Accents Volume 9 Fall 2005
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Accents Volume 9 Fall 2005 Newsletter of the Department of English at Arizona State University Coming Home to English s the signs read, this year’s home- fah Save Shakespeare Studies?” Visi- at Fullerton. A coming (October 27-29th) was “Not tors also toured LL 316, which was Over 200 people signed the guest Your Typical Family Reunion.” ASU transformed into an art gallery, dis- books for various English Department alums who “Came Home to English” had playing some thirty original pieces cre- Homecoming events. Committee mem- much more than the football game to ated by English faculty, staff, students attend. Those making this possible in- and alumni. cluded Dan Shilling (PhD 1987), who Friday evening guests heard prelude opened the weekend celebration at the and intermission music from Kevin University Club with his inaugural Vaughn-Brubaker’s (MFA 2001) Monde- Alumni Lecture Series talk, “The Crea- green band at “The Play’s the Thing,” tive Economy and the Liberal Arts.” readings from two of Professor Jay Dan is the former Director of the Arizona Boyer’s plays. Cast members included Humanities Council and former Curator Brandon Barrios, Philip Bernick, O M for Humanities at Prescott’s Sharlot Hall “Skip” Brack, Jr., Sarah Dean, Maureen Museum. The afternoon event was ac- Daly Goggin, John Guenther, Randel companied by acoustic jazz music from Helms, Kristen LaRue, Neal Lester, The Luckys, directed by Tony Groesbeck Thelma Shinn Richard, Rhonda Steele, (BA 2000). and Johanna Wagner. Accomplished authors spoke to Eng- Alum Dan (PhD 1987) and Pam Shilling were among the Block Party revelers. lish classes on Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday presented readings at bers who deserve thanks for their crea- the Piper Writers House. Those auto- tive management along with their hard graphing books during the pre-game work, include event coordinators Mau- picnic in front of Old Main included reen Daly Goggin and Kristen LaRue; Jorn Ake (MFA 1999), Kevin Haworth and the rest of the committee: Philip (MFA 1997), Rosemary King (PhD Bernick, James Blasingame, Jay Boyer, 2000), Ruth Ellen Kocher (MFA 1994 Dan Cutrara, Karla Elling, Christine and PhD 1999), T. M. (Mike) McNally Helfers, Patricia Murphy, Alleen Nil- (MFA 1987), Irena Praitis (PhD 1999 Artist Alexander Hughes’s homage to Sylvia Plath was sen, James Procaccini, Sherry Rankins- the focal point of the Art Gallery’s south wall. and MFA 2001), Bonny Barry Sanders Robertson, Teryl Sands, Judith Van, (MA 1983), Alan Tongret (MFA 1992), Faye Verska, and Nan Zlotkowski. On Friday, returning alums attended and Richard Yaňez (MFA 2000). Watch for announcements about the Homecoming lecture series, “Classes Alums entered a drawing for dinner next year’s events, and plan to “Come without Quizzes,” presented by ten of with Chair Neal Lester and Associate Home to English” in 2006 when we ASU’s most outstanding professors. Chair Maureen Goggin. The winner promise to provide even more intellec- Ayanna Thompson represented the Eng- was Irena Praitis, now an Associate tual stimulation along with unabashed lish Department with “Can Queen Lati- Professor at California State University nostalgia and fun. ENG 372 Students Challenge: “Define Yourself” rofessor Philip Bernick’s Spring keting the Department of English P 2005 English 372 “Document Pro- (featured on T-shirt at right). duction” class didn’t just raise the bar— Inspired by the loaded word play, the they cleared it. Charged with designing 2005 Homecoming Committee used the a “look” for the Department of English, slogan on new Department of English the students researched, developed, and merchandise. “Define Yourself” T-shirts, finally, unveiled their final projects. pens and mugs are still available! The product? A maxim to use in mar- See page 11 for ordering information. Page 2 Accents The Chair’s Corner Faculty Publications his new academic T year promises much excitement in the English department. A number of important initiatives will unfold as the department makes a more concerted effort to connect with Sally Ball. Annus Mirabilis: Poems. Bert Bender. Evolution and “the Sex its alumni, its emeritus New York: Barrow Street Press, 2005. Problem”: American Narratives During professors, its under- the Eclipse of Darwinism. Kent, OH: Kent State Press, 2004. graduate population, and its surrounding communities. First during Homecoming 2005, English hosted a number of activities and events to welcome back those affiliated with the unit for jour- neys down memory lane, and to help us think creatively about merging celebrations of the department’s past with the energy connected to the unit's future possibilities. The inaugural Alumni Lecture Series con- tinues with the Emeritus Lecture Series toward this end. Jay Boyer. Five New York Biker O M Brack, Jr. and Leslie A. Chilton, Chics, Out of Control. Saskatchewan, eds. The Devil Upon Crutches. Alain Canada: One-Act Play Depot, 2004. René Le Sage, trans. Tobias Smollett. “Serving some 24,000 students per Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005. year, we continue to search for new and exciting ways to strengthen our programs . ” We are equally excited to be in conversa- tions about international faculty/student exchanges with four Universities in other parts of the world—Moscow State Linguis- tics University (Russia), Jendouba Univer- sity (Tunisia), Stellenbosch University O M Brack, Jr., ed. The Yale Edition of Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, Arturo (South Africa), and Royal Holloway Univer- the Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume J. Aldama and Peter J. García, eds. The sity (London). These conversations promise XVII: A Commentary on Mr. Pope’s Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. invaluable opportunities for English depart- Principles of Morality, or Essay on Man. Westport CT: Greenwood, 2004. ment faculty and students to experience the New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. world in new and interesting ways. Our hope is to have the first exchange in place within a year. As this newsletter evidences, the English department is a vital part of the College and larger University. Serving some 24,000 students per year, we continue to search for new and exciting ways to strengthen our programs, to make our faculty and stu- dents' lives more satisfying and enriched, and to recruit others to help share the de- Julie Codell and Laurel Brake, eds. Eugenia C. DeLamotte. Gates of Free- partment's stories. Please feel free to join Encounters in the Victorian Press: Edi- dom: Voltairine de Cleyre and the Revo- our conversations. tors, Authors, Readers. New York: Pal- lution of the Mind. Ann Arbor, MI: Uni- —Neal A. Lester grave Macmillan, 2004. versity of Michigan Press, 2004. Chair, Department of English Volume 9 Page 3 Bettie Anne Doebler and Retha M. Norman Dubie. The Mercy Seat: Col- Linda Adler-Kassner and Gregory R. Warnicke, eds. ‘A True Guide to Glory’ lected and New Poems 1967-2001. Port Glau for the Conference on Basic Writ- by John Barlow, 1619. Funeral Ser- Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, ing. The Bedford Bibliography for mons for Women 1601-1630. Ann Arbor, 2005. Teachers of Basic Writing, Second Edi- MI: Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints, tion. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. 2005. Beckian Fritz Goldberg. Lie Awake Peter Lehman and Arthur M. Eck- T.M. McNally. The Goat Bridge. Ann Lake: Poems. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin Col- stein, eds. The Searchers: Essays and Arbor, MI: University of Michigan lege Press, 2005. Reflections on John Ford’s Classic West- Press, 2005. ern. Contemporary Approaches to Film and Television Series. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2004. John Ramage. Twentieth-Century Jewell Parker Rhodes. Voodoo Sea- Jeannine Savard. My Hand Upon American Success Rhetoric: How to son: A Marie Laveau Mystery. New Your Name: Poems. Granada Hills, CA: Construct a Suitable Self. Carbondale, York: Atria, 2005. Red Hen Press, 2005. IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005. Beth Fowkes Tobin. Colonizing Na- Rosalynn Voaden and Diane Vernon McClean and Cornelia Wells, ture: The Tropics in British Arts and Wolfthal, eds. Framing the Family: eds. Racism & Sexism: A Collaborative Letters, 1760-1820. Philadelphia: Uni- Narrative and Representation in the Study. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, versity of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. Medieval and Early Modern Periods. 2005. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medie- val and Renaissance Studies, 2005. Page 4 Accents New Faculty Bring Intellectual Diversity to Department oVeanna Fulton, associate professor, with professors from other departments.” ASU's Department of English, expressing D comes to ASU after teaching at the —Stephanie Serrano particular interest in serving as a con- University of Memphis for the past four PhD student, English tributing member to our progressive cur- years, but her interests and travels have riculum and in working with ASU's di- taken her all over the outhwest Studies expert and assis- verse student body. world. Dr. Fulton S tant professor Susan Scarberry- —Jennifer M. Santos earned her PhD in Garcia joins us from Colorado, where she PhD student, English American Studies at taught at Colorado College and earned the University of Min- her PhD from UC Boulder in Compara- ark James joins the ASU English nesota. Her interdis- tive Literature, specializing in American M department as an assistant profes- ciplinary focus on Indian Literature. In both teaching and sor of English. From the University of Black women’s writ- research, she champions an interdiscipli- Toronto (PhD 2003) and more recently ing and oral tradition nary, cross-cultural the University of Puerto Rico in May- in cultural represen- approach, drawing aguez, he specializes in Teaching English tations led to a teach- out connections be- as a Second Language. ing career as close to tween literature and Dr. James approaches his research her alma mater as performance art. In from both practical and theoretical per- DoVeanna Fulton Wayne State in De- doing so, she particu- spectives.