Monday Missive – April 3, 2017

April 04, 2017 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive

Sigma Tau Delta News — The 2017 Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society Convention took place in Louisville, Kentucky, from March 29 through April 1under the theme of “Recreation,” and UNC Charlotte students represented the English Department well.  On Thursday, Thomas Simonson, Chelsea Moore, Sara Eudy, Kelly Brabec, and Maria Lignos presented a panel that they proposed on Recreation of African American Female Identities.  On Friday morning, Carissa Wilbanks presented “Queer Utopian Potential in Literary Studies” on a panel called “Making Space for Queer Theory.”  On Saturday morning (bright and early at 8 am), Thomas, Sara, Carissa, and Shelby LeClair presented papers on a roundtable that they proposed called “The Candidacy of Gender: 2016 Presidential Election,” and that afternoon Tayler Green read “Orpheus and Eurydice” on an original fiction panel at the same time that Thomas presented “Trethewey’s Reclaiming & Reimagining of Race” on a “Poets Recreating America” panel.  Rachel West and Hannah Brown also represented our chapter at panels and events, which included author readings and keynotes by Marlon James and others, workshops, and the Sigma Con cosplay and literary trivia night (where our team advanced to the second round but not to the finals).

Janaka Lewis, who is the current faculty advisor for our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, accompanied the students on this trip.  In an email she sent to me about this trip, she wrote, “Our student-proposed roundtables were two of only eighteen accepted by faculty evaluators, and over 1000 members and 227 chapters were represented at the conference.   Many faculty from across the country noted how prepared, professional, and engaging our students were, and it was my pleasure to moderate three of their panels as faculty sponsor.  We also connected with other local and regional chapters, including the one at Johnson C. Smith (where we already have a joint event scheduled for this month).  We appreciate the generous support of the Honors College and English Department making the trip possible for these ten students. Thanks also to cosponsor Alan Rauch who attended last year to prepare this year’s group for what to expect and to the excellent chapter leadership for their organization.  We look forward to attending in Cincinnati next year.”

History of the Book, Future of the Book — The English Department hosted a two-day colloquium, “History of the Book, Future of the Book,” organized by Jen Munroe and EMPS (the Early Modern Paleography Society). On Thursday, Josh Calhoun (UW Madison) gave a lecture and offered a papermaking workshop; and on Friday, we had the 2nd Annual EMPS Transcribathon, during which we had a roundtable discussion with Josh Calhoun, Rebecca Laroche (UC Colorado Springs), Jen Munroe (UNC Charlotte), and Breanne Weber (UNC Charlotte), and we finished a full keying of the 17th-century English manuscript recipe book of Lettice Pudsey (c.1675). We had 35-40 students at the workshop on Thursday, and 75-80 at the transcribathon on Friday.

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:

Jarred Batchelor Hamilton, one of our former B.A. students, will begin the Masters of Theological Studies program at Harvard Divinity School this fall.  He plans to concentrate in Religion, Literature, and Culture; and Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion.

Breanne Weber, a graduate of our M.A. program and a current part-time faculty member in the English Department, has accepted a PhD offer from the English Department at UC Davis.  The offer includes a generous financial package: a first-year fellowship (The Provost’s Fellowship in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences) and five years of funding after that.
 

Quirky Quiz Question — Janaka Lewis and Alan Rauch are the two most recent faculty advisors for our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta.  Does anybody remember who served as the faculty advisor for our chapter before Alan and Janaka took on this role?

Last week’s answer: President Lyndon Johnson
The National Endowment for the Humanities was signed into law in 1965.  Can you name the president who signed this legislation?