Newsworthy: Spring Semester English Symposium Speakers

Department members will have the opportunity to hear two fantastic speakers this Spring as part of the English Symposium Series.  

The two Symposium Series speakers for the Spring semester are:

• Janisse Ray - author, naturalist, activist - Thursday, March 9, 2006

  Janisse Ray's works include Ecology of a Cracker Childhood; Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land; and Wild Card Quilt:Taking a Chance on Home. She has won the American Book Award, the Southern Book Critics Circle Award, Southeastern Booksellers Association Award for Nonfiction, and the Southern Environmental Law Center Award.

  For more information about Janisse Ray, visit the website of her publisher Chelsea Green.

• James Phelan - Scholar of Narrative Theory - Tuesday, April 18, 2006

  James Phelan, Ohio State University, will present the Carl Benson Lecture on 20th Century Literature. His most recent work is Living to Tell About It: A Rhetoric and Ethics of Character Narration.

  For more information about James Phelan, visit his website.
  

  
  
  

More details on both speakers will appear in future editions of The English Channel.

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December 9 - English Center Closing

The English Center will be open 9-4 on Thursday, December 8 (Reading Day) and Friday, December 9. After December 9, the English Center will be closed for the rest of the semester.

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December 31 - The New England Quarterly Essay Contest Deadline

The New England Quarterly, a Historical Review of New England Life and Letters, is now accepting submissions for its annual early American history essay contest. Entries must be postmarked by December 31.

The 2005 Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Early American History will be awarded for a distinguished essay on colonial history, with preference being given to New England subjects. The prizewinner will receive $2,500, and the winning essay will be published in The New England Quarterly.

For prize specifications and more information about the contest, visit The New England Quarterly website. Essays may be submitted to Whitehill Prize Committee, c/o Linda Smith Rhoads, Editor, The New England Quarterly, 249 Meserve Hall, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115.

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January 5, 2006 - Lead Teacher/Co-Teacher Workshop - 9:30 am - HC 3104

A workshop for Department members serving as Lead Teachers and Co-Teachers during the upcoming Spring semester will be on January 5, 2006, from 9:30 am to noon in HC 3104.

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January 5, 2006 - ENGL 1120 Workshop - 1 pm - HC 3104

New faculty and second-year masters students should plan to attend a workshop on teaching ENGL 1120 at the beginning of the Spring 2006 semester.

Workshop leaders and participants will review:

• Guidelines and requirements for ENGL 1120, including syllabus development, paper assignments, and documentation principles

• WebCT resources for ENGL 1120

Please bring the textbook you plan to use and the Student Guidelines for ENGL 1100 and ENGL 1120 (2005-06 - distributed in the orientation materials at the beginning of the Fall semester).

Lunch will be provided at noon in HC 9030.

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January 5, 2006 - WebCT Basic Training Session - 8:30 am - HC 3242

January 6, 2006 - WebCT Advanced Training Session - 9 am - HC 3242

The College of Liberal Arts is offering two workshops on WebCT next year—a basic training session on January 5 and an advanced session on January 6.

If you would like to participate, email Darrell Crutchley or Wiebke Kuhn. There are 28 seats available for each workshop.

The basic workshop will give you an introduction that will allow you to start using WebCT when your classes begin. The workshop will cover the basics of creating a WebCT course and linking it to your class roll; adding material to the course; organizing your course so that it makes sense to students; managing your course: backups of individual tools and the whole course; using some of the communication tools; and using quizzes.

The advanced training session will build on the basic workshop but will also be very useful for WebCT users who would like to learn more tools, more tricks, and in general want to gain more experience. The session will include: organizing content; using additional communication tools with an emphasis on HorizonWimba Voice Tools; using WebDAV as a shortcut to transfer files into WebCT; adding students assessment tools; using grade calculations; adding design icons; and using additional tools such as image database and glossary.

For both workshops it will help greatly if you have already created your content (i.e., text files, images files, list of links, PowerPoint presentations) and bring it on a CD, jump drive, or can access it from your email.

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January 10, 2006 - Information Technology Open House - 10 am - HC 3223B

The College of Liberal Arts is hosting an Information Technology Open House on January 10, 2006, from 10 am to 4 pm in HC 3223B (located in HC 3223).

Anyone teaching English classes can stop by for quick help with WebCT, PowerPoint, other software, and classroom equipment.

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January 20, 2006 - Deadline for Nominations for World Literature Essay Awards

Nominations for the World Literature Essay Awards are due January 20. Note that submission of essays is a joint process involving both student and instructor, so be sure to inform students that you intend to nominate their work in time for them to gather the required materials. Guidelines for the essay awards are available online.  

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EGO T-Shirts For Sale!

The EGO t-shirts have finally arrived! Since we had to purchase them in bulk, sizes and quantities are very limited.

The shirts feature various quotes and the new EGO Motto, "We Fear No Word" on the back (shown at right), and the front has "EGO @ Auburn University" on the upper left side.

If for any reason you miss out on this batch, we will be sending in a new order sometime in January. Please see Barrett Gaines to purchase your t-shirt for $13, one per person until demand is satisfied.

Cash is appreciated—checks are accepted if necessary. Enjoy wearing your EGO proudly!

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Job Search Materials Available

The Department of English offers a dossier service to graduate students and instructors who are searching for jobs. A description of these services is available in the "Job Search" drawer of the copy room.

Also, it is possible, and desirable, to register for the service and request to have dossiers sent online. To do so, visit the Careers section of the Department web site. Electronic requests are quicker and eliminate problems caused by handwriting.  

Those who wish to have a mock job interview prior to the MLA convention should complete a request form and return it to Margaret Kouidis as soon as possible. These forms can be found in the "Job Search" drawer in the copy room.

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Spring 2006 Theatre Schedule

This spring, the Auburn University Theatre Department will feature productions of Shakespeare's Tempest, dance pieces choreographed by AU faculty member Judith Nelson, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

The production schedule with performance dates:

• dAUnce, January 26-29

• The Tempest, March 7-12

• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, April 12-15 and 18-23

Weeknight and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 pm, and Sunday performances begin at 2:30 pm. Admission is free to Auburn students with valid University ID. Tickets are $18 for faculty, staff, and senior citizens and $20 for the general public.

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Books for Africa Drive

MA student Saiward Pharr is chairing the Graduate School Council's effort to collect books of all sorts for the Books for Africa Drive.

Acceptable donations include text books, anthologies, novels, poetry, etc. Due to the nature of literature, the copyright restriction of 2000 or newer is not necessarily applicable. Literary texts in good condition are acceptable regardless of copyright date. Outdated/old text books and journals and magazine are still not acceptable.    

Collection bins have been placed in HC 8009 (the eighth floor lounge) and in the lobby of Haley.

Feel free to make an announcement in class, especially as the end of the semester approaches and students start thinking of disposing of their texts. Every book that is collected is either donated directly to educational programs in Africa or sold by the organization to donate proceeds to educational programs in Africa.  

Contact Saiward with questions or for more information.

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To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 4 pm for publication Wednesday. Submit items by email to Will Brinkley 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 December 7, 2005

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Department of English
9030 Haley Center
Auburn University, AL 36849-5203
Phone (334) 844-4620
FAX (334) 844-9027
© 2005 Department of English at Auburn University. All rights reserved.

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