading featuring Anne-Marie Fyfe and C.L. Dallat will take place in the English Department Seminar Room (Fretwell 290B) from 5:00-6:00 pm.
Quirky Quiz Question — In remembering the role that Shelley Crisp played in establishing UNC Charlotte’s Women’s Studies Program, I am reminded that Shelley went on to become the Executive Director of a major nonprofit organization in North Carolina. Does anybody know the name of the organization that Shelley headed?
Last week’s answer: University of Iowa Press