1. Annoucements
It is with enormous sadness that I announce the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Colleen Schaeffer, who was killed with her husband in a single car accident on March 25 when their SUV went off Highway 4 in San Joaquin County. A well-loved, longtime member of our lecturing faculty and a graduate of our MA program, Colleen was known for her indefatigable energy, her early pioneering and seminal contributions to online instruction, her tireless devotion to her students, and her humor, her warmth, and her very good friendship to so very many of us. Retired in 2007, Colleen had moved to northern California and found great happiness and new artistic freedoms in her life beyond CSUN, both as a writer and as a visual artist. As she wrote to Amy Reynolds in March, 2011, “By the way, I have been having the most amazing and crazy year. I was asked to hang my art in a local winery and now in a restaurant in Folsom. I was also asked to donate two pieces of art for auction to support different community needs. At the same time, I am meeting a ton of people via this wonderful publication I am volunteering on. Aside from the sense of community, something I miss with you all, is the writing that comes to me to edit. What a joy!” Please join her friends and colleagues for an informal celebration of her life at Acapulo Restaurant in Northridge on Wednesday May 1st from 4 p.m. to 6 p..m.. As many of you may remember, Acapulco is where she used to gather with other beleaguered TA’s for their much-needed TA “therapy” sessions. We look forward to hearing your stories and remembering Colleen. We hope you can join us. Everyone is welcome! Please RSVP to Nancy Taylor (nancy.taylor@csun.edu) by Monday, April 29th, at noon. There is a public Facebook page with additional information: https://www.facebook.com/events/278323742302098/?context=create.
On happier news, we have a new addition to our ever growing extended family and want to welcome another brand spanking new member of the human race, Eloise Charlotte Christolear, delivered to Katie Christolear on April 1, 2013, some time before 11:08 a.m., when the email news first broke. As for specifics, in Katie’s own words, “Eloise is/was 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 in long. Is it past tense since maybe she’s lost or gained weight in 6 hours? Where’s the manual for this baby?”
And it being the end of the year, the English Department is pleased to announce that up to $12,350 in scholarships and awards will be given to CSUN students this spring. Application forms are available in the English Department Office, Sierra Tower 706 (818-677-3431). FOR MORE INFORMATION about these awards and scholarships, see http://www.csun.edu/english/awards.php.
For undergraduate students:
- Henry Van Slooten Scholarship: $500. Requirements: Essay from 258, 259, 275 or 355 demonstrating passion for English language. Nomination by faculty required.
- Lesley Johnstone Memorial Award: $500. Requirements: Creative work (poetry, fiction, drama) or essay on an aspect of the natural world written for a class or conference or publication. Students may self-nominate. Faculty nomination also allowed.
- Linda Nichols Joseph Merit Scholarship: $2000 (up to two available). Requirements: English major; min. 3.5 overall GPA; cover letter; resume; three letters of recommendation; financial aid release.
- Philip E. Love Scholarship: $500. Requirements: English 205 assignment; min.3.0 GPA; enrolled in at least six units in spring 2013; application; one-page personal essay; one faculty recommendation.
- William L. Wilson Award: $1600. Requirements: junior or senior English major (any option) who plans to be a teacher; 3.0 GPA in English courses; potential to become a strong teacher; application; 350-word personal essay; one letter of recommendation. Nomination by faculty required.
For graduate or undergraduate students:
- Annamarie Peterson Morley Award: $1,000. Requirements: English major; minimum 3.5 GPA; application; 1-3 page personal essay; two letters of recommendation; financial aid release.
- George Morley/Annamarie Peterson Scholarship: $1000. Requirements: English major; min. 3.0 GPA; application; 3-5 page personal essay; two letters of recommendation; must enroll in 12 units during semester following award; financial aid release.
For graduate students:
- Mahlon Gaumer Award: $500. Requirements: Critical essay on English or American literature with emphasis on language; application form.
- Mitchell Marcus Prize: $3,000. Requirements: classified Grad Student; min. 3.75 GPA; application; writing sample; resume; personal statement; two letters of recommendation.
Jada Augustine has been appointed the new Portfolio Coordinator for the English Department’s Stretch Composition Program. Congratulations, Jada! Jada replaces Nicole Warwick, who has accepted a full-time faculty position in the Writing Program at UC Santa Barbara, beginning in Fall 2013. Congratulations, Nicole, and thank you for your many years of service to our department!
For those of you nearing retirement, or even just dreaming of your golden years, CFA will be hosting a Pensions & Benefits Workshop facilitated by Jonathan Karpf, from CSU San Jose. The workshop will take place on Thursday, April 25, 2013, from 11:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Sequoia Hall, Room 250A. Please RSVP by emailing cfa_no@calfac.org, or call the CFA Office at (818) 677-5919. (RSVPs not required, but appreciated for food count.) Lunch will be provided.
Speaking of retirement, Academic Affairs invites you to a Retirement Reception for Penelope Jennings, whom many of us have worked with and relied on over the years. Please come out to celebrate her hard work and service on Friday, May 3, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Orange Grove Bistro. And do RSVP to iliana.carvajal@csun.edu by Friday, April 26, 2013.
On May 4, 2013, in the Lakeview Terrace room at the Student Union, CSUN will host the first ever DH SoCal Research Slam. The event will bring Digital Humanities researchers together from around Southern California to present their work in an informal series of short presentations, poster sessions, and conversations. The Research Slam will showcase work done across the region and help create opportunities for learning about and collaborating in the Digital Humanities. Please stop by to see what people are doing.
The Graduate Reading Series (GRS) invites you and yours to their second reading of Spring 2013. On Friday April 19, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (almost immediately following our department meeting), they will be turning the LNJ Reading Room (JR 319) into the graduate reading room. Come marvel at the works of Christian Cardenas (fiction), Lesley Gouger (playwriting), and Arthur Kayzakian (poetry). As always, they will provide light refreshments (some left over from the meeting, in case you haven’t had enough) and most excellent company. Come if you can. It means a lot the students when
On Friday, April 26th, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Bobby Lopez‘s Myth Goes to the Movies presents a 50th Anniversary Celebration of the the 1963 film Tom Jones. The screening will take place in Rm 113 of Nordhoff Hall and begin at 4 p.m. and be followed by guest speaker, Tim Dean, at 6:15. Noted Queer Theorist and author of Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking (University of Chicago Press, 2009), Dean will give a talk titled “Was Tom Jones a Sex Addict?” Also featured will be the Research Gallery of Lopez’s ENGL 477, 473, and CLAS 315 classes.
The Long Eighteenth-Century Reading Group is pleased to announce that the semester’s final meeting will take place on May 1st at 7pm in Sierra Hall 102. In keeping with our cinematic Austen theme, they will discuss Sense and Sensibility after a viewing of Ang Lee’s film adaptation. Please join us for an evening that is sure to deliver lively conversation and delicious food! Contact Stephanie Harper (stephanie.harper.15@my.csun.edu) or Hannah Jorgenson (hannah.jorgenson.22@my.csun.edu) with any questions.
OnThursday, April 25, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., in the Oviatt Library Presentation Room, the CSUN Office of Graduate Studies, the CSUN Linguistics/TESL Department, and the CSUN Linguistics Student Organization are sponsoring a presentation of “Understanding & Teaching Grammar through Discourse” by guest speaker Dr. Marianne Celce-Murcia, Professor Emerita of Applied Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A faculty member at UCLA for 30 years, Dr. Celce-Murcia is interested in language teaching methodology and in applying her Ph.D. in Linguistics to the teaching of English as second or foreign language and the training of ESL teachers to teach grammar and pronunciation using a discourse-centered approach.
Finally, you won’t want to miss this Saturday’s debut performance of Kristen Castro’s “Garden of Eve” at Round Up, a Rocking Country Music Extravaganza at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. and music starts at 11 a.m. Kristin is one of our undergraduates, and “Garden of Eve” features features Elton John’s bass player Matt Bissonette and professional drummer Sergio Gonzalez from the TV reality show “The NEXT.” Castro’s band consists of 6 GRAMMY Camp® alumni musicians from California, Arizona, and Michigan. Her set will showcase a mixture of country, folk, indie and pop music – including classic covers from country music’s biggest names and Castro’s original songs. Come join in the fun!
2. Reminders
If you’re finding it hard to believe we’re approaching, already, the end of the semester, this may help: year-end reports are due from all committee chairs (you know who you are) by Thursday, May 2. And then you are done.
Please be sure to let me know any good news you have heard from your students regarding their futures in graduate and professional schools, so their good news and achievement can be featured in the final TN, which, like the end of the term, is fast approaching.
3. Opportunities
APAPA Bay Area College Summer Internship Program is currently searching for college students of the Asian Pacific Islander background interested in gaining firsthand knowledge and experience in governmental and public affairs. Internships this year will include Mayor Ed Lee (San Francisco), Mayor Jean Quan (Oakland), and Congressman Mike Honda (San Jose). This is a great opportunity for college students interested in pursuing a career in public service or community leadership. For more information, please contact Jcheng@apapa.org. The deadline to send applications is May 1.
Fugue only has 2 weeks left to submit to their annual writing contest. The contest prize is $1,000 to a poet and $1,000 to a writer of either fiction or nonfiction for prose. The submission period is open until May 1st, 2013, with winners announced in late June/early July of 2013. Winners and runners-up will also be published in the Summer/Fall 2013 issue of Fugue, and all other entries are considered for publication as well. For more information, please www.fuguejournal.org.
4. Achievements
Neil Citrin has just had three pieces published in the April issue of the online journal Danse Macabre. Start by going to http://www.dansemacabreonline.com. Click on the current issue (Cosmos), the “poetry” tab and then the tab marked “Drei durch Drei.” (German for “three by three”). It’s got music and a lot of graphics so it takes a bit to load. Enjoy.
Scott Kleinman has been selected to participate in the NEH-funded One Week | One Tool: A Digital Humanities Barnraising. The project will bring together a group of thirteen digital humanists to build a digital tool. Beginning with an intense six days of planning and building this summer at George Mason University the group will over the next year outline a roadmap, develop and disseminate an initial prototype, lay the ground work for building an open source community, and make first steps toward securing the project’s long-term sustainability.
Trista Payte has won an Association of Retired Faculty Memorial Award for her writing project, “Domesticism: Sexuality, Maternity, and Domesticity in Contemporary American Fiction.” The Award caries with a stipend of $1500 and will be presented at the ART annual awards luncheon on May 11, where Trista will read from her work.
Brittney Rodriguez, an English Lit major graduating this coming May, is the recipient of the 2012-2013 Jewish Studies Program Minor Award. This $350 award recognizes the senior with the highest academic achievement overall and in the Minor, and who shows exemplary commitment to the field of Jewish Studies.
We had a trio of CSUN representation at the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies: Danielle Spratt delivered her paper “‘More than an invisible agent’: Effluvia, Empiricism, and ‘Rational Probability’ in King’s ‘The Eunuch’s Child” and chaired the panels “Remapping ‘Scientific’ Travels I & II” and “By the Author of David Simple: New Approaches to Sarah Fielding II.” Hannah Jorgenson presented her paper “Teaching the Impossible in Sarah Fielding’s The Governess.” And Stephanie Harper presented her paper “‘An Account of a Fray’: Attachment Theory and Lockean Reason inThe Governess” in addition to chairing the panel “By the Author of David Simple: New Approaches to Sarah Fielding I.”