Reading Matters, Vol. 11, Issue 13, March 22, 2006
From (under) the Chair's Desk
Welcome back to the second half of the second semester. I hope everyone
had a relaxing and/or fruitful spring break!
Life under the chair’s desk is looking a wee bit hectic at the
moment, so I will confine this week’s column to listing some of
the issues that I see as currently bubbling along with those that I
see us tackling as a department in the remainder of the semester.
-
incoming Ph.D. class. Congratulations to Garrett
Stewart and his admissions committee (Lori Branch, Marie Kruger, Kathy
Lavezzo, Phil Round, Alvin Snider, and Doris Witt) on selecting a
wonderful group of students to invite to join us in the fall. Garrett
will give a complete report once the admissions season is finished,
but I can reveal that the number of applicants was up again, that
the Presidential Fellow prospects look exciting, and that the potential
for wonderful Dean’s Fellowship students is truly exceptional
this year. At this stage, Kathleen Diffley and Miriam Gilbert are
busy working on funding packages, while Claire Fox is coordinating
many a visit as potential graduate students make their decision about
what offer to accept. Please help Claire in talking with potential
students who are interested in your area and accepting visitors to
your graduate classes. By agreement among universities, students have
to let us know their decision by April 15.
-
incoming NWP class. Robin Hemley and the NWP faculty
(John D’Agata, Patricia Foster, and David Hamilton) have also
been busy selecting and trying to fund an outstanding class of NWP
students drawn from their record number of applicants. More from Robin
as that process plays out.
- graduate funding – remains an issue. The reduced
Block Allocation is clearly hurting us, even as the prospect of more undergraduates
needing Rhetoric and GenEdLit courses may yet provide some alleviation. One
graduate-generated suggestion is that we should look as a department at ways
of ensuring that the Ph.D. can really be finished in the six years that we
can guarantee funding. This is an idea that will need discussion in exec.
and grad. steering committees, but may ultimately call for a change in the
culture of the department around the Ph.D. program.
-
funding
the journals. As we face reduced support from the Graduate
College for the RAs who are central to the production of
The Iowa
Review, M/MLA,
PQ, and
Walt Whitman Quarterly Review,
and as the Graduate College makes clear it is only committing that
much a year at a time, I’m working with the journal editors
and with the graduate funders to figure some way of getting this funding
on a more secure footing and making sure the university is conscious
of the pearls that these journals represent. Congratulations to David
Hamilton, Kathleen Diffley, Bill Kupersmith, and Ed Folsom for the
great work they do as editors and the lustre they bring to the department
and the university through these journals.
-
new faculty. While our tenure-track searches are
now over, we are getting presented with some special opportunities
for visitors in relation to partner hiring opportunities. Each case
will need consideration on its own merits, with the understanding
that the department should do its duty as a good citizen where such
an appointment makes sense for us, with significantly less at stake
in taking on visitors than in permanent positions. CLAS has let us
know that, in view of our successful array of searches, with four
new appointments joining us in a year when there were virtually no
lines, we shouldn’t expect a visitor budget except in the event
of funded leaves or special cases.
-
involvement in faculty governance. I was elected
to a three-year term on the CLAS executive committee and look forward
to bringing you yet more information about the workings of the College
next year. Congratulations to Eric Gidal and Loren Glass, elected
to three-year terms on the CLAS Faculty Assembly.
- organizing the curriculum. You will see that Fall 2006
courses are now listed on ISIS (you need to switch the default to see them).
Undergraduate advising for summer and fall begins this week (with thanks to
our intrepid team of advisors: Doug Trevor, Anne Stapleton, Bill Kupersmith,
and the graduate advisors, Wanda Raiford and Anna Stenson) and early registration
begins April 17. It will be important to get all course descriptions and listings
finalized before then.
-
supporting our support staff. That previous item
reminds me to announce more widely, as most of you will have noticed,
that Sharry Lenhart has, alas, been ill, with a trip to the hospital
last week and recovering at home this week. She has been getting back
to work from home on the computer and hopes to be back in the office
soon, perhaps by the time you read this. Get well soon, Sharry!
-
report from the committee (Teresa Mangum, Mary Lou Emery, Rob Latham,
Doug Trevor) and discussion of the Gateway Course;
-
consideration of Vershawn Ashanti Young for transferring his position
from Rhetoric to the English Department;
-
possible engagement with the Provost’s push towards fixed-contract
positions by formulating some form of responsible prestigious up-to-three-year
postdoctoral lectureship.
And, finally, celebrations! Don’t forget the upcoming
Graduate Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 20, 3:45 onwards
in the Ritchie Ballroom, IMU (thanks to Claire Fox) and the upcoming
Undergraduate Honors Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April
27, 3:30 onwards in the Willis Atrium of the UI Museum of Art. And before
either of those, don’t forget the luncheon this Monday to celebrate
Vicky Dingman, who is retiring at the end of this month
after 25 years working for the English Department. I look forward to
seeing you all at the celebrations in the Gerber Lounge on Monday, 11:30-1:30
(speeches from 12:30)!
Sad News
Jon
wrote on March 8: I write with sad news about Valerie Lagorio,
who many of you will know as our charismatic medievalist former colleague,
who died in her sleep last night. Valerie (or Our Pal Val, as she liked
graduate students to know her) was a larger than life presence teaching
medieval literature in the department here from 1972 to 1992. John Harper
reports, after a conversation with her sister, Antoinette, that Valerie
died yesterday evening following a recent fall and a period of declining
health. She is survived by her sister, her brother, Bud, and numerous
nephews and nieces. Apparently, they are planning on a memorial service
at her Florida retirement residence tomorrow. Antoinette mentioned the
possibility of directing memorial tributes to the Valerie Lagorio scholarship
fund here at Iowa. Any contributions should be sent to the UI Foundation
(Levitt Center for University Advancement, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, IA
52242-4550) and marked as intended for the Valerie Lagorio Scholarship
Fund in the Department of English.
I'll let you know as soon as I know anything more, especially about
possibly arranging some kind of memorial service here in Iowa City.
Valerie will certainly be sadly missed by all who knew her.
News Matters
Rob Latham and Laura Rigal were quoted in a recent
DI article about courses that will make use of Brokeback Mountain.
Publications, Presentations, and other Faculty Matters
Montpellier Matters (from Barbara Eckstein)
À
Montpellier: By now perhaps you have seen that the
students' strike in France achieved front page status and maintained it
for a number of days. They remain firm, hoping, I think, that the prime
minister's falling popularity will force him to overturn the hated CPE,
the new hiring plan for young people. But there is of course no guarantee.
While they/we wait, in an agreement with the government, the strike organizers
have created a room on each campus in the nation in which faculty can leave
course plans for students and students can retrieve them.
As the strike continues, I wonder
about the status of the considerable number of young people who beg for
money on the streets of Montpellier. Primarily but not exclusively young
men, always accompanied by their dogs, they huddle like pack animals in
the Arctic, intimate in their knowledge of their mutual dependence. Mostly,
the men and the dogs look well enough fed and clean. I don't know that they
fit the U.S. definition of homelessness or if they are a kind of new age
mendicant in a socialist society where jobs are hard to come by. Like all
people who live in the Centre Ville, I now know the faces of all of these
young men, some women, and a few somewhat older people. So it is easy to
spot a new face—human and dog. Occasionally, these new persons are
heartbreakingly thin, as though they have come from underground or out of
desperate circumstances in the countryside.
Montpellier is thoroughly a
dog city. In addition to the mendicants, which usually own large breeds,
it seems that every other resident owns a dog. Soiling of the sidewalks
notwithstanding, they are all quite well behaved. One never hears a dog
fight and very rarely hears a bark; it is noteworthy when you do. Many dogs
walk about town following their owners off leach, and, even in crowds, seem
to adhere to the appropriate heels. The most one hears with regularity is
"aller, aller" as some dog's nose has got the better of it.
Because of the dogs, I presume,
cat spotting is akin to birding for a rare species. Two live in the Jardin
des plantes, where the gates lock, and one can be seen on a tiny balcony
now and again. Indeed, birds themselves are rare. A handsome array of pigeons
can be seen in every narrow rue, and there are a few ducks in the central
city ponds. But one has to go to a park or out of the Centre Ville to hear
a song bird. (Birds are being vaccinated against the flu and wear bracelets
to indicate their medical status.)
Out beyond the university is
a quite wonderful wooded hillside that contains a substantial zoo. When
I first went there, I realized later, I arrived with capitalist expectations
in tow. I expected to pay and pay handsomely, but there is no charge for
entrance. It being free, I then expected it to be insubstantial or, well,
ragtag, but no. (I also expected to buy lunch there, but nothing is for
sale and there is no one to sell it to you.) There are, however, great picnic
spots among the lions and tigers and bears.
In a different direction, on
the outskirts of the city, is another fascinating socialist arrangement
for animals and people known as the Centre équestre de Grammont.
There they house something like sixty horses and ponies from tiny Shetlands
to extraordinarily tall creatures, thoroughbreds and other such prancing
steeds. It seems people of varying incomes take their children, mostly girls,
to learn how to ride at Grammont. Prices for lessons are considerably less
than what I have seen in Iowa. Although the ponies work particularly hard
carrying the inexperienced and smallest riders, all the animals are nicely
cared for, well treated, and well trained. The animals are fed, as treats,
the hard ends of baguettes rather than carrots or apples—it's
true—but then French people themselves
more often eat bread than fruits and vegetables. Last Sunday, at the Opéra
Berlioz, I saw a horse on stage. Perhaps the horses at Grammont have an
opportunity to claim this fifteen minutes of fame.
Celebration Matters
April brings three
opportunities to celebrate the accomplishments of members of the
department.
Faculty members are
invited to the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Faculty Honors Celebration on Monday, April 10, beginning
promptly at 4:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Ballroom, IMU. A reception
will follow the awards ceremony.
The following week, everyone is invited to the Graduate
Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 20, 3:45-5:15 p.m.,
Ritchey Ballroom, IMU.
And the week after that, please come to the Undergraduate
Honors Awards Ceremony in a new location this year: Thursday.
April 27, 3:30-5:00 p.m., Willis Atrium, UI Museum of Art
Placement Matters
After all those job applications, MLA interviews,
and on campus visits, now is the time that some of our graduate
students are receiving and accepting positions. To make this
news widely available, Reading Matters will include a cumulative
list of placement news 2006 in this and subsequent issues to
the end of the semester. The information here is about positions
that begin in Fall 2006. If you have additional information
or corrections, please contact Claire Fox, Director of Graduate
Studies, or Kathy Lavezzo, Director of Placement.
-
Michael Germana (dir. Diffley): tenure-track
assistant professor at West Virginia University
-
Marty Gould (dir. Mangum): tenure-track
assistant professor at the University of South Florida
-
Mary Hayes (dir. Sponsler and Wilcox):
tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Mississippi
-
Margaret Loose (dir. Boos): tenure-track
assistant professor at the University of California-San
Diego
-
Mary Moran (dir. Boos): tenure-track
assistant professor at CUNY-Staten Island
- Scott Nowka (dir. Gidal), tenure-track assistant professor
at Salem State College, MA
Graduate Matters
Congratulations to Stacy Erickson,
who has been awarded a short-term research
fellowship at the Huntington
Library. Stacy will be a W. M. Keck
Foundation Fellow this summer in San Marino,
working on a dissertation that considers
printers and the literary marketplace in
Renaissance London.
Undergraduate Matters
Doug
Trevor has posted the following:
The Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Prize for
the Best Essay on Poetry
Any essay, 8-12 pages in length, on the subject
of poetry broadly defined (lyric, epic, experimental,
dramaturgical, etc.) will be considered. A cash
prize of $250.00 will be awarded. Essays should
be turned in to my box on or before April 3rd.
All English Majors have received e-mail notification
of this award, but if questions still linger they
may contact me directly.
Elizabeth was a wonderful, wonderful person who
took her Ph.D. from our program in 2000 and soon
thereafter joined the faculty at Rice University.
She succumbed to cancer after a courageous battle,
and we honor her as a person of great intelligence,
wit, and dignity by offering this prize. Please
help me spread the word.
Mar. 23 (Thr.), 4:00 p.m., 704 Jefferson Building - Naomi Greyser,
PhD Postdoctoral Fellow in the
Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, will present "The
CNN Viewer Beneath the Veil (2001), or: How Can Feminists Use Sentimentality
to Negotiate Neoliberalism?" sponsored by the Departments of Women's Studies
and English. Reception to follow.
Mar. 27 (Mon.), 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Gerber Lounge - Farewell Luncheon for
Vicky Dingman
Mar. 28 (Tue.), 7 p.m., Shambaugh Auditorium - Carl Klaus
will read from his new book Letters
to Kate: Life after Life at Live from Prairie Lights. The reading will
be broadcast live on WSUI, 910 AM.
Mar. 29 (Wed.), 4 p.m., Gerber Lounge - Talk by Walter Benn Michaels:
“Never Again: Neoliberalism and the Persistence of the Holocaust."
Michaels is Professor and Chair of the English Department at the University
of Illinois, Chicago. He is author of The Shape of the Signifier: 1967 to
the End of History, Our America: Nativism, Modernism, and Pluralism,
The Gold Standard and the Logic of Naturalism, and numerous articles
on American literature, literary theory, and cultural studies. Sponsored by
the Departments of English, Rhetoric, Communication Studies, and Cinema and
Comparative Literature.
Apr. 3 (Mon.) - Submissions due for the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Prize
for the Best Essay on Poetry (8-12 pages in length) to Doug Trevor.
Apr. 3 (Mon.), 12-1:30 p.m., 331 EPB – The Early Modern Reading Group
will discuss Alvin Snider’s "Lucy Hutchinson and
the Lucretian Body: Order and Disorder." For more information, please contact
Gina Bloom, gina-bloom@uiowa.edu.
Apr. 4 (Tue.), 7 p.m., Prairie Lights - Visiting professor Donald Morrill
will read from his second collection of poems, With Your Back to Half the
Day. The reading will be broadcast live on WSUI, 910 AM.
Apr. 6-8, IMU - WRAC Conference: Race,
Privilege and Cultural Competence: Creating Inclusive Communities
in a Post Katrina World. Keynote speakers are Allan Johnson and Wilma Mankiller.
Co-sponsored by the English Department.
Apr. 7-9 - The 6th annual CRAFT,
CRITIQUE, CULTURE Conference on the UI Campus
Apr. 10 (Mon.), 4 p.m., Second Floor Ballroom, IMU - The College of Liberal
Arts & Sciences Faculty Honors Celebration and following reception
Apr. 10 (Mon.), 12-1:30 p.m., 331 EPB - The Early Modern Group will discuss
Jeff Doty’s paper entitled "Wooing Poor Craftsmen
with the Craft of Smiles": The Nationalist Seductions of Richard II."
Refreshments provided; feel free to bring a bagged lunch. A copy of Jeff’s
paper will be made available for xeroxing in 308 EPB; you may also e-mail Jeff
at jeffrey-doty@uiowa.edu to receive
an e-copy. For more information, please contact Gina Bloom, gina-bloom@uiowa.edu.
Apr. 10 (Mon.), 7 p.m., The Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St. - Noam
Chomsky will give a talk titled "Universality of Human Rights:
Principles and Practicess" in an event cosponsored by the English Dept.
Apr. 18 (Tue.), 7 p.m., The Englert Theatre, 221, E. Washington St. - The Live
from Prairie Lights 15th Anniversary Celebration will feature many readers from
past shows. The event will be broadcast live on WSUI, 910 AM.
Apr. 20 (Thr.) - 3:45-5:15 p.m., Ritchey Ballroom, IMU - The Graduate
Awards Ceremony
Apr. 20 (Thr.), 3:45-5:00 p.m., Gerber Lounge - Public Art Sculptor Barbara
Grygutis and Painter David Dunlap will participate
in an afternoon symposium, "Dreaming the Possible: Public Art in the Pursuit
of Justice," as part of Linda Bolton's "Art, Ethics
and Justice" Graduate Symposium. Grygutis and Bolton designed the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Memorial at Battle Creek in Columbia, MO. Sponsored by the
Department of English, Art and Art History, and the Bond Funds for Interdisciplinary
Studies.
Apr 24 (Mon.), 12-1:30 p.m., 331 EPB – The Early Modern Reading Group
will discuss Doug Trevor’s "Quaker Love: The Case of Margaret Fell."
For more information, please contact Gina Bloom, gina-bloom@uiowa.edu.
Apr. 25 (Tue.), 7 p.m., Gerber Lounge - Talk by Susan Bernstein,
Professor of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison: "Roomscapes: Women
Writers in the British Museum from George Eliot to Virginia Woolf." This
talk is part of the Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Interdisciplinary Colloquium.
More details here.
April 27 (Thr.), 3:30-5:00 p.m., Willis Atrium, UI Museum of Art (Please note
the change of location this year) - Undergraduate Honors
Awards Ceremony
May 1 (Mon.), 12-1:30 p.m., 331 EPB – The Early Modern Reading Group
will discuss Mark Dowdy’s "Vagrancy and the Professional Theater."
For more information, please contact Gina Bloom, gina-bloom@uiowa.edu.
2007: NonfictioNOW Conference, November 1-3, 2007 (Thursday-Saturday)
Other Calendars
UI Master Calendar of Events
| UI Academic
Calendar | The Writers
Workshop Reading Schedule | POROI
Calendar
Future Issues
Please send any items for Reading Matters or the departmental calendar to Carolyn
Jacobson at carolyn-jacobson@uiowa.edu.
Reading Matters will appear every other Wednesday, and submissions should be
received by 5 p.m. on the preceding Tuesday. Please send submissions for the
next issue by 5 p.m. on Tue., March 21. Thanks very much.
