Welcome to the blog for the Villanova English department! Visit often for updates on department events, guest speakers, faculty and student accomplishments, and reviews and musings from professors and undergraduates alike.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Prof. Megan Quigley's "Manifestos" class

Amazing English students share bold, explicit, energetic, and inspiring Manifestos! at Prof. Quigley's house on April 30th.


Villanova Law Clinic Summer Internship


Position:  Communications Intern
Opportunity Type:  Internship
Pay Type:  Unpaid
Period of Employment:  Summer 2015
Job Status:  Part-time
Industry:  Legal Services 
Job Function:  Marketing and Communication
Desired Majors:  Marketing, Communication, English, Liberal Arts
Description:  
The Villanova Law Clinic is an in-house law firm in which students represent clients under the direct supervision of a full-time member of the Villanova Law School faculty. Located in the Villanova Law School, the office includes the Civil Justice Clinic, CARES (Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services), the Federal Tax Clinic, the Clinic for Law and Entrepreneurship, the Farmworkers Legal Aid Clinic, and the Interdisciplinary Health Law Clinic.  Law clinic students work in various legal settings and they experience the satisfaction of functioning as a professional representing a client who otherwise may not receive legal representation.

As a marketing and communications intern, you will collaborate with students, faculty, and administrators to advertise the clinical programs to current and prospective Villanova Law students. 

Responsibilities:
Create and update slideshow content for Eboard outside of the clinic office
Manage social media accounts, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram
Conduct interviews with student lawyers and their clients for social media and online content
Create slidedocs for clinic website
Write posts for legal education blogs

Qualifications:
Undergraduate
Background in marketing, writing, and social media
Experience with interviewing
Interest in law, higher education, or marketing a plus

How To Apply:
Apply Email:  brian.plefka@law.villanova.edu
Applications for this position will be accepted between 4/25/15 and 5/15/15.
Application Requirements:  You must include resume with your application for this position. 

Contact Information:
--Beth Lyon:  Professor of Law, Director of Farmworkers’ Legal Aid Clinic
lyon@law.villanova.edu
--Michael Campbell:  Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Director of Interdisciplinary Mental and Physical Health Law Clinic
campbell@law.villanova.edu


Saturday, April 25, 2015

End-of-the-Year Coffee Break


Job Opportunity with Michael Baker International

Senior English major Janine Perri has alerted us to a job opportunity with a local firm, Michael Baker International, that’s looking for a strong writer.  Janine's message to current English majors follows:
For those of you still looking for post-graduate plans, I wanted to share an opportunity with a local firm looking for a strong writer. Michael Baker International, a civil engineering firm in Horsham, Pa., is hiring a Proposal Coordinator to manage project proposals in Horsham, Philadelphia, and Allentown. The position involves working with a team of engineers, technical writers, and graphic designers, and will require a lot of writing and editing. Perfect for an English major!  The position pays very well and offers full benefits. If you are interested, please let me know (jperri1@villanova.edu), and I'm happy to tell you more.  Click here to read the formal posting.
 

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Muse & Mister Yeats

The Irish Studies Program and Villanova's departments of Theatre and English welcome a performance by poet Eamon Grennan's Curlew Theatre Company of their play The Muse and Mister Yeats.  The performance will take place on Friday, April 24, from 6:00-7:15 p.m. at Vasey Hall Black Box Theatre (2nd floor).  The event will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ireland's great poet, W. B. Yeats.  Come join the celebration!


Thursday, April 16, 2015

Dr. Lisa Sewell Reading

English professor Dr. Lisa Sewell read selections from her latest poetry collection, Impossible Object, to a standing-room only crowd in Falvey Library on April 14.  A lively question and answer period followed the reading.

Winner of the 2014 Tenth Gate Prize, Dr. Sewell's Impossible Object unfolds what it means to read--read deeply, read fully, read for our lives. Says Series Editor Leslie McGrath, "Lisa Sewell's poems are shot through with an adhesive intelligence born of the accretion of craft, discernment, and engagement with the world." Arthur Sze describes the poems here as "spellbindingly present," while Linda Gregerson says, "These poems are urgent; they are fresh; they acknowledge no divisions in the world, not between the landscape and the printed page, not between her neighbor's suffering and her own being spared, not between the private and the public worlds. And this is the impossible object espoused in each and every line: connection in its purest form."

Dr. Lisa Sewell at the April 14 reading

Carrie Teresa Wins Blanchard Dissertation Prize

The American Journalism Historians Association has selected former Villanova English major Carrie Teresa as the winner of the 2015 Margaret A. Blanchard Doctoral Dissertation Prize.

Teresa, an assistant professor at Niagara University, won the award for her dissertation titled, “Looking at the Stars: The Black Press, African American Celebrity Culture, and Critical Citizenship in Early Twentieth Century America, 1895-1935.”  This study examined how African American journalists and editors writing at the height of Jim Crow-ism covered celebrity culture and how this coverage was connected to the fight for civil rights.

Teresa will receive $500 and a plaque during the 2015 AJHA national convention in Oklahoma City in October.

Carrie Teresa

Sunday, April 12, 2015

67th Annual Philadelphia Writers' Conference

The Philadelphia Writers’ Conference is now offering 50% tuition scholarships to all students!  When you register (click here), just enter "STUDENT" in the Scholarship ID field.  You'll be asked to upload proof of your student status (a copy of your ID or your latest registration will suffice), and our registration site will automatically apply your 50% discount.

The 67th  Annual Philadelphia Writers’ Conference will take place on Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14 at the Wyndham Hotel at 400 Arch Street in downtown Philadelphia.  The 2015 keynote speaker is Stephen Fried, award winning investigative journalist, best selling writer, and two time recipient of the National Magazine Award who teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Pennsylvania.

This year’s opening speaker is Sara Shepard, author of the bestselling Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, both of which have been adapted into TV series appearing on ABC Family.  Among this year’s workshop leaders and speakers are Lu Ann Cahn, Solomon Jones, Dennis Tafoya, Chris Bursk, Suzanne Palmieri, Randall Brown, Anna Evans, Stuart Horwitz, Anne Hamilton, and many other talented writers. The conference includes meetings with book agents and editors and offers master classes in screenwriting and poetry, as well as writing competitions.

The conference features several three-day workshops, including Short Story, Playwriting, Poetry, Memoir, Romance, Writing Horror, Juvenile/YA, Novel, Screenwriting, Mystery, Juvenile, and Nonfiction Book and other genres.  There are other features including Selling to TV, Flash Fiction, Novel Research, Self Publishing, and Finding Creativity.

Beginning and experienced writers are welcome. Past speakers at the conference have included Pearl Buck, James Michener, Ed Rendell, Nelson Johnson, Jennifer Weiner, Michael Smerconish, Larry Kane, Mark Bowden, and Rachel Simon.  The conference draws between 150 and 200 conferees from the Philadelphia area and around the country.

Register by May 1st to save.  Early bird registration is $275.00;  after May 1, the cost is $300.00, which includes all three day workshops but not the cost of the optional master classes or dinner functions.  For details contact Jim Knipp, PWC Registrar and Public Relations Director, at  2013pwcreg@gmail.com.  For further information regarding the conference, visit the website at www.pwcwriters.org, or email info@pwcwriters.org.


Fulbright Fellowship Workshops

As you may know, Villanova has been recognized for the number of students who win awards from the Fulbright Program, which is the U.S. government’s “flagship international educational exchange program”—and students from the English department have been among the most successful in the competition for these awards.  Click here to read more about Villanova's success.

This week, our Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships will be hosting two workshops on the Fulbright awards. The workshops will cover the components of a Fulbright application, how to choose a country, and how to make oneself a competitive candidate.

The workshops are Monday, April 13, at 4:30 pm, and Thursday, April 16, at 3:00 pm.  They will both be in Garey 101 and will last approximately one hour.

To RSVP, or to set up an appointment to discuss their candidacy, students should contact Kurt Davies, Assistant Director of Fellowships (kurt.davies@villanova.edu).


Jobs & Internships with IMA Consulting

Lucas Migliarino, a recent Villanova English minor graduate, has informed us about positions (both full-time positions and internships) with the company he works for, IMA Consulting of Chadds Ford, PA.  The company, which is “a full service professional services Firm that provides Expense Management, Interim Management, and Revenue Management services exclusively to the healthcare industry,” is particularly interested in English majors.

Details:

Remember that to receive credit for an internship, you must apply at our Internship Office: http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/undergrad/ous/internship.html.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Open Mic Poetry


Upcoming Experiential Education Events


Pythia Submissions

Pythia, an online journal of arts, literature, and spirituality run by students at Bryn Athyn College, is interested in receiving submissions from students at other universities in the Philadelphia area.  The journal is especially in need of fiction and art submissions at this time but welcomes submissions of any genre.  Submissions may be sent to submissions.pythia@gmail.com.  Click here for more information about Pythia.


Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Africana Studies: Adam Bradley, "Ralph Ellison Listens to Kendrick Lamar and Other Counterfactuals"


BRIDGE Society Conference: Flipping the Job / Internship Search on Its Head

BRIDGE SOCIETY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE:
“Flipping the Job/Internship Search on Its Head: Ways to Take Control and Get Noticed”--featuring certified professional coach and Villanova graduate Jill Ozovek.  

Jill Ozovek, CPC, ELI-MP, is a Villanova graduate from the Class of 2004, and the founder of Jill Ozovek Coaching where she helps professionals discover what they truly want in life, understand what is holding them back from achieving it, and accomplish what they want without comparing themselves to others. During this special professional development event, students have the opportunity to hear Jill’s powerful messages related to discovering meaningful and fulfilling careers, and how to use practical tools, such as personal Web sites and Linked In, to distinguish themselves from others vying for coveted positions. Eligible for Wildcat Points.

Please RSVP.  Click here for details about registering for the event.

Jill Ozovek