Lectures August 31, 2004

Meeting of the Benson Lecture and Symposium Series Committee, 31 Aug. 2004

Members present: Betsy Smith (Chair), Rick Joines, Chris Forhan, John Kwist, Miriam Clark, Chris Keirstead, Alicia Carroll

The meeting began with a general discussion of what speakers and events were already scheduled for this academic year and of those that were still in the planning stages. It was noted that a speaker for the 2005 Benson lecture still needs to be selected, and that this year, at the suggestion of the coordinators for graduate and undergraduate studies, the lecture would be separated from the undergraduate awards ceremony. Members also discussed overall budgetary concerns, noting that approximately $7,061.50 is currently available for 2005-06.

The committee then discussed several different issues in order:

I. Planning for visit of James Buzard on 23 Sept. 2004

After discussing Buzard’s overall itinerary, the committee considered different options for when to hold the lecture and the reception. Because the art museum closes at 5:00, there was concern that there might not be enough time to hold the lecture (scheduled to start at 3:00) and the reception, since the museum needs at least 45 minutes to clean (meaning the reception must end at around 4:15). Several options were discussed, including having the reception before the talk. Most agreed that this would be too awkward for the speaker. We then considered moving the lecture time to 2:00 or 2:30. It was pointed out that many faculty would still be teaching at 2:00 and that it would be difficult for many students to attend. One advantage of the 3:00 meeting time is that faculty can let students out of class early to attend the lecture. Another alternative discussed would be to rent the museum until 6:00, which would mean that the dept. would have to pay for security for the additional time, along with over-time for the servers. The committee agreed to pursue this last option for the time being, and defer a final decision until later.

II. Lecture Invitation to Dr. Salwa Cherif

Dr. Cherif of the University of Tunis is a visiting Fulbright Scholar at Samford University in Birmingham, where she will be for most of October. David Chapman, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Samford University, recently notified Auburn of her availability and interest in speaking at other universities in the area on subjects such as Muslim life and culture and literary representations of Muslim culture. The only expense involved would be travel, part of which might be covered with funds from the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. Taking into account the department’s interest in promoting diversity and the teaching of world literature, and of the low cost involved, the committee agreed to invite Dr. Cherif. It was also agreed that the lecture should be jointly planned with the Coordinator of World Literature. One member of the committee stressed that is was important to learn more about possible lecture topics before proceeding too far into the planning. It was also suggested that a strong effort be made to promote the lecture, and the department’s involvement with it, to the rest of the university.

III. Choosing a speaker for the 2005 Benson lecture

The committee discussed several potential speakers for the lecture and also agreed that a call should be issued to the department to suggest names not just for this lecture but for other symposium speakers and the 2006 Benson lecture. Among the names discussed were Pat Davoto, novelist and author of Under the Night that Covers Me; Jim Phelan of Ohio State University; Michael Hofman of the University of Florida; Jahan Ramazani of the University of Virginia; and Ron Rash of Western Carolina University. The committee also discussed whether it was necessary to invite a scholar (as opposed to a poet or novelist) to give the lecture. While most speakers in the past have been scholars, it was agreed that there were no specific restrictions on the type of speaker other than that the topic be related to twentieth-century literature.

The meeting adjourned at 11:45

Reported by Chris Keirstead

 

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Last updated September 24, 2004