UW-L English Studies Blog

Irish Folklore Storyteller

From David Hart:

Reply to Karolyn Bald if you would like a visit from McBride to your classroom OCT 20 or 21. (See her email to me below.) Please also pass this info along to any other interested faculty, as well as the English Club members

From Karolyn Bald:

We will be hosting an Irish Folklore Storyteller, Doreen McBride, on campus.  She will be giving a presentation of students, staff and the public on Monday, October 19th.  I am writing because I noticed your interest area in English is Folklore.  Doreen has expressed interest in talk to some classes.  Would you know of any classes that we could approach about this idea?  We are looking for opportunities on October 20 and the morning of the 21st.

Wanted: T-Shirt Ideas

The English Club needs your help!

We are looking for witty T- SHIRT IDEAS from the wittiest people we know: English professors!  The sayings could be author quotes, literature quotes, funny English sayings, etc!  Use your imagination!

Please send your ideas to blazek.kell@students.uwlax.edu by Thursday, October 16 at 5 p.m.  We will be announcing the winner of the contest at the English Social this Friday at 5 p.m. in Myrick Park.  The professor with the winning idea will receive a free t-shirt and a goody basket.

Thank you!

The English Club

Upcoming Writing Workshops

Dear Colleagues,

I wanted to let everyone know about a few upcoming writing workshops I’m planning for the fall. All of the workshops will be held in CWH 432, 3:45-5:00. And, if coming to a workshop wasn’t enticing enough, there will be refreshments too.

Monday, October 13th
The first workshop will be an opportunity to share and discuss the bounty of English 110 course materials I suspect most of you have. Please bring sample syllabi, in-class writing activities, essay assignments, writing workshop (peer review) handouts, and any other course documents that you’re willing to share with your colleagues. I’m in the process of collecting materials to share in our departmental Z drive; however, this is a chance to get sneak peek at what everyone has been up to.

Monday, October 27th
This workshop will be an adaptation of one I’m giving for Student Support Services. I’ll share some of the strategies I use to get students thinking critically early in the writing process—especially as student prepare to write researched essays. Please bring some of your strategies to share as well.

Monday, November 10th
Several people have asked for a trial run of the ENG 110 rubric. So, for this workshop I’d like everyone to bring some samples of student writing to assess—collect materials as you would for the actual assessment. This is a great opportunity to practice and have an audience of colleagues to consult with during the process. If this workshop is successful I’m happy to run it again later in the fall semester or during the J-term.

If you plan on attending, would you send me a note so I have an approximate head count? Also, I’m trying out the Monday afternoon schedule since so many Wednesdays are already devoted to other meetings and nobody seems too keen on staying late on Fridays.

Best regards,
Darci

English Social, 10/17

Greetings, Colleagues;

Mark you calendars for the upcoming English student and faculty social: 

• Friday, October 17, 5-8 p.m. in Myrick Park’s small shelter (next to the zoo).

Students will provide cookout materials, including Boca burgers as well as beef burgers and dogs. There will be a volleyball game, and then later, after the meal, some themed activities involving texts.  Students are still working on what that will be; more on this later. You will get an invitation from the students, and they will be requesting any food contributions.  Most of them don’t cook or get home cooking while the semester is in full swing.

Please plan on coming on October 17.

Sharon J

Beck Retirement Photos

An Invitation for Faculty

Remember the nice invitation you received in your mailbox last Friday?  English students are hosting this event for faculty and students on this Friday evening in the Ward Room of Cartwright.  There will be a buffet-style food table, literary trivia games, awards to faculty and students, and the initiation of new Honors Society members.

I know how work-centered many of you have been these first few weeks, and the students know this as well.  They know about all of the job candidates and so forth, but they could not change the date of this event due to booking schedule.  So, you may be asked by a student in one of your classes if you will be coming to this event.

I hope you’ll consider going!

Sharon Jessee

Upcoming Events

Hi, everyone,

The English department is featured prominently in events taking place this week across campus. Sharon Jessee will be presenting her paper, “The Heteroglossia of Green: American Ecology from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Toni Morrison,” as one of four UWL Scholars celebrating Chancellor Gow’s Inauguration. The scholars’ presentations will take place Thursday, October 18th, at the Cleary Center. A reception for the scholars’ presentations will begin at 3PM, followed by the presentations, beginning at 4PM.

That same afternoon (Th 10/18), Brian Turner will read from his Iraq war poetry collection, Here, Bullet, in the Port O’ Call Lounge at Cartwright Center, beginning at 5:30. Mr. Turner’s reading, and related class activities Wednesday and Thursday, have been organized by Matt Cashion.

Both events have been widely publicized, in the Campus Connection, in the Raquet, on our English Department web page blog, and in the La Crosse Tribune. I hope many of you will be able to find the time to support our colleagues’ activities, and to remind interested students to try to attend.

Finally, thanks to all of the faculty and students who made our 3rd semi-annual kickball social and cookout celebration a success. The faculty once again prevailed in kickball (with only a minimum amount of cheating). And a good time was had by all.

Dick Sullivan

Sharon Jessee Presentation

Inauguration Scholars to speak on Oct. 18

Four Inauguration Scholars, chosen by the Inauguration Scholar subcommittee, will give their presentations beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Great Hall, Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. A reception for the Inauguration Scholars will precede the presentation at 3 p.m. in the Gathering Place, Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.  READ MORE...

Sharon will present "The Heteroglossia of Green: American Ecology from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Toni Morrison."  Jessee is professor of English and of Women Gender and Sexuality Studies at UW-L. She contributed to the English department's American Literature curricular reform in the 1990s in integrating diversity into courses for general education and for majors. Currently, her book manuscript, "Voice Upon Voice: Polyrhythm in Toni Morrison's Trilogy," is in its final revision and editing phase before it is submitted for consideration to university presses.

Brian Turner Visit

Greetings! 

If any of you, or your students, would like to attend a class visit by Brian Turner, our guest poet, he will be speaking to my Forms of Poetry class at 5:00 in Room 338 on Wednesday, October 17th.  You are welcome to attend!!!

Mary V. Davidson   

P.S. More information about his visit should be posted soon!

A Farewell

From Susan Crutchfied

This May we gathered to bid farewell to Mary Morzinski (who retires to Montana) and David Wood (who takes a position at Northern Michigan University). They will be missed!