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<\/a>It has definitely been a learning experience for me! I\u2019ve learned a lot about flexibility and perseverance. But I\u2019ve also learned a lot about what it means to experience homelessness in Charlotte and what it means to be a part of a community. Over the past year, I worked with the staff at the Urban Ministries Center (UMC) and Moore Place to develop a book club for their residents. Moore Place is a permanent supportive housing facility for the chronically homeless in Charlotte. We launched the book club this past summer, meeting weekly for two months. I gave participants range of graphic novels to choose from, and they chose the first two graphic novels in the March trilogy by Congressman John Lewis. Because most of the folks living at Moore Place struggle to read (and are fearful of reading), I read the books aloud to the group throughout the summer. Some book club participants have also chosen to participate in a research study, participating in regular interviews with me and documenting their lives through photographs. I\u2019m currently working with these participants to share their stories on the Urban Ministries Center blog — where two of the participants\u2019 stories will be featured in the next month. I\u2019m still collecting data for the research side of the project. Data collection is primarily aimed at understanding the participants\u2019 literacy practices, with particular attention to the ways that space, place, and community serve as texts.<\/em><\/p>\nWithin the same week that Meghan and I had our conversation, I received an email from Twig Branch about a series of salons that he is organizing featuring members of our faculty.\u00a0 Twig, for those of you who do not know him, serves as a fundraising consultant and community outreach coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and lately he has turned his attention to helping the English Department.\u00a0 He has arranged for Jen Munroe to lead a series of three Shakespeare-related salons during the month of October.\u00a0\u00a0 He is also arranging with Alan Rauch to lead several salons around the theme of “Jewish Identity and Assimilation.”\u00a0 The people who usually attend the salons that Twig helps organize are all potential donors.\u00a0 By arranging for our faculty members to lead these salons, Twig is helping our English Department secure funding for scholarships for our students and other departmental projects.<\/p>\n
As these examples demonstrate, members of our department are engaged in a wide variety of outreach activities reaching people from many different segments of the Charlotte community.\u00a0 However, what unifies these diverse activities is that they all stem from a departmental commitment to extend teaching beyond the traditional classroom.<\/p>\n
Kudos<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department.\u00a0 Here is the latest news:<\/p>\n
Dina Schiff Massachi<\/b>, a graduate of our MA program, has an essay titled “L. Frank Baum (1856-1914):\u00a0 Brains, Heart, Courage” published in\u00a0Shapers of American Childhood:\u00a0 Essays on Visionaries from L. Frank Baum to Dr. Spock to J.K. Rowling.
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Sarah Minslow<\/b>\u00a0has an essay titled “A.A. Milne (1882-1956):\u00a0 Influencing American Childhood After World War II” published in\u00a0Shapers of American Childhood:\u00a0 Essays on Visionaries from L. Frank Baum to Dr. Spock to J.K. Rowling.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n