- Newsworthy: Chris Keirstead Combines Work in Travel Writing, 19th Century British Poetry, and Dickens - English Hour Presentation - November 8 - 3:30 pm in 3104 Haley Center
- Literature After Dark - A Doll's House - Tonight - November 3 - 7:45 pm in 3195 Haley Center
- Biggio Center Professional Development Seminar - November 4 - 12 pm in 202 Foy Student Union
- Auburn Chamber Music Society Begins Season - November 7 - 2:30 pm at Goodwin Music Hall
- ABD Colloquium - Dissertation-Summarizing Workshop - November 10 - 3:15 pm in 8009 Haley Center
- Congratulations to Constance Relihan - New Appointment and Publication
- Congratulations to Sam Singer - Spirit of Excellence Award
- Alumni Notes
Newsworthy: Chris Keirstead Combines Work in Travel Writing with 19th Century British Poetry and Dickens -
English Hour Presentation - November 8 - 3:30 pm in 3104 Haley Center 
The subject of travel has been on Chris Keirstead's mind a lot lately. His undergraduate course, Studies in Travel Writing, focuses
on non-fiction prose travel writing from the 19th century to the present, and in the words of the syllabus, the class "explores the unique role travel writing has played in the formation of ideas about modern individual and cultural identity." He and his students are considering such questions as "who travels and why? How does travel both define and disrupt national identity? What is cosmopolitanism? Does travel writing tend to challenge or merely confirm stereotypes about gender, race, and culture?" Specializing in Victorian literature, Keirstead has combined his interest in travel writing with his work in 19th century British poetry and Charles Dickens.
Currently, Keirstead is working on a book, Victorian Poetry and the Encounter with Europe, which examines Victorian poets' struggle to articulate a cosmopolitan, broadly Anglo-European cultural and political identity in their work. It includes chapters on Arthur Hugh Clough, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, William Morris, and Thomas Hardy. Keirstead is also continuing his work with Charles Dickens, having recently published an article in 19th Century Studies entitled "Going Postal: Mail and Mass Culture in Bleak House."
Keirstead's English Hour presentation in many ways combines his interest in Dickens with some of the questions about Victorian travel writing and border-crossing that inform his book project. "Great Expectorations: Negotiating Public Space in Dickens's American Notes" takes a new look at Dickens's controversial 1842 tour of the US, arguing that much of the author's disappointment stems not from American democracy per se but from his failure to recreate the personal, almost domestic fellowship that he had imagined he had created with his American readers. He came to the US in order to live out a kind of fanstasy of authorship and instead found himself drawn unaviodably to places of public access - trains, canal boats, steam boats. Keirstead will argue, however, that it is in precisely these locations that travel, in a broader sense, actually occurs—where the traveler's gaze is activated in complex ways that cross boundaries even as the traveler struggles to reassert them.
Keirstead's English Hour presentation will take place on Monday, November 8, in 3104 Haley Center. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 pm, with Keirstead beginning his presentation at 4 pm.
Literature After Dark - A Doll's House - Tonight - November 3 - 7:45 pm in 3195 Haley Center
A Doll's House (1973) will be shown tonight, November 3, at 7:45 pm in 3195 Haley Center. Claire Bloom stars in this version of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama.
Biggio Center Professional Development Seminar - November 4 - 12 pm in 202 Foy Student Union
The Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Auburn University will continue its Professional Development Seminar Series on Thursday, November 4. All Auburn University and PFF Cluster Institution faculty and graduate students are invited to attend.
Seminars will be held in 202 Foy and start with refreshments at noon. Participants are asked to bring their own lunches; beverages and cookies will be provided. Dr. Fran Kochan, Professor, Educational Foundations, Leadership & Technology, will begin her presentation, "Qualities of Successful Mentoring Relationships," at 12:15 pm.
Auburn Chamber Music Society Begins Season - November 7 - 2:30 pm at Goodwin Music Hall 
Please join the Auburn Chamber Music Society (ACMS) as it presents the first of its three concerts for the 2004-05 season and celebrates its 40th Season. This first concert will be held on Sunday, November 7, at 2:30 pm in Goodwin Music Hall on the AU campus and will feature the New York Chamber Soloists. They will perform works by Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, and Ravel.
A reception for the ensemble and to honor some of our founding board members will be held immediately after the concert at Greystone Manor. Admission is $20 per person, or $5 for students with ID. For more information, contact Craig Bertolet, Co-President of the ACMS.
ABD Colloquium - Dissertation-Summarizing Workshop - November 10 - 3:15 pm in 8009 Haley Center
The ABD Colloquium and the Job Placement Advisors will coordinate a dissertation-summarizing workshop on Wednesday, November 10, at 3:15 pm in 8009 Haley Center.
All who are preparing for job interviews are invited. Please bring a draft of a 3 minute description of your dissertation and be prepared to work on refining it to effectively answer queries at interviews and cocktail parties. Some experienced members of the faculty will be on-hand to help you condense your description and sharpen your delivery.
Congratulations to Constance Relihan - New Appointment and Publication 
Constance Relihan, Hargis Professor, has been appointed as Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts. Her appointment is part-time until January, when it will become full-time.
Also, Relihan's book, Cosmographical Glasses: Geographic Discourse, Gender, and Elizabethan Fiction, has been published by Kent State University Press.
Congratulations to Sam Singer - Spirit of 
Excellence Award
Congratulations to Sam Singer for earning the Spirit of Excellence Award, which recognizes Auburn University employees for exceptional performance. We all appreciate Sam's work. Read more about Sam's achievement online in the AU Report.
Alumni Notes
Alum Dan Ennis has been promoted to associate professor with tenure this year and continues to serve as director of the Coastal Carolina University Honors Program. He and his wife Jen have been married for ten years and have two daughters, Katie (6) and Caroline (3). While not working, Ennis plays in a rock band with fellow AU alum Scott Pleasant.
To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 11:40 am for publication Wednesday. Submit items by email to Jessica Lueders or Betsy Smith or put the information in their mailbox. Please check your submission for accuracy and completion—all calendar items and meeting announcements must include the date, time, and location of the event.
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Last updated November 3, 2004