Sophomore Gia Beaton Presents Paper at Undergraduate Research Symposium

On Friday Sept. 21, 2018, student research on Alice Dunbar-Nelson, a little-known African American writer, teacher, and activist, was featured at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Connelly Center. The research was conducted as part of a three-student team that traveled this past spring to an archive at the University of Delaware with Dr. Jean Lutes, associate professor of English.  

Gia Beaton, a sophomore economics and political science major, spoke about Alice Dunbar Nelson's work as an educator and her quest for racial justice. Gia also presented the research of English major Jacquelyn Solomon, who was unable to attend. Jackie transcribed an unpublished short story of Dunbar-Nelson's and compared it to the manuscript and published versions of another story.

This was the first time the Villanova research symposium included oral presentations by students in the humanities, in addition to poster sessions.  The oral presentations were so successful that the Center for Research and Fellowships intends to make them a standard part of the annual symposium. 

Dr. Shohet at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Dr. Lauren Shohet was one of 18 international scholars brought to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC., on Sept 21-22 for "Digital Rough Magic," a gathering aimed at advising on the beta phase of the Folger's new Miranda Digital Assets Platform. You can check out the prototype at https://miranda.folger.edu/. There's all sorts of cool stuff - and you can offer feedback for development.

Dr. Quigley Goes to Oxford

Dr. Megan Quigley was a Visiting Scholar at Merton College, Oxford, this summer, working in the Merton College Library and Oxford’s Bodleian Library.  Dr. Quigley went to research the relationship between the poet T. S. Eliot and the genre of the novel. She spent her time looking at the Frank Brenchley T. S. Eliot Collection, focusing on the private correspondence of Eliot (he was a student at Merton), as well as at drafts and editions (also fascinating was the diary of Vivienne Eliot, Eliot’s first wife who collaborated on sections of The Waste Land and who died in an institution).  This work is for Dr. Quigley’s new book project on Eliot.  She has organized a roundtable at the Eliot society conference this September at Emory University, stemming from her work at Oxford, entitled, “Reading The Waste Land with the #MeToo Generation."

Writing & Rhetoric Program Presents Dr. Nzadi Keita - Oct 1

Dr. Nzadi Keita from Ursinus College will be on campus to speak about the importance of research for all writing, including creative writing. Dr. Keita is a renowned poet whose latest book, Brief Evidence of Heaven, employs persona poetry to imagine Anna Douglass's story in her own voice.

The event will take place on Monday, October 1, at 1.30pm in Bartley 032. All welcome.

Feminist Re-Imagining of Dracula at People's Light, Malvern - Sept 20 to Oct 31

The world premiere of Such Things as Vampires, a "highly theatrical folk-punk twist on the Dracula tale," begins this week at the Steinbright Stage at People's Light in Malvern, PA. Infused with lilting ballads, rock anthems, and melodious love songs, this concert-theatre event is an irreverent, bloody, and wickedly fun retelling of Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic masterpiece. At the forefront of Such Things as Vampires are The Preventers, a traveling band of musicians who arrive in town with a mysterious mission. They share “The Book of Mina” to ward off an encroaching, malevolent presence. The Book chronicles the great love between two young women, Mina and Lucy, and their encounter with The Beast, Dracula. Performances run from September 21 through October 31.

For tickets and more information, visit People's Light here.

Marathon Moby-Dick Reading at Independence Seaport Museum - Oct 19-20

The Rosenbach Museum in collaboration with Philadelphia's Independence Seaport Museum will be reading the entirety of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick over a 24-hour period, starting at 5.30pm on Friday, October 19. The event will feature a boatload of food and fun activities for all ages.

If you would like to be a reader, please email Edward G. Pettit at epettit@rosenbach.org. Please indicate what times you are available to read and the organizers will do their best to accommodate.

For more information, including the schedule, visit the Rosenbach's website here.

Sophomore Gia Beaton presents at Undergraduate Research Symposium - Sept 21

For the first time, humanities students will be presenting at Villanova's Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Sophomore Gia Beaton will be discussing her work, "A Teacher's Challenge: Alice Dunbar-Nelson and the Racial Equality," on Friday, September 21 at 3.30pm in the Devon Room in the Connelly Center.

Gia's research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Jean Lutes with the support of a CURF grant, and features archival work on an under-studied African American woman writer.

Poetry and Fiction Reading: Brian Teare & Elisa Juska - September 26

Apply for Job at Educational Testing Services in Princeton, NJ

Adecco is hiring full- and part-time Test Item Writers for work with the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ in the following disciplines: Mathematics, Art History, Music Theory, World Languages, History, Social Sciences, English, and Science.

Test Item Writers will conduct research and write test questions for standardized tests, critically review test questions written by other team members, and adhere to ethical standards and comply with the laws and regulations applicable to this position.

Required experience & skills include teaching experience in a school or educational center (desirable), strong writing skills, knowledge of MS Word, Excel, and Outlook, ability to quickly learn new technological systems, and ability to work in a highly collaborative environment, meet strict deadlines, and receive and implement constructive feedback.

A Master’s degree in one of the disciplines above or in Education is preferred.

Salary is $28.00 per hour.

Please visit https://www.adeccousa.com/jobs/test-item-writers-princeton-new-jersey/?ID=US_EN_99_178542_11967449 to apply.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled

Villanova English welcomes new faculty Tsering Wangmo Dhompa and Adrienne Perry

Villanova's English Department is thrilled to welcome two new faculty members this fall. Dr. Tsering Wangmo Dhompa joins Villanova from the University of California in Santa Cruz, where she recently completed a PhD in creative writing and literature. Dr. Wangmo is the author of a memoir, Coming Home to Tibet (2016), and three collections of poetry: My rice tastes like the lake, In the Absent Everyday and Rules of the House (all from Apogee Press, Berkeley). Her teaching and research interests include creative writing; post-colonial theory and literature; twentieth-century Tibetan literature; and theories of exile, diaspora, and nationalism.

Dr. Adrienne Perry just completed a PhD in creative writing at the University of Houston. She has published fiction and non-fiction in numerous literary journals and is working on a novel, See Through Girls, and a collection of essays, Inter-Ocean. Before coming to Villanova, she served as editor of the creative writing journal Gulf Coast. Dr. Perry's teaching interests include creative writing (fiction and nonfiction); editing and publishing; translation studies; and American and contemporary literature.

Photo: Britt Thomas

Prof. Lauren Shohet's Essay Selected for Peter Holland Collection!

The Villanova English Department congratulates Prof. Lauren Shohet, whose 2004 essay, "The Banquet of Scotland (PA)," initially published in Shakespeare Survey 57, has been chosen for The Peter Holland Collection, the editor's selection of the best essay published in this journal of record for each of the past 20 years. The collection is available for free here. 

Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

The Thirteenth Moravian College Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies will be held on Saturday December 1, 2018 on Moravian’s campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Students are encouraged to present or attend presentations and performances at the conference. 

The conference organizers welcome contributions from all departments in explorations of connections to the period between approx. 500 C.E. and 1800 C.E. Past conferences have featured papers, panels, and poster presentations that began as coursework, in addition to engaging performances in music, drama, and dance. The conference generally draws over 200 people and typically features presentations and performances by 80 to 100 students from 30 schools or so.

The typical presentation format consists of a 15-minute paper or a 45-minute group performance, but alternative formats are certainly considered. Both registration and submission of proposals will open October 1 and will be handled via the conference website. The deadline for the submission of proposals is November 3. For a look at past conferences, please visit our website.

Details for the plenary speaker and concert will be announced soon on the conference website. The day typically runs from about 9:00am-4:00pm, with performance and reception following. Registration and all activities (apart from lunch) are free for presenters and attendees.

Please look out for the Call for Papers and feel free to email questions to sandybardsley@moravian.edu.