Service to the Profession — Last week Pilar Blitvich showed me a copy of the latest issue of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, a journal that she co-edits. As I thumbed through the issue, I was impressed with the international nature of this journal. Both the articles and the contributors have connections with many different countries. The fact that Pilar plays such a key role in editing this international journal underscores for me the importance of service to the profession. This type of service work often goes unnoticed, but it is crucial for the integrity and sustainability of academia. Such service includes writing letters related to tenure and promotion cases at other universities, serving as referees for academic journals, and contributing to the governance of professional organizations. The members of our English Department take service to the profession seriously, and a number currently play leadership roles in this area, including Pilar, Paula Eckard, and Ralf Thiede.
In addition to serving as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict since 2009, Pilar Blitvich serves as the Co-Editor in Chief of an academic book series on pragmatics and discourse analysis. She is also the co-founder and convenor of the Approaches to Digital Discourse Analysis International Conference. Paula Eckard has served as the Editor of The Thomas Wolfe Review since 2013, and before that she served as the President of the Thomas Wolfe Society from 2011 to 2013. Ralf Thiede is currently serving as the President of the SouthEastern Conference on Linguistics, a position he will hold until June 2019. Before he became the President of this organization, he served for five years as the Editor of its main publication, The Southeastern Journal of Linguistics. As these three examples illustrate, members of our English Department are leaders in their fields as well as on our campus.
International Education Week — UNC Charlotte is celebrating International Education Week from November 13 -17. As part of this week-long celebration, Sarah Minslow’s War and Genocide in Children’s Literature course will be hosting their Promoting Peace Project on Wednesday, November 15. This year they are participating in Facing Difference Challenge, an initiative designed “to help educators worldwide empower young people to reflect and take action toward building understanding, empathy, and peace.” Sarah and her students will be located in tents set up between Atkins and the College of Heath and Human Services. For more information about International Education Week, please click on the following link: https://inside.uncc.edu/news-features/2017-11-08/university-observe-international-education-week
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:
Chris Arvidson, one of our part-time faculty members, was recently did a one-hour interview on WCHL (“The Hill”) radio in Chapel Hill, with D. G. Martin, the host of Carolina Bookwatch. They talked about baseball, books, writing, and editing. Here is the link to the interview: http://chapelboro.com/wchl/weekend-shows/whos-talking/october-14-2017-6
She was also interviewed by Brendan Omeara for his podcast “Creative Nonfiction Podcast.” Here is the link to the interview:http://brendanomeara.com/
Balaka Basu has just taken on the role of Associate Editor for the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.
Consuelo Salas recently co-facilitated a roundtable discussion in a session titled “Double Agents: Infiltrating Writing Center Pedagogy at Multilingual Border Institutions” at the International Writing Centers Association conference in Chicago, IL.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about upcoming events:
Nov. 14 — The Personally Speaking presentation featuring Paula Eckard will take place on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at UNC Charlotte Center City. Paula’s presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. A book signing and reception will follow her presentation. For more information and to RSVP, please click on the following link: https://exchange.uncc.edu/personally-speaking-looks-at-lostness-through-the-eyes-of-children/
Nov. 17 — The English Department meeting will take place on November 17 from 11:00 to 12:30 in the English Department Conference Room.
Quirky Quiz Question —The Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict is published by an international academic publisher with offices in Amsterdam and Philadelphia. Does anybody know the name of this publisher?
Last week’s answer: Andrew Carnegie
During Verse & Vino, the organizers played a short video about the history of our public library. According to this video, the library’s first major building was built in 1901 with funding provided by a famous philanthropist. Does anybody know the name of this philanthropist?