Thursday's Notes

Welcome Back!

1. Announcements:

• The Department extends its deepest sympathies to Julie Todd, whose mother passed away this past Saturday.
• Department meeting dates for the year are as follows: September 9, October 14, November 11, December 9 (the holiday party), February 10, March 10, April 7, and May 12.
• CFA is sponsoring a Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Workshop on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15, from 2:00-3:30 p.m., in the Business Building 4117. For more information, contact the CFA office at ext. 5919.
• The SPACE Academic Lecture Series, sponsored by Associated Students, has set aside $4,000 for awards, $500 maximum per award. This academic honorarium fund will only allocate funds for honorariums or pre-negotiated speaking fees. The deadline for application is September 9, 5 p.m. For more information, contact Leanne Vincent, ext. 7899.
• Sabbatical applications for 2006-2007 are due to the Chair by Friday, September 30, 2005. Application forms are available in Martha Alzamora's office.

2. Reminders:

• If you have not already done so, please put a copy of your course syllabi in Jennifer Lu's box. The syllabi will be filed in the notebooks in our Conference Room for reference by other faculty teaching similar courses in the future.
• Please remind students that all adds/drops/changes in basis of grading should be completed by the end of the third week of class: September 16.
• Please remember that it is university policy to accommodate student needs regarding the scheduling of examinations that conflict with religious observations. If you need help in evaluating the request of a student for the rescheduling of an examination, contact Faculty Affairs at ext. 2962.
• Please note that all faculty must distribute a written syllabus to each student in the course or post it on-line no later than the second week of classes.
• Thursday's Notes is also published weekly on our department webpage. Please submit items for upcoming Thursday's Notes to Sandra Stanley, the Associate Chair, or to the Thursday's Notes folder in Martha Alzamora’s office.

3. Faculty/Student Achievements:

• Jack Solomon has been selected to appear in the Marquis Who's Who in American Education. The fifth edition of Jack's (with Sonia Maasik) Signs of Life in the U.S.A. (Bedford/St.Martin's) will be published in December 2005, ready for Spring 2006 adoption. Signs of Life in the U.S.A. has now been adopted at over 700 colleges and universities.
• Graduate student Christina Diaz has been accepted into the CSU Sally Cassanova Pre-Doctoral Program for 2005-2006. Christina was one of 74 students selected from among 227 applicants across the CSU. Her faculty mentor for the Pre-Doctoral Program is Ian Barnard.
• Ranita Chatterjee's article "Filial Ties: Godwin's Deloraine and Mary Shelley's Writings" has now been accepted for publication and will appear in the January 2007 issue of the prestigious journal European Romantic Review. Through a reading of William Godwin’s last novel Deloraine and Mary Shelley’s Mathilda, “The Mourner,” and Falkner, Ranita’s paper traces the aesthetics of a Romantic collaboration that explores the dynamics of father-daughter relationships.
• Fred Field gave a talk on August 15 entitled "Fifty percent inspiration, fifty percent perspiration," to the Orange County Chapter of Just Plain Folk, a national songwriting organization boasting over 10,000 members.
• Hybridity in the American Text, co-edited by Audrey Thacker, will be published by the University of Washington Press sometime in 2006.
• Kent Baxter reviewed Kenneth Kidd’s book Making American Boys: Boyology and the Feral Tale in the April edition of The Lion and the Unicorn.
• Irene Clark’s article, "Entering the Conversation: Graduate Thesis Proposals as Genre," will be published in Profession 2005, published by the Modern Language Association. Irene has signed a contract with Prentice Hall to publish her book, Writing the Effective Thesis/Dissertation.

4. New Items in the Thursday’s Notes file (ST 708) or on Bulletin Board (Outside 710)

Conferences and Calls for Papers

• Christianity and Literature will hold its western regional conference from March 10-11, 2006, at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. The conference invites proposals on the topic “The Word in the World: Christianity’s Encounter with Other Cultures.” Deadline for submission of one-page proposals is November 4, 2005. Send proposals to Donald G. Marshall, Humanities and Teacher Education Division, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263-4225. E-mail inquiries to donald.marshall@perpperdine.edu.

Lectures and Other Events

• CSUN’s Graduate Studies, Research & International Programs is sponsoring workshops for faculty and students interested in the Fulbright program. On September 8, the Director of the Fulbright office will present two workshops in the Special Events room on the Sierra Center (2nd floor): one for faculty, from 10:00-12:00 noon, and one for students, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• On Thursday, October 6, at 7 p.m., The California Shakespeare Company will present Hamlet, Prince of Denmark for local college students. This college night performance will be offered at 50% discount ($10). The play will be presented at the Theater on the Hill in Thousand Oaks. To purchase discounted tickets, call 805-381-1246. September 30 is the deadline to purchase discounted tickets.

Jobs and Other Opportunities

• The University of Notre Dame English Department invites applications for a poet at the tenure track assistant professor level. Poets who have published at least one book of poetry and have some publication record in fiction are especially encouraged to apply. Please send letter of interest and vita to William O’Rourke, Director of Creative Writing, Department of English, 356 O’Shaughnessy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, by November 15, 2005.
• The Humanities GE/GS/MA Program of California State University Dominguez Hills is a large interdisciplinary program offering courses for the General Education program and M.A. in Humanities. The program is inviting applications for its part-time temporary Lecturer pool for possible teaching in the 2005-2006 academic year. Lecturers are non-tenure track appointments, and candidates must have a Ph.D. To be considered, send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, at least two letters of recommendation related to academic achievement and/or potential evidence of teaching effectiveness, a writing sample, and graduate transcripts. Apply to Lorna Fizsimmons, Coordinator, Humanities Program, LCHA338, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, California 90747.

Compiled by Sandra Stanley, Associate Chair