English Department News

        

January 30, 2002

          

Volume 4, No. 18

 

January 30 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
January 30 Faculty Meeting - 3:00 pm - 3104 HC
January 30 EGO Comp Exam Workshop - 1:00-3:00 pm - 3104 HC;
EGO Meeting following, location TBA
February 4 English Hour: Taking Wall Street by Storm - 4:00 pm, 3104 HC
February 6 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
February 11 Great Books Committee - 3:00
February 11 English Hour: TBA - 4:00 pm, 3104 HC
February 13 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
February 18 English Hour: TBA - 4:00 pm, 3104 HC
February 20 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
February 25 Great Books Committee - 3:00
February 27 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
February 28 Mid-semester
March 6 Undergraduate Studies Committee - 2:15
March 11 Great Books Committee - 3:00
March 12 Auburn Chamber Music Society Concert, 8:00, Goodwin Music Hall
April 8 Great Books Committee - 3:00
April 8-12 Zora Neale Hurston Week - activities TBA
April 18 Benson Lecture - Debra Moddelmog
April 20 Society for Technical Communication Meeting
April 22 Great Books Committee - 3:00
April 30   Classes End
May 1-2  

Study/Reading Days
May 3-4, 6-8  

Final Exams

 Graduate School Calendar
May 11  

Graduation

 University Calendar
May 20 Classes Begin for Summer Term and Summer Session I
 

English Hour Takes Wall Street By Storm

Worried about the recession? Troubled by the collapse of Enron? Or just confused by the illogic of late capitalism? In his paper, "The Culture Bubble, or How I Stopped Worrying About Postmodernity and Learned to Love the Nasdaq," Christian Gregory will offer insights on the financial world, Frederic Jameson's theories, and "the cultural logic of late capitalism." Join us on Monday, Feb. 4 in HC 3104 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. for intellectual nourishment and cookies. (This is the second of five consecutive English Hours, so keep your Monday afternoons free.)  

Instructional Technology Short Courses

Register for any of these short courses at  www.auburn.edu/oit/training. For more information please contact ittrain@auburn.edu 

1.    Learn the elements of the WebCT course manager in Setting Up Courses on WebCT: WebCT An Introduction.  (Apr 16, 2:00 p.m. in Parker 124)

2.    Using OASIS WEB as a faculty member -an introduction to online student information resources including AU Study, WebCT, and the OASIS Web featuring grading online. OASIS Web for Faculty (Apr 18, 2 p.m. 124 Parker)

Coming down the road:
--Introduction to FrontPage: how to create web pages easily.
--Recognizing a good web page for teaching.




Poetry Prize

The Auburn University English Department is pleased to announce its annual Robert Hughes Mount, Jr., Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, and endowed by Mrs. Frances Mayes, offering a $100 prize for the best poem submitted by an Auburn University student. Graduate or undergraduate students may submit up to three poems to the mailbox of the Prize Coordinator, Jeremy Downes, in the English Department, 9030 Haley Center. Please include contact information on each page submitted. 

The contest deadline is March 1, 2002. The prize-winner will be announced at the English Department's annual Benson Lecture on April 18, 2002. Questions about Auburn's contest should be directed to Jeremy M. Downes, at 844-9040, or by e-mail at downejm@auburn.edu.



Undergraduate Competitive Research Fellowships

Applications are now being accepted for Auburn University’s Undergraduate Competitive Research Fellowships. Qualified undergraduate students of sophomore standing or higher may compete for 20 one-year, or two one-semester, fellowships. The research stipend is a generous $4,400 ($2000 summer, $1200 Fall and Spring semesters), and additional project and travel funds are available. English Department undergraduates have had great success in this competition: in both years of its existence, two of our students have come away with awards. Applications are due by Friday, March 8, 2002. For more information, see the Vice President for Research’s web site at http://www.auburn.edu/research/vpr/internalfund.htm.

Poetry Prize
The Auburn University English Department is pleased to announce its annual Robert Hughes Mount, Jr., Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, and endowed by Mrs. Frances Mayes, offering a $100 prize for the best poem submitted by an Auburn University student. Graduate or undergraduate students may submit up to three poems to the mailbox of the Prize Coordinator, Jeremy Downes, in the English Department, 9030 Haley Center. Please include contact information on each page submitted. 

The contest deadline is March 1, 2002. The prize-winner will be announced at the English Department's annual Benson Lecture on April 18, 2002. Questions about Auburn's contest should be directed to Jeremy M. Downes, at 844-9040, or by e-mail at downejm@auburn.edu.

Emerald Coast Writers’ Conference

 The West Florida Literary Federation announces its 3rd Annual Emerald Coast Writers’ Conference, scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 2002 at the Pensacola Jr. College Hagler Auditorium. Conference speakers include Rick Campbell (poetry) and Sandra Weintraub (writing for film and television). See Dr. Dykstal in HC 9092 for a registration form, or the WFLF’s website at WestFloridaLiteraryFed.com for more information.

Contests, Competitions, Awards . . .

Contests, Competitions, Awards are listed in ascending order of their deadlines. You can find the hard-copy announcements on the bulletin board outside the English Department office, 9030 Haley Center. And, although we're not quite ready to put out the call for submissions just yet, don't forget the second annual writing awards competition of your own Auburn English Department!

1. The Association of College English Teachers of Alabama (ACETA) is sponsoring its annual Mary Evelyn McMillan Undergraduate Award, presented each year to the undergraduate student at an Alabama college or university whose informal essay is judged most outstanding by a panel of judges chosen by ACETA. The essay, written for a class taken during the current or previous academic year, may be on a personal or literary topic, and it may be descriptive, reflective, or analytical, but it may not be a formal research paper. The catch here is that the essay must be submitted by the instructor of the course, not the student, but if you feel that something you wrote should be considered you might try to elicit such cooperation. Deadline is February 1, 2002.

2. W. W. Norton and Company (publisher of all of those wonderful anthologies and critical editions, among other books) is offering a cash prize of $2500 for an outstanding undergraduate essay on any literary topic. Four runners-up will each receive a cash award of $1000. Student essays may cover any topic in English, American, or comparative literature and must be typed or printed, double-spaced, between 1750 and 3000 words in length, and should follow the latest MLA guidelines for format and citation of sources. Deadline is April 15, 2002. For more information, see http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/scholar/scholars2002.htm

3. ROSEBUD, "the magazine for people who enjoy good writing," announces the 2nd William Stafford Prize for Poetry. Entrants should send 3 to 5 printed poems, any style or theme. First prize is $1000 and publication in ROSEBUD. Send entries to R. Virgil Ellis / Stafford Poetry Prize / P.O. Box 614 / Cambridge, WI 53523. Deadline is May 31, 2002 (Please check submission requirements before sending.)

4. The Ayn Rand Institute is offering hefty cash prizes (would you expect anything less from that avatar of capitalism?) for its Fourth Annual Essay Contest on Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. Rules and conditions can be found on the Institute's website at http://www.aynrand.org/contests/atlas.html. Deadline is September 16, 2002--so get shrugging!

5. Sigma Tau Delta offers a veritable cornucopia of scholarship, award, internship, and grant opportunities. They post more information and all the forms on their website (www.english.org). Tens of thousands of dollars are available--but one does have to apply!

Internship

Turner offers internships to undergraduate students who have completed their sophomore or junior year, or students currently enrolled in graduate school. Internships are designed for student volunteers who receive course credit, and are unpaid (darn!). But here's your chance to learn "from the best in entertainment, news, sports, and business." To apply, visit www.turnerjobs.com, and follow the link "opportunities for college students."

 


Wiebke Kuhn is now an Information Technology Coordinator with the College of Liberal Arts.  If you have web questions or WebCT questions and other computer-related issues, you can get in touch with her via email at  kuhnwi1@auburn.edu.

If you would like to include an item in the "Professional Notes" section of The English Channel, please submit your note to Betsy Smith.

 



If you would like to include an item in the "Personal Notes" section of The English Channel, please submit your note to Betsy Smith.

Please submit items and direct all questions or comments about The English Channel, to Betsy Smith who currently maintains this site.
To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 11:40 a.m. for publication the following Wednesday. Graphic images are due by the preceding Friday at 11:40 a.m. Submit items by using my email link or by putting a note or disk in my mailbox (disks will be returned). If you submit an image on disk, please make sure that it can be edited to fit and be read clearly on the page. Items over fifty words in length should be submitted on disk or sent by email. Please check your submission for accuracy and completion--all calendar items and meeting announcements must include the date, time, and location of the event. Please omit all unusual formatting.