Screening of Living in the Future's Past - 11/14

Join the English Department for a screening of Living in the Future's Past. Academy Award Winner Jeff Bridges presents a beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking on who we are and the environmental challenges we face. Alongside prominent philosophers, scientists, spiritual leaders, politicians and military leaders, director Susan Kucera weaves a story that helps us understand our place among the species of Earth's household.

The screening is at 7.00pm on Wednesday, November 14 in Mendel 213.

The event is co-sponsored by Geography & the Environment, Honors, GIS, Ethics, Philosophy, Peace & Justice, and GWS.

Photos from Pre-Registration Reception!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our pre-registration reception on Friday. Here are some photos of the event, including ones of our raffle winners and our first ever poetry busking table!

Campus Organizers Needed to Help Get Students Out to Vote in Next Month's Election

The Feminist Majority is recruiting hardworking and passionate Pennsylvania community college and university students and recent graduates to be campus organizers for our student-led voter education and mobilization campaign to encourage student turnout for feminist candidates in the elections in November.

Organizers will be working through Election Day, November 6th, for 5-20 hours per week, at $15 an hour. Applications will be accepted on a rolling-basis beginning in late-August, through October.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal applicant is able to multi-task and work in fast-paced situations, both independently and as part of a team. They are reliable and detail-oriented, and have strong written and oral communication skills.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should complete an online application at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fmpennsylvaniaorganizers. After completing the application, a resume and cover letter should be emailed to Emma Behr at emmabehr@feministmajority.org. For more information, feel free to email, text, or call Emma Behr at 814.470.3252.

FEMINIST MAJORITY

The Feminist Majority (feministmajority.org) is a nonprofit organization that works to empower feminists and win equality for women at the state and national level.

The Feminist Majority is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity.

Swarthmore Intercultural Art House Event - 11/2

The Intercultural Center at Swarthmore College will be hosting a Sager Series Event on Friday, November 2. 

Swarthmore Intercultural Center Art House Featured Poet is Alok Vaid-Menon, formerly of Dark Matter. ALOK (they/them) is a gender non-conforming performance artist, writer, and educator. Their eclectic style and poetic challenge to the gender binary have been internationally renowned. Alok was recently the youngest recipient of the prestigious Live Works Performance Act Award granted to ten performance artists across the world. In 2017, they released their inaugural poetry chapbook FEMME IN PUBLIC.

You are invited to attend a performance by Alok Vaid-Menon on Friday, November 2nd at 7:00 PM in the Dome, Room 201, of the Intercultural Center. This performance will be followed by our monthly open mic.

Postgraduate Teaching and Administrative Fellowships

The Alliance for Catholic Education at Saint Joseph’s University (ACESJU) is currently accepting applications for both:

• Teaching Fellows (Masters degree in education from Saint Joseph’s University
• Administrative Fellows (Masters degree in Church Management from Villanova University or Organizational and Strategic Leadership from Neumann University)

The fellowship is a great opportunity: it pays better than a lot of Graduate Assistantships and allows someone to serve and grow professionally and spiritually.

Students from all majors are encouraged to apply.

ACESJU is a two-year, post graduate fellowship program that fosters a vocational commitment to Catholic education through the four program pillars of Education, Spirituality, Community and Simple Living/Social Justice.
The fellows accomplish the following in the two-year fellowship:

• Work (Teacher or Administrator) full-time in urban, Catholic school
• Earn a master’s degree with PA certification
• Live in community with other education fellows
• Receive an annual stipend of $12,000 and free housing
• Grow in spirituality while living simply with a concern for social justice.

We encourage you to consider this wonderful opportunity to serve some of the neediest children in the Philadelphia region.

TO APPLY - it can be done quickly online here.

For more information please contact Mr. Rory Sweeney. – email: rsweeney@sju.edu.

Prof. Alan Drew Reading at Narberth Bookshop - 10/25

Join Prof. Alan Drew at a reading of his novel Shadow Man at Narberth Bookshop (221 Haverford Ave) on Thursday, October 25 at 7.00pm.

Writing Through Conflict: An Embedded Travel Course - Spring 2019

Villanova University & The Seamus Heaney Centre Queens University, Belfast

What is it?  Writing through Conflict is a full semester course which explores the important role of creative writing in confronting, protesting, and engaging with socio-political conflicts. The goals of this course are to study the work of established American, Irish, and other international authors who focus their creative eye on socio-political conflicts in their many forms, from poverty and racism to war and atrocity, and use these models as guides for the student’s own original creative writing. In this course students will examine the lens through which established writers view these conflicts, will analyze the elements of craft employed by those writers, and use similar techniques in their own creative writing.

As part of this course, students will travel to Belfast, Ireland over Villanova’s Spring Break to participate in an intensive creative writing conference.The students will participate in writing workshops, readings, and symposiums at Queens University’s Seamus Heaney Centre with famous Irish writers. They will also share their work in a student showcase on the final night of the exchange, all while touring the city of Belfast.

Where?  The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry is located at Queens University Belfast, and named after the late Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney graduated from Queens in 1961 with a First Class Honours in English language and literature.  http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SeamusHeaneyCentreforPoetry/

When?  Spring Break, March 2-9, 2019.

Who?  Alan Drew is the author of the literary thriller, Shadow Man (Random House, 2017), which the Wall Street Journal named as one of the ten best mysteries of 2017, and the critically acclaimed debut novel, Gardens of Water (Random House, 2008).  His novels have been translated into a dozen languages and published in nearly two-dozen countries. 

Glenn Patterson was born and lives in Belfast. He is a graduate of the University of East Anglia creative writing course. He has written several acclaimed novels and co-wrote the screenplay of the film Good Vibrations, based on the Belfast music scene of the 1970s.

In addition to Alan Drew and Glenn Patterson, students will also work with Jimmy McAleavey, Leontia Flynn, and more distinguished faculty TBA.   

Cost?  $1,500 total, including:

• Round-trip flight and bus transfer from Dublin to Belfast
• Housing on Queens University Campus
• Breakfasts and most lunches and dinners
• Tours around Belfast

*Note:  New need-based scholarships are available from the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Center for Irish Studies.

How?

• Register for ENG 2003-001:  Writing Through Conflict and the one-unit co-requisite lab course on November 5th
• Apply for the program through the Passport system at the Office of Education Abroad before December 1^st here.

Contacts?  alan.drew@villanova.edu

Mid-Term Study Session - Oct 10

On Wednesday, October 10, Villanova English will host its first ever Mid-Term Study Session. Join fellow English majors in the Department office any time between 6 and 10pm for pizza, cookies, coffee, and community as you prepare for exams and work on papers. A graduate student will be on hand if you have questions while you are working.

It's Alive! The Scientific Origins of Monsters - Science History Institute, Oct 30

Celebrate Halloween by attending this event at the Science History Institute in Center City, Philadelphia on October 30.

"Frankenstein, vampires, and werewolves are part of the lore of Halloween, but where did these horror tropes originate? Vampire and werewolf legends actually have origins in historical fact, and there once were real Victor Frankensteins seeking to animate the dead and actual grave robbers terrifying the public. Living-history performers Dean Howarth and Rachel O’Connell will explore the science behind classic horror tales through macabre stories and demonstrations. The evening’s 'visual soundtrack' will feature Anthony Casperite’s illustrations of iconic horror themes inspired by the history of science and the players in the tales surrounding the story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and other monster myths."

For more information and tickets, visit the Science History Institute website here.

Villanova English Hits It Out the Park at Majors Fair

Many thanks to Olivia Sigmund and Reagan Wish for putting together such an amazing poster for this year's Majors Fair. The theme was "The Majors League" and I think we can all agree they hit a home run with their design:

Yes, that's Jay Wright and Will D. Cat holding up the "Go Nova English" banner:

Here are Olivia Sigmund (left) and Reagan Wish discussing the Major:

Thanks also to Angelina Malenda (left) and Caroline Rini for helping work the table:

As well as to: (from left) Meg Carter and Eli Papakostas

Irish Summer Studio Information Meeting - Oct 2

Graduate students interested in participating in Villanova’s Irish Summer Studio program are encouraged to attend an informational meeting on Tuesday, October 2nd, at 3:30 pm in the Theatre Department's Green Room in the ground floor of Vasey Hall.

Dr. Valerie Joyce (Theatre) and Dr. Joseph Lennon (English), as well as students who have participated in the program, will be present at the meeting to explain the program and how students can go about getting involved.  

THE IRISH SUMMER STUDIO

From the studio to the stage, students in the program will study the workings and history of Ireland's world-class national theatre while developing their own theatre skills, knowledge, and practice. Students from Villanova will work alongside students from Irish and other universities and be taught by practitioners and professors from Ireland and the US. Student work will culminate in a showing of final work at the Lir, Ireland's National Academy of Dramatic Art and guided by Abbey Theatre professionals.

The program is an exciting joint enterprise between Villanova University, the Lir, the Abbey Theatre, the National University of Ireland in Galway, and University College, Dublin. It offers a select group of students from Ireland and the United States the opportunity to study with Irish Studies scholars and Irish theatre professionals. Students from any college or university may apply and receive credit through the Villanova University Office of Education Abroad, in conjunction with their home university.

For more information, see here.