Bonnie E. Cone Professor in Civic Engagement Professor of English, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

AUTHOR

Mark West

Monday Missive - June 27, 2016

June 28, 2016 by Mark West

Passing the Baton — In a relay race, one runner passes a baton to another runner, transforming an individual sport into something of a team sport. Nowadays, the term “passing the baton” also means the transference of responsibility from one person to another, but I think that we should ponder for a moment the racing origins of this phrase. By handing off the baton from one runner to another, the runners are able to go faster collectively than each runner would go if that runner were running the entire course alone. At the moment that a runner hands off the baton, the new runner is fresh and ready to add to the record already established by the previous runner.

This process will come into play at the end of this week when three of the English Department’s best runners will pass their batons to new runners. Kirk Melnikoff, the Undergraduate Coordinator and and Associate Chair, will pass his baton to Jen Munroe, who will take over Kirk’s administrative responsibilities. Pilar Blitvich, the English Department’s Director of Graduate Studies, will hand off her baton to Lara Vetter. Aaron Toscano, the Director of Advising, will pass off his baton to Sarah Minslow, the English Department’s new full-time advisor. Actually, Tiffany Morin will run a lap with the advising baton until the first of August when she will pass it to Sarah, who is eager to get in the race.

My appreciation and admiration go to Kirk, Pilar, and Aaron for setting such an impressive pace and for devoting so much energy to the running of the English Department. My thanks also go to Jen, Lara, and Sarah, who are about to grasp their batons take off running. They will bring new energy and ideas to their positions. It’s clear to me the English Department is very much a department on the move. You will have to look elsewhere if you are looking for the summer doldrums.

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:

Pilar Blitvich delivered a paper at a conference in London on Language and Conflict: Politics of Language and Identity across Context. The conference was organized by SOAS, University of London and was sponsored by the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict.

Boyd Davis edited a special issue of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict on Dementia-compromised language and aggression. Boyd contributed an Introduction and a co-authored article titled “The Silent Violence of Marginalization and Teasing in Dementia Care Residences.”

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:

July 5 — The second summer session begins on Tuesday, July 5.

Quirky Quiz Question — In addition to figuring prominently in this Monday Missive, the word baton can be found in other places, including the map of Louisiana. What is the place name in Louisiana that includes the word baton?

Last week’s answer: The Lost Boy

The title of Paula Eckard’s Thomas Wolfe and Lost Children in Southern Literature alludes to the title of a novella by Wolfe. Does anybody know the title of this novella?

Monday Missive - June 20, 2016

June 20, 2016 by Mark West

Raining Books — Like a weather forecaster, I try to predict the future. In recent weeks, I have found out about some promising developments related to future publication of books by members of the English Department. Paula Eckard’s Thomas Wolfe and Lost Children in Southern Literature will soon be published by the University of Tennessee Press. Aaron Gwyn has co-edited a collection of short stories by veterans, and Pegasus Books plans to publish the collection in the near future. Janaka Lewis recently learned that her monograph titled Civil Discourse: Black Women’s Narratives of Freedom and Nation has been accepted for publication by McFarland Press. Jen Munroe’s 2011 co-edited collection titled Ecofeminist Approaches to Early Modernity is coming out in a new paperback edition. Lara Vetter’s edition of H.D.’s By Avon River, which came out in hardcover 2014 with the University Press of Florida, will be released in paperback this fall. My forecast for the English Department is that it will soon be raining books, and this is good news.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:

July 5 — The second summer session begins on Tuesday, July 5.

Quirky Quiz Question — The title of Paula Eckard’s Thomas Wolfe and Lost Children in Southern Literature alludes to the title of a novella by Wolfe. Does anybody know the title of this novella?
Last week’s answer: To Market, To Market
The line “home again, home again, jiggety-jig” comes from a nursery rhyme. Does anybody know the title of this nursery rhyme?

Monday Missive - June 13, 2016

June 13, 2016 by Mark West

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig — I have just returned home from two children’s literature conferences. On June 1, I left for Qingdao, China, to participate in the 2016 China-US Symposium for Children’s Literature. I returned to Charlotte on June 7, and the very next day I flew off to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Children’s Literature Association Conference. While there, I received the Anne Devereaux Jordan Award, which is a career-achievement award in the field of children’s literature.

My experiences at these conferences underscored for me how fortunate I am to teach in an English Department that highly values the study of children’s literature. My career as a children’s literature professor has benefited a great deal from the support I have received from my colleagues and students at UNC Charlotte.

The award plaque I received from the Children’s Literature Association has lots of text, but my favorite line reads, “UNCC is considered one of the centers of study of children’s literature in North America.” This recognition reflects the scholarship and teaching of many people, not just me. Our children’s literature program was started by Anita Moss and Sarah Smedman in the 1970s. Over the years, Paula Connolly, Daniel Shealy, Beth Gargano, and Balaka Basu have played significant roles in building the program.

One of the ways in which our children’s literature program is unique is that many members of the English Department who were not initially hired to teach children’s literature have made important contributions to the field. Two notable examples from the past are Jim McGavran, who edited three books on the relationship between romanticism and children’s literature, and Susan Gardner, who often taught courses on Native American children’s literature. Current faculty members who are doing work in the field of children’s literature include JuliAnna Avila, Andrew Hartley, Janaka Lewis, Alan Rauch, Maya Socolovsky, and Ralf Thiede. We also have several part-time faculty members who participate in our children’s literature program, including Valerie Bright and Sarah Minslow. I am pretty sure that there is no other English Department in North America in which so many faculty members are involved in children’s literature.

While I take a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction in being selected as this year’s winner of the Anne Devereaux Jordan Award, I believe that this award is as much a recognition of the English Department’s children’s literature program as it is my own work in the field.

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:

Boyd Davis represented the Gerontology Society of America at the Taiwan Association of Gerontology in May, in Taipei, where she presented a paper titled “Technology Aids for Older Persons with Impairments.” Then she went snorkeling with the giant sea turtles at Xiao liu qiu, a coral island in the South China Sea.

Paula Eckard presented a paper at the Thomas Wolfe Conference (the 38th Annual Meeting of the Thomas Wolfe Society) in Asheville in May. Her paper was titled “Eliza Gant’s Illness Narratives of Loss and Restitution.” She also participated in a poetry reading of poems about Wolfe recently published in Magic Again, a collection of poems published by the Wolfe Society about Wolfe or inspired by Wolfe by various writers, including Fred Chappell, Robert Morgan, and Pat Conroy.

Beth Gargano published a book review of Empire, Education, and Indigenous Childhoods in the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.

Janaka Lewis contributed a guest blog for the African American Intellectual History Society called “Black Childhood and Freedom to Play.” Here is the link: http://www.aaihs.org/blog/.

Jen Munroe‘s co-edited (with Rebecca Laroche) collection, Ecofeminist Approaches to Early Modernity (Palgrave, 2011) has just been reissued it in paperback. Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Ecofeminist-Approaches-Modernity-Literatures-Environment/dp/1349296473/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=

Alan Rauch presented a paper titled “Anon, a Lady, and Other Rational Dames” at the Children’s Literature Association Conference this past weekend.

Heather Blain Vorhies presented “Painting the Mind: Cognitive Function in Hugh Blair’s Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres” at the Rhetoric Society of America over Memorial Day weekend. She also hosted a Grand Opening of her Little Free Library this past weekend. Little Free Libraries (littlefreelibrary.org) started in Wisconsin in 2009 with one red schoolhouse library; there are now more than 40,000 internationally. James Vorhies of Atkins Library constructed the bungalow-style library, and Tiffany Morin came along to help out at the Grand Opening.

Quirky Quiz Question — The line “home again, home again, jiggety-jig” comes from a nursery rhyme. Does anybody know the title of this nursery rhyme?

Last Monday Missive answer: OdenseHans Christian Andersen spent most of his life in Copenhagen, but he was not born in Copenhagen. Do you know the name of the city in Denmark where Andersen was born and lived until he was fourteen.

Monday Missive - May 30, 2016

May 30, 2016 by Mark West

The Land of Hans Christian Andersen — I just returned from a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, where I researched the connections between Hans Christian Andersen and Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s legendary amusement park. Before I set foot in Copenhagen, I knew that the city takes pride in its associations with Andersen, but it still came as a surprise to me how central Andersen and his fairy tales are to the culture of the city.

Andersen’s presence is felt throughout Copenhagen. The famous Little Mermaid statue serves as an icon for the city, but it is only one of many Andersen-related statues scattered throughout Copenhagen. A larger-than-life statue of Andersen is located on Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, which borders Tivoli Gardens. It is sometimes hard to see this statue close up because it is usually surrounded by people who want to have their photograph taken next to this representation of Andersen. The residents of Copenhagen are also remarkably familiar with Andersen’s fairy tales, and they often make references to these tales in their everyday conversation.

My experiences in Copenhagen underscore for me the role that stories can play in building and maintaining a sense of community. Copenhagen is a large city with a population of well over a million residents, but nearly all of them feel connected to Andersen and his fairy tales. His stories are part of the glue that holds the city together. They readily share their love of his fairy tales with others, so outsiders who are familiar with Andersen’s fairy tales soon feel like they too have a place in this unique city. The motto for this city is “Wonderful Copenhagen,” and for me and other lovers of Andersen’s fairy tales, the motto rings true.

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:

Stephanie Devine, a recent graduate of our M.A. program, won the NANO Prize for her flash fiction piece titled “Of Felling.” Here is a link to an interview with her: http://nanofiction.org/weekly-feature/interviews/2016/05/five-questions-with-2015-nano-prize-winner-stephanie-devine.

Daniel Shealy recently presented a paper titled “‘Allurements of the Flesh’: Louisa May Alcott, Popular Culture and the Education of Youth” at the American Literature Association Conference in San Francisco.Quirky Quiz Question — Hans Christian Andersen spent most of his life in Copenhagen, but he was not born in Copenhagen. Do you know the name of the city in Denmark where Andersen was born and lived until he was fourteen.

Last week’s answer: Geometry

Madeleine L’Engle did not invent the term “tesseract.” She borrowed the term from a field of study that can be traced back to a Greek scholar from Alexandria. What is this field of study?

Monday Missive - May 16, 2016

May 18, 2016 by Mark West

Parallel Universes — Until this week, for the entire time that I have served as the Chair of the English Department our son, Gavin West, has been a college student at Tulane University. Over the years, I have sometimes felt as if I’ve been traveling back and forth between parallel universes. When I am in one universe, I see the work of universities from the perspectives of faculty members and university administrators. When I am in the other universe, I see this work from the perspectives of students and parents.

This sense of shifting from one universe to another came into play this past weekend as my wife and I attended Gavin’s commencement and other related activities. Tulane’s commencement and UNC Charlotte’s commencement both occurred this past Saturday. As a department chair and professor, I tend to view my participation in commencement-related activities as an obligation that goes with the job, but as the proud parent of a newly minted graduate of Tulane’s School of Architecture, I viewed Tulane’s commencement as a meaningful moment in our son’s life.

Over the course of this past weekend, I periodically remembered that on the same day that our son was walking across a stage while his name was being called out, many of our department’s students were also walking across a stage to the sound of their names being announced. At the same time that he was taking satisfaction in completing his degree in architecture, many of our students were experiencing a similar sense of satisfaction in completing their English degrees. While my wife and I were practically bursting with pride at Gavin’s accomplishments, I am sure that the parents of our graduating students were beaming with pride at their students’ accomplishments.

In Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the central characters use something called a “tesseract” to jump through space and time, and each time they make these jumps it changes their perspectives. This past weekend, I had my own private tesseract that ping-ponged me back and forth between New Orleans and Charlotte, and it helped change my perspective on the hoopla surrounding commencement ceremonies. As most of my friends and family members know, I feel uneasy wearing regalia, and I don’t usually respond positively to pomp and circumstance,. However, my very recent experience at Tulane changed my perspective a bit. Although participating in commencement ceremonies is still not my favorite activity, I now better appreciate the pleasure that many students and parents associate with such ceremonies.

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:

Jen Munroe gave an invited paper titled “Teaching Recipes in the Digital Age” on bringing together manuscript transcription and digital humanities work in the classroom, at the Manuscripts Cookbook Conference at NYU, May 11-13, 2016.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:

May 23 — The first summer session begins on Monday, May 23.

Quirky Quiz Question — Madeleine L’Engle did not invent the term “tesseract.” She borrowed the term from a field of study that can be traced back to a Greek scholar from Alexandria. What is this field of study?

Last week’s answer: Cheshire Cat

Andrew Hartley’s new collaborator, Tom DeLonge, became famous when his band, Blink-182, released their debut album in 1995. The title of this album comes from the name of a fading feline from British children’s literature. Can you guess the title of Blink-182’s debut album?

Monday Missive - May 9, 2016

May 09, 2016 by Mark West

Collaborations — Many members of our English Department work collaboratively with other writers and scholars, but as far as I know, only Andrew Hartley has entered into a collaboration with a rock star. Andrew and Tom DeLonge (the lead singer of Blink-182 and the founder of the new rock band Angels and Airwaves) have just published their co-authored thriller novel titled Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows. This novel, which is intended to be the first in a series, has already received a number of very positive reviews.

Andrew’s latest collaboration prompted me to think of other English professors who engage in collaborative work. A number of our professors have regular research and writing collaborators. Here are three examples that immediately come to mind. Jen Munroe often collaborates with Rebecca Laroche and Lynne Bruckner on scholarly projects related to ecocriticism and ecofeminist theory. JuliAnna Avila often collaborates with Jessica Zacher Pandya on research related to digital literacy. Boyd Davis has a long list of collaborators, but recently she has worked on numerous gerontology-related projects with Dena Shenk, the former Director of UNC Charlotte’s Gerontology Program.

Several of our faculty members collaborate with other faculty on teaching-related projects. Kirk Melnikoff, for example, has team-taught several sections of a Prospect-for-Success with Kent Brintnall from the Department of Religious Studies. Their course is titled “Sexing Shakespeare,” and it is tied to the General Education Program. In their course, they apply contemporary theories of gender and sexuality to Shakespeare’s plays. Ralf Thiede and Dan Boisvert from the Department of Philosophy are also co-teaching a Prospect-for Success course. Their course introduces students to the evolution of human language as well as the impact of language on the evolution of humans. Allison Hutchcraft and our visiting creative writer, Michelle Cahill, worked closely together in developing Michell’s advanced creative writing course. While they did not co-teach the course, they fully collaborated in the preparation of the course.

I could list many more examples of faculty members from English who regularly engage in collaborative writing, research and teaching projects, but the above mentioned examples demonstrate that our department is not a collection of isolated professors working in the solitude of their offices. While most of us do collaborate with rock stars, the department as a whole rocks when it comes to collaborative projects and mutual support.

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:

Sarah Davis, one of our graduate students, has accepted her offer (with full funding) to become part of the PhD program in English at SUNY Stony Brook in the fall.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:

May 14 — The CLAS Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 14, at 10:00 AM in the Student Activity Center.

Quirky Quiz Question — Andrew Hartley’s new collaborator, Tom DeLonge, became famous when his band, Blink-182, released their debut album in 1995. The title of this album comes from the name of a fading feline from British children’s literature. Can you guess the title of Blink-182’s debut album?

Last week’s answer: the dodo bird

In addition to teaching creative writing courses, Allison Hutchcraft is a publishing poet. She has published a number of poems that make reference to a particular type of bird that was once common in America. Do you know what type of birds do so often show up in Allison’s poems?

Monday Missive - May 2, 2016

May 02, 2016 by Mark West

Dean Nancy Gutierrez and award winners

Celebrating Our Part-Time Faculty Members — Last week Allison Hutchcraft received the CLAS Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member. I sat next to Allison during the awards ceremony, and I felt so proud of her when it was announced that she had won the award. My pride, however, extends to our entire cadre of part-time faculty members. The English Department is fortunate to have such dedicated and professional part-time faculty members teaching high-demand courses and contributing in many other ways to the work of the department.

Our program in technical/professional writing program benefits greatly from the work of our part-time faculty. When I had to cover Myles Hassell’s technical/professional writing courses after his unexpected death, two part-time faculty members–Melodye Gordon and Lane Rhodes–picked up his courses and helped his students deal with their grief over losing their teacher. Connie Douglas, another part-time faculty member, also helps us meet the tremendous demand for Introduction to Technical Communication (ENGL 2116).

Our creative writing program benefits tremendously from the contributions of our part-time faculty members. In addition to Allison, these part-time faculty members include Paula Martinac, Coleen Muir, and Lance Phillips. Not only do they teach a variety of creative writing courses, but they have also helped organize poetry readings and other events open to our students and faculty.

We have several part-time faculty members who teach core courses in the English Department curriculum or the general education courses offered by the department. These faculty members include Valerie Bright, Sonya Brockman, Saxby Chaplin, Abby Dobs, Peter Larkin, Sarah Minslow, Tiffany Morin, and Sam Shapiro. Not only do these colleagues teach essential courses for the department, but they all participate in the culture of the department. They attend departmental events, provide students with extra help, and contribute to the department’s research agenda.

I know that many administrators call part-time faculty members adjunct faculty, but I do not like this term. To me, the term adjunct implies being on the periphery, and our part-time faculty members are not on the periphery of the department. They are right in the middle of our department. My thanks go to all of our part-time faculty members for everything they do.

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:

Bryn Chancellor recently gave a fiction reading and craft talk at Vanderbilt University as part of the Harold and Gertrude Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Series.

Heather Vorhies recently learned that her article titled “Women and Corporate Communication in the Early American Republic” has been accepted for publication in Peitho Journal.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:May 4 — The English Department’s Student Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 12:30–2:00 in the Halton Reading Room at Atkins Library.

Quirky Quiz Question — In addition to teaching creative writing courses, Allison Hutchcraft is a publishing poet. She has published a number of poems that make reference to a particular type of bird that was once common in America. Do you know what type of birds do so often show up in Allison’s poems?

Last week’s answer: Sam Watson

At the English Department spring party, both Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell were honored as they complete their last semester before retiring. After I presented them with their retirement gifts, they both talked about their experiences in the department. Both of them mentioned a retired colleague who now lives in McClellanville, SC, and writes poetry. What is the name of this retired English professor?

Valuing Community – At the conclusion of the “As You/We Like It” event held last Saturday, Andrew Hartley talked about how the performance of Shakespeare’s plays builds a sense of community that encompasses both the performers and the audiences of the plays. As Andrew so eloquently stated, these plays, when performed, provide us with common experiences. Not only do these plays draw us together to enjoy shared theatrical events, but they give us language that we can use to express our shared interests and concerns.
Andrew’s comments caused me to think about the word community. This word can be traced back to the Latin word communitas, which refers to the values, beliefs, and traditions that we have in common. The sense of belonging to a community involves more than just being in the same physical space with others. It also involves a true sense of being engaged with others and sharing experiences with others. In many ways, healthy communities undermine the whole concept of otherness. I think it is significant that organizers of event on Saturday added the word we to the title of Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.” Otherness is all about you, whereas community is all about we.

For me, the sense of belonging to a community is tied to being a member of our English Department. In just the past two weeks, I have participated in several department events that have reflected our community values and spirit. I am thinking of Juan Meneses’s excellent faculty talk and the lively conversation that ensued. Juan’s presentation was well attended, and those who came readily engaged in a stimulating dialog with Juan and with each other. I came away from this presentation with sense of being part of a community of scholars. I am thinking of the memorial service we had on campus for Sara Endres, our student who passed away last semester. Several of our faculty members and students joined Sara’s family and friends to celebrate Sara’s life and to plant a tree in her memory. I came away from this event with a sense of being part of a caring community. I am thinking of the Shakespeare event in which our colleagues Andrew Hartley, Kirk Melnikoff and Jen Munroe shared their insights into Shakespeare’s plays. I came away from this event with a sense of belonging to an engaged and generous community that reaches out to the public. I am thinking of the English Department’s spring party in which so many members of the department gathered to enjoy companionship and to recognize the careers and accomplishments of Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell, both of whom are retiring at the end of this academic year. I came away from this event with a sense of belonging to a celebratory community.

Michelle Cahill, our visiting creative writer, came to the spring party. She told me afterwards how much she enjoyed the party and how pleased she has been with her participation in our department. “You have such a friendly department,” she said. “I already feel like I am part of a community.”

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:

Maya Socolovsky recently published a review of Market Aesthetics: The Purchase of the Past in Caribbean Diasporic Fiction by Elena Machado Saéz.College Literature 43.2 (2016): 470-472.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:

April 27 — Janaka Lewis will be presenting from the new project titled “Freedom and Play: Studies in Black Girlhood” on Wednesday at 12:30 pm in Garinger 123 for the Africana Studies Brown Bag Series.
May 4 — The English Department’s Student Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 12:30-2:00 in the Halton Reading Room at Atkins Library.

Quirky Quiz Question — At the English Department spring party, both Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell were honored as they complete their last semester before retiring. After I presented them with their retirement gifts, they both talked about their experiences in the department. Both of them mentioned a retired colleague who now lives in McClellanville, SC, and writes poetry. What is the name of this retired English professor?

Last week’s answer: William Randolph Hearst

When I read Sam Shapiro’s review of the new Orson Wells biography, I was reminded of Wells’s classic film Citizen Cane. The central character in this film is based on a famous American newspaper publisher. Do you know the name of this newspaper publisher? Here is a hint–one of Charlotte’s skyscrapers bears the name of this publisher.

Mark West

Monday Missive - June 27, 2016

Monday Missive - June 20, 2016

Monday Missive - June 13, 2016

Monday Missive - May 30, 2016

Monday Missive - May 16, 2016

Monday Missive - May 9, 2016

Monday Missive - May 2, 2016

Monday Missive - April 25, 2016

Monday Missive - April 4, 2016

Monday Missive - March 21, 2016