Study Abroad — I never had the opportunity to study abroad when I was an undergraduate student, but thanks to my son and one of my students, I am now getting a taste of the experience in a vicarious sort of way. Gavin, our son, is spending the fall semester in Barcelona studying architecture. He arrived there a few days ago, but his classes start today. Gavin speaks and reads Spanish, which is a good thing since most of his classes will be taught in Spanish. He will study, among other topics, the buildings of Antoni Gaudi, including Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia cathedral.

One of my former students, Taneka Robertson, has just returned from studying in China this summer. Taneka is blind, but she still wanted to experience studying abroad. I served as one of her references when she applied to study at Xiamen University in China, so she has kept me posted about her adventure. Now that she is back in Charlotte, she stopped by to visit with me last week and showed me a photo album of pictures from her time in China. Over the course of our conversation, I realized that Taneka’s blindness did not stop her from having a rich educational experience in China.

For our students who like to have a study-abroad experience in Great Britain, the English Department is offering students a wonderful opportunity next semester. The English Department, in conjunction with the Shakespeare in Action Initiative, has been sponsoring a Shakespeare in England course since 2009. The course runs during Spring semesters, and the class travels to London and Stratford over Spring Break. In previous years, both Kirk Melnikoff and Jen Munroe have taught the class. For a fun student-produced Youtube video documenting the course, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUjNf6MVegk; for information about this year’s offering, go to https://edabroad.uncc.edu/programs/europe/shakespeare-england.

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 recently presented a paper at the V Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis Conference, which took place in Budapest. The paper’s title is “Discourses of inequality: Gender Violence in Spanish Newspapers.”

Lara Vetter recently published an essay titled “Religion: Orthodoxies and Alternatives” in Blackwell’s A Companion to Modernist Poetry.

Quirky Quiz Question — Gavin’s ability to speak Spanish will help him immensely during his semester in Barcelona. However, Spanish is only one of the two main languages spoken in Barcelona. What is the other?

Last week’s Quirky Quiz answer – May 1

Labor Day — Today is Labor Day, a day that most contemporary Americans associate with the end of summer, backyard barbecues, and family get-togethers. The origins of Labor Day, however, can be traced straight back to the labor movement of the late 19th century. Union organizers began calling for a national holiday to honor American workers in 1882. A few years later, in response to the unrest following the bloody end to the Pullman Strike in Chicago in 1886, President Grover Cleveland and the United States Congress quickly established Labor Day as a holiday. Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. Thus, this year marks Labor Day’s 120th anniversary.

Olive Tilford Dargan

The American labor movement not only led to the creation of Labor Day, but it also gave rise to a sub-genre of American fiction—the proletariat novel. Often written in response to key events in the labor movement, these novels contributed to the protest over the long hours and unsafe working conditions that many Americans faced at the time. In many cases, the literary quality of these novels took a back seat to the political agenda being advocated, but some proletariat novels moved beyond propaganda and entered into the realm of high-quality literature. Olive Tilford Dargan’s Call Home the Heart is such a novel.

Published in 1932, Call Home the Heart is largely set in Gastonia, and it deals with the famous Loray Mill Strike of 1929. The central character in the novel is a southern working-class woman named Ishma Waycaster. She moves from the Great Smokey Mountains to Gastonia in order to find work in a textile mill. Partially inspired by the strike leader Ella May Wiggins, this character becomes involved in the efforts to improve working conditions at the Loray Mill. The strike figures prominently in the conclusion of the novel, but most of the story focuses on the central character’s personal conflicts and growing sense of desperation. Sometimes compared to Harriette Arnow’s The Dollmaker, Dargan’s Call Home the Heart is one of best novels to come out of the labor movement. It has been recently republished by the Feminist Press, and it is well worth reading.

As we celebrate Labor Day, we should take a moment to remember the history and literature associated with this holiday.

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:

Allison Hutchcraft is featured in an interview posted on The Kenyon Review’s website. The interview can be found here: http://www.kenyonreview.org/conversation/allison-hutchcraft/

Janaka Lewis just had a poem titled “New Southern Blues” published in 27 Views of Charlotte: The Queen City in Prose and Poetry.

Quirky Quiz Question — The United States and Canada celebrate Labor Day, but most of the rest of the world celebrates a similar holiday called International Workers’ Day. On what day of the year does International Workers’ Day take place?

Last week’s Quirky Quiz answer –Bonnie Cone

False Dichotomy — I took a logic course in high school, and that’s when I first learned about false dichotomies. I remember developing an affection for the term. I saw false dichotomies wherever I looked, and I didn’t hesitate to say so. Well, I guess I haven’t changed much, for it seems to me that the much ballyhooed division between the humanities and the STEM disciplines is a false dichotomy, at least where our English Department is concerned. As researchers and teachers, our English faculty have many connections to the STEM disciplines.

Here are a few examples of English professors who deal with the STEM disciplines in their research. Boyd Davis is conducting cutting-edge medical research related to the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia on language skills. This research has resulted in many publications, including Boyd’s most recent book, Pragmatics in Dementia Discourse. Tony Jackson has immersed himself in the field of neuroscience, and he is currently writing a book in which he is exploring how the human brain processes narratives. Jen Munroe has developed an expertise in the history of horticulture and botany, and she draws on this expertise in her publications related to eco-criticism. Alan Rauch has studied biology at the graduate level, and he has a deep-seated passion for zoology. This passion is reflected in his most recent book, Dolphin. Aaron Toscano has a strong interest in the rhetorical strategies used in the development of new technologies, and this interest is at the core of his book titled Marconi’s Wireless and the Rhetoric of a New Technology. Heather Vorhies is conducting research on the history of rhetoric and its impact on how the STEM disciplines currently construct arguments and present evidence. Greg Wickliff has developed an expertise on the role of photography in the history of science and technology. He has written on this topic in his book tentatively titled Enlightened Arguments: Photography and Rhetoric in Nineteenth-Century American Science and Technology. Greg has completed this book, and it is currently under review at the Smithsonian Press.

Here are a few examples of ways in which the English faculty deal with the STEM disciplines in their teaching. Through her work with the Writing Project, Lil Brannon has forged an ongoing relationship with Discovery Place, Charlotte’s science museum. This collaborative effort focuses on encouraging young people to write about the sciences. Alan Rauch often teaches courses that deal with the sciences, and this semester he is teaching a graduate seminar titled “Science and Literature.” Our program in technical communication plays a key role in the education of many students in the College of Engineering. Similarly, our faculty in linguistics provides both undergraduate and graduate course support for the Cognitive Science Program.

As I see it, the humanities and the STEM disciplines do not inhabit separate worlds. In a sense, the classic Venn diagram better describes the relationship between the humanities and the STEM disciplines. Many members of our English Department inhabit the space where the two circles overlap.But What About the M in STEM? — The M in STEM stands for mathematics, and the English Department does not have much in the way of connections with mathematics. However, we are fortunate to have a long-time friend from the Math Department, and that friend is Joel Avrin. Joel’s office is in our part of Fretwell, so he can often be seen in the English Department. In fact, when I come in the office on weekends, the person I see most often is Joel. Joel contributes to our coffee fund, and he often visits Angie and other members of our department. In addition to being a mathematician, Joel is a great supporter of poetry. He has studied poetry with Chris Davis, and for a long time he organized a series of poetry readings in the Charlotte area. In recognition of Joel’s passion for poetry and his interest in our department, I hereby proclaim Joel Avrin to be an honorary member of the English Department. Now, thanks to Joel, we have our M covered.

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 Davis just had a poem titled “Anonymous” accepted for publication in the annual Bloom.

Jeffrey Leak just had an article titled “Memories of Brooklyn” published in Charlotte Magazine.

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

August 27 — Last day to add or drop a course with no record.

September 1 — Labor Day (University closed).

Quirky Quiz Question — Joel Avrin is the not the only mathematician from UNC Charlotte to take an active interest in other departments in the university. Can you name the mathematician who played a pivotal role in the creation of UNC Charlotte?

Last week’s Quirky Quiz answer –Mark Twain

Three, Two, One, Blast Off — The fall 2014 semester has cleared the launch pad, and we are heading into orbit. The preliminary enrollment numbers are looking very good for the English Department. As of last Friday, 2,066 seats were filled in our undergraduate courses. Last fall there were 1,919 seats filled. This fall 40 freshmen declared English as their major whereas last fall 22 freshmen declared English as their major. This fall 22 students signed up for our English Learning Community whereas last fall there were 12 ELC students. Pilar Blitvich reports that this year we have 22 incoming graduate students for a total of 82 students in our MA program. Last fall we had a total of 73 students in our MA program. These are all preliminary numbers, but these enrollment figures indicate that we are growing at every level.

Welcome Aboard — This semester we have several new part-time faculty members. Robert Arnold will be teaching ENGL 2116 (Introduction to Technical Communication) as will Connie Douglas and Laura Erturk. Saxby Chaplin and Bonnie Shishko will both be teaching ENGL 2100 (Writing about Literature). Finally, Abby Marie Mueller Dobs will be teaching ENGL 2161 (Grammar for Writing). I welcome all of these new part-time faculty members to the English Department. Also, my appreciation goes to Kirk Melnikoff for managing the process of hiring these part-time faculty members.

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:

Aaron Gwyn just published an essay on NPR’s website about his interest in Albert Camus. Here is the link: http://www.npr.org/2014/08/10/336823512/albert-camus-poker-faced-stranger-became-a-much-needed-friend?utm_source=npr_email_a_friend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20

Sandy Govan has a chapter in the recently published anthology titled 27 Views of Charlotte: The Queen in Prose and Poetry.

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

August 19 — Convocation will take place at 9:30 in McKnight Hall.

August 22 — The All-College Faculty meeting will take place at 9:00 in CHHS 155.

August 22 — The first English Department meeting will take place from 11:00-12:30 in 290B Fretwell.

August 27 — Last day to add or drop a course with no record.

Quirky Quiz Question — With the increase in our enrollment figures, it seems to me that our English Department is far from the current stereotype of moribund humanities departments. I am reminded of the following quotation: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Can you name the person who made this statement?

Last week’s Quirky Quiz answer – The Dog Star is Sirius

Our Graduate Students — Not only does the English Department have one of the largest MA programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but we also have two very active graduate student organizations: The English Graduate Student Association (EGSA) and the Children’s Literature Graduate Organization (CLGO). This fall EGSA and CLGO are collaborating on a series of events related to Banned Books Week. Starting on Monday, September 22, and running through Friday, September 26, this week-long extravaganza will include panel discussions, film screenings, and public readings of banned or challenged texts. EGSA and CLGO are in the process of finalizing their schedule for Banned Book Week, and as soon as this schedule is set, I will share it with the department. I am very pleased that our graduate students are working together and taking initiative in planning this series of events, and I urge everyone to support our students by attending one or more of these events.

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:

Lil Brannon, the Director of the UNC Charlotte Writing Project, recently learned that the work of the UNC Charlotte Writing Project is featured this year in the National Writing Project’s Annual Report. The report celebrates the collaboration between our Writing Project and Discovery Place, and it features quotations by Lacy Manship, Associate Director, and Steve Fulton, 8th Grade Teacher at Kannapolis Middle School. Our site was one of four selected nationally to partner with science museums to deepen the intersections of science and literacy. Here is a link to the pages of the annual report that feature our project: http://www.nwp.org/ar13/educators-innovate.html

Grace C. Ocasio, a graduate of our MA program, recently published a poetry collection titled The Speed of Our Lives. She is having a reading and book signing at Park Road Books on Friday, August 22, at 6:00 pm.

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

August 18 — First day of classes for the fall semester.

August 19 — Convocation will take place at 9:30 in McKnight Hall.

August 22 — The All-College Faculty meeting will take place at 9:00 in CHHS 155.

August 22 — The first English Department meeting will take place from 11:00-12:30 in 290B Fretwell.

Quirky Quiz Question — According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, August 11 is the last of the Dog Days of Summer. The term “Dog Days of Summer” is related to ancient beliefs about the heat generated by the Dog Star. Can anybody recall the name of the Dog Star?

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?

Summer Research Symposium — Last week the Charlotte Research Scholars Program (CRS) culminated in an event called the Summer Research Symposium. English faculty and students made their presence known at this symposium. The purpose of the CRS is to have undergraduate students become involved in faculty members’ research projects. This year the following five CRS projects came out of the English Department:

Janaka Lewis worked with a student named Ashley Burch on a project titled “Images and Perceptions of Happiness and Success by African American Female Authors.”

Greg Wickliff worked with Christopher Burton on a project titled “John William Draper’s Contribution: Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution at Oxford, 1860.”

Alan Rauch worked with Melanie Carty on a project titled “Private Subscription Libraries in Nineteenth-Century England: Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle.”

Kirk Melnikoff and Alan Rauch worked with Nadia Clifton on a project titled “A Study of the Princess Augusta Sophia (1768-1840) Collection at the Atkins Library.”

Sarah Minslow worked with Katherine Galindo on a project titled “Using Children’s Literature to Teach the Holocaust in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Middle Schools.”

All of the students who participated in the CRS Program prepared detailed posters about their research projects, and these posters were put on display during the symposium. The students then gave presentations related to their posters. The posters and presentations were judged, and awards were presented at the end of the event. Three of the students who worked with our faculty received awards. In the category of Education, Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Work, the Best Poster Award went to Nadia Clifton. Both Katherine Galindo and Melanie Carty received Honorable Mentions.
Of the nine awards presented, one third of them went to the students who worked with English faculty members. Plans are afoot to put all five of the posters tied to English on display in our faculty lounge in the near future.

My congratulations go to all of the English faculty and students who participated in this year’s Charlotte Research Scholars Program.

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:

Paula Connolly has been recently conducting research on nineteenth-century children’s literature as an Invited Visiting Scholar at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Paula Eckard recently published an article titled “Thomas Wolfe and ‘the great engine’ of Johns Hopkins Hospital” published in the Thomas Wolfe Review.

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 — The students who participated in the Summer Research Symposium created posters. Those of us in English are not used to creating posters, but in other fields posters are well established. In fact, some artists are famous for their posters. What is the name of the French painter who became famous for posters related to the cabaret scene in Paris?

Equestrian Connections — I have been reading the reviews of Aaron Gwyn’s Wynne’s War, and they all comment favorably on Aaron’s ability to capture the special relationship between humans and horses. Horses figure prominently in Aaron’s novel. In fact, a horse is introduced in the very first sentence: “He saw the horse before the rest of his team and thumbed the selector on his rifle to SAFE.” When Scott Simon interviewed Aaron on NPR, he asked Aaron how he came to have such a deep understanding of horses, and Aaron answered, “I grew up on a cattle ranch, so I was around … horses a good deal.” In thinking about Aaron’s experiences with horses, I realized that Aaron is not the only member of our department who has equestrian connections.

Like Aaron, JuliAnna Ávila developed an interest in horses as a child. I asked her when she first became interested in horses, and she told me, “My interest goes back to being lifted onto a horse at age ten, bareback. ” She recalled “tearing across the Arizona desert when I rode her. I never fell off, which seemed like a sign.” Currently JuliAnna owns a horse named Angel, and she rides Angel on a regular basis. Julianna is especially interested in the style of riding associated with the California vaquero tradition, and she has started researching the cultural, historical, and geographical aspects of this tradition.

Lil Brannon and Cy Knoblauch also have a longstanding interest in horses, but their interest is tied to their daughter, Susan Knoblauch. In addition to being a nurse, Susan is a nationally ranked competitor in the sport of show jumping. For years, Susan competed with her horse Carneval, but she recently sold Carneval. Susan and Cy are currently in Belgium where Susan just purchased a young stallion that Susan will soon began training.

Given the department’s connections to horses, maybe we should change our name to the Department of English and Equestrian Studies.

Sanskrit — The 2014 issue of Sanskrit came out this summer, and just took a look at it. Sanskrit is the literary-arts magazine that is produced by the University’s Student Media Board. Although Sanskrit has no official connections to the English Department, our students and faculty certainly played a role in the production of this issue. Two of the editors, Notrina Simmons and Leah Chapman, are English majors. Three of our faculty—Chris Davis, Kirk Melnikoff, and Aimee Parkison— served as “Literature Jurors.” Like previous issues, the 2014 issue of Sanskrit is a professional production, and I am proud that our students and faculty helped make this issue a reality.

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 recently returned from Great Britain where she participated in the 8th International Politeness Conference. She co-organized a panel on the language of aggression and conflict and presented a paper as part of this panel. Earlier this summer she presented a paper at the EPICS conference in Seville. Her paper related to the “language violence against women.”

Maya Socolovsky presented a paper on Julia Alvarez’s novel Return to Sender at the International Latina/o Studies Conference in Chicago.

Quirky Quiz Question — As I was contemplating the department’s equestrian connections, I started thinking about famous fictional horses. See if you can identify the original sources in which these three fictional horses appear:

1. Shadowfax
2. Silver
3. Spark Plug

This summer session I am teaching a graduate seminar on “Children’s Literature Award Winners.” Most of students in the seminar are teachers, and they often share their classroom experiences during our discussions. It has been a pleasure for me to discuss children’s literature with these teachers, for they are often able to talk about how their students would likely respond to the books that we are studying. As their comments reveal, these teachers have a tremendous dedication to their students and to their profession despite the general lack of support that our teachers face on a daily basis. This lack of support, however, does not extend to the English Department.

Over and over again this summer I have been impressed with the efforts of our faculty to serve area teachers. Here are just a few examples. For the first summer session, JuliAnna Ávila developed and taught a special online graduate course for teachers on Children’s Literature and Childhood Trauma. This summer Paula Connolly and Alan Rauch have already started working with the teachers who are participating in their Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) seminars, and Alan represented CTI at the July Intensive Session of the Yale National Initiative to Strengthen Teaching in the Public Schools. For the past few weeks, Ron Lunsford has been working with area teachers who teach AP English courses. This second summer session, Lil Brannon is working with area teachers as part of her work with the UNC Charlotte Writing Project, which is now housed in the English Department. Through such efforts, English faculty members have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to our area teachers. I am hoping that our political leaders will follow suit.

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:

Balaka Basu recently presented a paper titled “Anne’s Grandchildren: WWII and the Continuing Story of the Anne Universe” at the L. M. Montgomery 11th Biennial Conference, which took place in Canada. Also, she served as the editorial advisor for a recently published volume of Short Story Criticism.

Aaron Gwyn’s Wynne’s War just received a glowing review from The Wall Street Journal.

Meg Morgan published a chapter titled “Leaders Becoming Transformed” in an edited volume called Sharing Our Intellectual Traces: Narrative Reflections from Administrators of Professional and Scientific Communication Programs.

Quirky Quiz Question — Balaka Basu’s recent conference paper (see above) relates to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. In what province in Canada is this classic novel set?

Orange is the New. . . If you have been in the English Department lately, you have surely noticed the change in the main office’s color scheme. The three people who spend the most time in our front office area are Monica, Jennie and Angie, so it seemed fitting to me that they pick the new color for the office. All I asked is that they pick a cheerful color. They selected a cheery shade of orange. Eddie Seegars, the painter, is applying the third coat this afternoon, and we expect to have this project finished up in the next week or so.

I know that for people who grew up surrounded by beige or white walls, our new orange walls must seem a bit on the dramatic side. For me, however, orange walls bring back the days of my youth. My mother’s favorite color was orange, and the mountain house where I grew up had orange walls in the kitchen and dining area and a bright orange front door. My mother died some years ago, but yesterday was her birthday. If she were still alive, I would have called her yesterday and I would have been sure to tell her about our new orange walls. I am sure she would have been pleased.

New Display Case — For a number of years, we have had a display case in main office, and we have used this case to display recent books by members of our department. I am aware, however, that not all members of our department write books. Some faculty members publish in fields in which most scholarship appears as articles in journals. In an effort to celebrate the recent journal publications, I have arranged for a new display case to be installed near our current case. This new case will be used to display recent articles by members of our department. If you have a recent article that you would like to have displayed, please provide me with a copy of it in the next week or two.

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:

Daniel Shealy published an article titled “Louisa May Alcott’s World” in the most recent print edition of Exchange: The Magazine of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Angie Williams recently completed an obstacle course race along with Shannon Zurell from the Honors College. Officially called the Ridiculous Obstacle Course Race, the event took place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Quirky Quiz Question — The office’s new color scheme brings to my mind a classic fiddle tune about a train. Can anybody guess the name of this tune?