Newsworthy: Welcome New MA and MTPC Students

Please welcome the new MA and MTPC students to the department.    

 

MA students from left to right: Monita Bell (MA Fellowship), Omar Cintron, Cristine Frazier, Steven Halbert, Lacy Marschalk, Miranda Morrison, and Carey Pilgrim. Not Shown: Nancy Blair, Susanna Coleman, Lee Eubanks, Corine Mathis, and Christopher Snellgrove.

 

MTPC students from left to right: Michelle Johnson, Boyu Liu, and Joanna Phillips. Not Shown: Lauren Boone, Robin Gosser, Emma Mulvaney (MTPC Fellowship), Jessica Smith (Yates Fellowship), and Cayce Van Horn.

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English Hour Presentation - Jon Bolton

Jon Bolton, Associate Professor of English, will present the first English Hour of the season this Thursday, October 12, 4-5 p.m., in 2306 Haley. Jon's presentation comes from his book-nearing-completion: working title, "'Blighted Beginnings': Irish Coming of Age Narratives from Joyce to Doyle."

Thursday's presentation, "Love Hibernian Style: Courtship and Sexual Initiation in the Irish Bildungsroman," will examinine such phenomena as the inept lover, polymorphous sexuality, and the politics of chastity in Irish fiction. Jon will pay particular attention to the repressive environment of Post-Independence Ireland and the efforts of novelists to render these conditions in order to criticize and reform what James M. Smith has  called the "culture of containment" that persisted in the Free State.

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Melvyn New Presentation: Laurence Sterne and The Scriblerian

In the spirit of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Laurence Sterne, Professor Melvyn New, editor of the Florida Edition of the Works of Sterne and author of more than 70 books, essays, editions, and reviews, will explore the trends, fads, innovations, and sometimes inadvertent achievements of literary theory and criticism over the past thirty years. In his presentation, "Swimming Down the Gutter of Time with Laurence Sterne and The Scriblerian," Professor New will explain why, though his efforts to say something nice about fools who rush into print before they have mastered their subject has not always generated harmony and good will, he nonetheless thinks it important to speak out clearly and forcefully—with wit and irony if possible—against what Laurence Sterne called the “most tormenting cant”—the “cant of criticism.”

Professor New received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1966. Since 1966 he has been a professor at the University of Florida, and served as Chair from 1979 to 1988. He has been three times an NEH Research Fellow, has published fifteen books (critical studies, editions, and collections) and sixty articles on eighteenth-century British literature, critical theory, and modernism.

This presentation will be held October 17, 2006, at 3:15 PM in Haley Center 2182 and is open to the public. A reception will follow. Laputians especially welcome.

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Theatre to Honor Human Rights Defenders with October 12 Performance

AU Theatre will present "Speak Truth to Power--Voices from Beyond the Dark" in a special presentation Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m., honoring human rights defenders throughout the world. The play, by Ariel Dorfman and based on a book by Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, is under the direction of AU Theatre Associate Professor Daydrie Hague and will be enacted by members of the Auburn faculty and guest performers, including Yasser Gowayed, Chi Chi Lovett, Alfonso Moreira Cejudo, Carolina Marquez Serrano, Clement Ndulute, Amanda Morris, Daydrie Hague and Dan LaRocque. Vocals will be performed by guest soloist Marquita Dowdell. For tickets and more information call 844-4154 or visit the Theatre's web site.

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Jana Gutierrez to Lead World Literature Faculty Seminar

Jana Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of Spanish at Auburn University, will lead the "World Literature Faculty Seminar: Teaching Latin American and US Hispanic Works in World Literature II." The seminar will be held October 23, 3-5 PM in Haley Center 3104.    

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Conference Call for Southeastern Conference on Linguistics

The conference call for the annual meeting of the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics is now available at its website. The conference will be held in Natchitoches, LA, April 13-15, 2007 and invites papers in all areas of linguistics.   

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Faculty Meeting

A department faculty meeting will be held today at 3 PM in HC 3104. The Undergraduate Studies Committee will be presenting a number of proposals for discussion that are based on assessment results from the last few years.   

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Calendar for 2006-07 Academic Year

Here is information about Departmental events for academic year 2006-07.

• October 12 - English Hour Presentation - Jon Bolton - "Love Hiberian Style: Courtship and Sexual Initiation in the Irish Bildungsroman" - 4-5 PM - Haley Center 2306
• October 17 - Professor Melvyn New - "Trends in Criticism as Revealed by Thirty Years of Reviewing"- 3 PM - Haley Center 2182
• October 23 - World Literature Faculty Seminar - Jana Gutierrez - "Teaching Latin American and US Hispanic Works in World Literature II" - Haley Center 2104
• October 26-27 - Gregory Orr (English Symposium Series), Poetry Reading
• October 27-28 - William Bartram Symposium
• November 6 - Robert Clem (English Symposium Series), independent film maker "William March's Company K: From Novel to Film"
• November 16 - English Hour Presentation - Miriam Clark - "Attitude Dancing : Kenneth Burke and American Poetry"
• January 18, 2007 - World Literature Lecture: Aiola Irele, Professor of African Studies and French, Harvard University (afternoon- faculty seminar; evening- World Literature lecture)
• March 1-2 - Walter Benn Michael's visit sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa
• March 10 - Graduate Student Colloquium
• March 15 - Trudier Harris (English Symposium Series)
• April 20 - Department Awards Ceremony (3:00 PM)

Here are dates for departmental faculty meetings.

Faculty Meetings

• October 11
• October 25 (Graduate Faculty Meeting)
• November 8
• January 31
• February 7
• February 14
• April 4
• April 18

Here are the important dates for the fall 2006 and spring 2007 semesters.

• November 20-25 - Thanksgiving Break
• December 6 - Last Class Day
• December 15 - Commencement
• January 5 - Lead-Teacher/Co-Teacher Workshop
• January 8 - First Day of Class
• March 26-31 - Spring Break
• April 30 - Last Class Day
• May 10 - Commencement

For more information on these events and more, visit the Department's Calendar page.

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To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 10 AM for publication Wednesday. Submit items by email to Heather Finch or Margaret Kouidis or put the information in their mailboxes. 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 October 11, 2006

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Department of English
9030 Haley Center
Auburn University, AL 36849-5203
Phone (334) 844-4620
FAX (334) 844-9027
© 2006 Department of English at Auburn University. All rights reserved.

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