Six New Faculty Join English in Fall 2018
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ENGLISH 2017–18 NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH Six New Faculty Join English in Fall 2018 n the fall of 2018, MAT JOHNSON will join the everything in between” “handled with ruthless IDepartments of English and Creative Writing candor and riotous humor.” where he will teach courses in literature, fiction Johnson is a regular contributor to writing, and comics studies. Professor NPR’s Fresh Air, where he reads Johnson is the author of the novels on-air essays about subjects Loving Day, Pym, Drop, and Hunting including biracial identity, in Harlem; the nonfiction novella caring for an ailing parent, The Great Negro Plot; and graphic and the Obama presidency. novels including Incognegro, Right He is a recipient of the State, and Dark Rain. Graduate American Book Award, the students and faculty in English have United States Artist James written about, studied, and taught MAT JOHNSON Baldwin Fellowship, The Johnson’s celebrated third novel, Pym, Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, which responds to Edgar Allan Poe’s The the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and the John Dos Passos Prize for Litera- with a wildly funny academic satire that becomes ture. Johnson is a graduate of Columbia a profound adventure narrative. The New York University’s MFA in Creative Writing. Times calls Pym “an uproarious and hard-driving He previously taught at Bard College and journey into the heart of whiteness.” A reviewer comes to the University of Oregon from for The Los Angeles Times calls Johnson’s the Creative Writing Program at the Uni- most recent novel, Loving Day, an “unrelenting versity of Houston. examination of blackness, whiteness and continues on page 6 Thorsson Receives Faculty Excellence Award ssociate Professor COURTNEY THORSSON of Women in Society. Starting in Fall A received a Fund for Faculty Excellence 2018 she will serve as Associate Award for the 2017–18 academic year. The award Director of the Black Studies was presented by Vice Provost Scott Pratt at the Program, headed by Professor May Department meeting because Thorsson spent Curtis Austin of the History last year on sabbatical leave. She is credited with Department. putting African American literary studies on the The Fund for Faculty map at the UO. Both her prominent scholarly pro- Excellence was established duction and her efforts to bring important African in 2006, thanks to generous American writers and literary critics to campus gifts from Lorry I. Lokey to SCOTT PRATT AND have made a vital impact. Thorsson’s first book, Campaign Oregon: Transform- COURTNEY THORSSON Women’s Work: Nationalism and Contemporary ing Lives. The fund is designed African American Women’s Novels, made critical to support the university’s strategic contributions to the field. Thorsson is complet- commitment to improve its overall aca- ing a series of articles about foodways in African demic quality and reputation by rewarding, recog- American literature and working on a book about nizing, and retaining nationally competitive fac- Black women’s literary networks in the 1970s. ulty who have a record of excellence in research, An exceptional teacher and colleague, as well as scholarship, creative accomplishment, and educa- scholar, Thorsson has made unique contributions tion. Previous English Department recipients of to the English Department and to several interdis- this award include Ben Saunders and Lisa Gilman ENG ciplinary programs, including Women’s, Gender, (2016–17) and Gordon Sayre (2014–15). and Sexuality Studies and the Center for Study Writing, Speaking, and Critical Reasoning: Notes from Department Head Capabilities for Our Time David Vázquez nglish contributes in vital ways to helping stu- such as History of Rhetoric, Rhetoric and Ethics, t the end of my first term as head of English, In addition to the folks who will join us Edents develop into effective participants in de- Public Speaking as a Liberal Art, Oral Controversy AI am simply in awe of my colleagues and our next year, I am very pleased to announce an- mocracy, in a world in which engaged citizenship and Advocacy, Inventing Arguments, and Critical wonderful students. Although we have weathered other high-profile hire: during the fall of 2019 DAVID VÁZQUEZ seems to have become both more urgent and more Reasoning. Among the new courses, those teach- a year of big changes—ranging from retirements, STACY ALAIMO will join UO English. Dr. Alaimo is complex. Rapidly changing political realities, and ing oral argument represented the return of public to realignments at the college and central admin- one of the top environmental studies and ecocriti- increasingly bewildering modes and conventions speaking classes to the University of Oregon after istrative levels, to a spate of new hires—we have cal scholars in the world. She comes to UO after of public debate require citizens to understand the University’s Speech Department was eliminat- consistently rallied around one another. I am many years at the University of Texas at Arlington. how arguments work, how to assess arguments ed in the 1980’s as a result of “Measure 5” budget proud to call this group of people my friends and You can read more about her scholarship in the logically as well as ethically, and how to formu- cuts.The irony of a controversial state-wide ballot colleagues, and I’m grateful for the scholarly com- accompanying profile, but Alaimo brings expertise late and express effective arguments in support of initiative causing the demise of public speaking munity that we’ve built together. Above all, I am in feminist science studies, new materialism, and their ideas. Fortunately, argumentative discourse, at the University was finally addressed when the proud to say that we have a top-notch group of multiethnic literary studies to UO. in the broadly humanistic rhetorical tradition, is English Department stepped up with a proposal faculty, students, and staff that make English one We also welcome SUSAN COOKE-WEEBER as our an area in which the English Department excels to teach speaking alongside its already strong of the most exciting units on campus. second Postdoctoral Fellow in Ethnic American both in research and in teaching. The English De- writing curriculum. The Department’s national Before I go further, I would like to honor and Literature and Cultural Productions. Susan’s ex- partment meets this timely educational challenge prominence in scholarship on Rhetoric goes back celebrate JOHN GAGE, WARREN GINSBERG, STEVEN pertise is in African American literature and cul- head-on by offering a unique curriculum in “Writ- to the 1960’s when Professor Albert Kitzhaber SHANKMAN, and BILL ROSSI, who are retiring after ture. She joins UO after holding another postdoc- ing, Speaking, and Critical Rea- brought his expertise to Oregon illustrious careers. They will all continue to be toral fellowship at the Frederick Douglass Institute soning,” in the form of a Minor as a site for the U.S. Department around in various capacities, but we will miss for African and African American Studies at the and a more rigorous Certificate of Education “Project English,” their wisdom and intelligence as daily presences University of Rochester. We look forward to the re- for undergraduate students from focused on the study of writ- in the department. We also say goodbye to JOR- search, teaching, and programming she will bring any major at the University. ing and reading pedagogy in DACHE ELLAPEN, who will be leaving us for the to campus next year. Following up on the success The Department’s WSCR Minor higher education. Kitzhaber was University of Toronto. of the Ethnic Lit Postdoc, we are currently work- has for 13 years been providing joined by other rhetoricians on Fortunately, we had a spectacularly successful ing on securing funding for the long-term future of undergraduates with an op- the faculty, and was succeeded hiring season this year with five new colleagues the program. English is published portunity to learn skills that are in 1980 by Professor Emeritus set to join us next year, and another coming on In addition to the wonderful new people join- annually by members of the needed to effectively participate JOHN GAGE, who currently su- board in 2019–20. You can read more about the ing us, I am excited to report that our new major UO Department of English. in the complex world of contro- pervises the WSCR program as individual hires in their profiles in this newsletter, is flourishing. The new Foundations of the Major versy. Students enrolled in the Director of the Department’s but I’ll preview those sections by giving shouts out sequence team taught by HEIDI KAUFMAN, WAR- Please contact us with your Minor or Certificate take courses Center for Teaching Writing. to our new colleagues. First, the renowned novel- REN GINSBERG, and PRISCILLA OVALLE has by every news or comments at: designed to help them under- Gage is the author of a widely- ist and comics creator MAT JOHNSON joins us for measure been a smashing success. We look forward [email protected] or stand how arguments function adopted textbook: The Shape a joint appointment with Creative Writing. Mat to our second cohort of scholars teaching in the Elizabeth Bohls in the public sphere and to en- of Reason, and among his most will teach courses in English on comics, African Foundations course for the next two years. They Newsletter Editor able them to advocate effective- recent work on argumenta- American, and American literature. We welcome are LARA BOVILSKY, BEN SAUNDERS, and PAUL PEPPIS. Department of English ly for their ideas in written and tion is his edited volume The KATHRYN KELP-STEBBINS as an Assistant Professor Our students are fortunate to have such an accom- 1286 University of Oregon oral modes.Required courses Promise of Reason: Studies in of Comics Studies, who joins us after four years plished group teaching the Foundations sequence! Eugene OR 97403-1286 are divided into three general The New Rhetoric (Southern at Palomar College.