May 2022
Monday, May 16, 2022
Dear Colleagues,
Whether you have research, recreation, or respite planned for this summer, I hope the next few months are beneficial in every way possible. Thank you for your hard work, dedication to the English Department and its mission, and tireless support you give to students each semester. You make real and lasting differences through all that you do.
The English Department will be open during the summer. I am currently working with our phenomenal staff to set up days and hours in accordance with the University’s new teleworking policy. Once those have been determined and approved by upper administration, Angie or I will let everyone know each staff member’s days and hours in the office. If you know you need to meet in person with Angie, Jennie, or Monica, please check with them about their availability. Gina’s hours will vary during the summer, so I will let you know that information, too, when we send out the summer schedule.
I will be mostly working from home on the Self-Study and other writing projects, but will come into the office 1-2 days most weeks (except the weeks of July 4 and July 11). I am easily reached by email (pgeckard@uncc.edu) or by phone (704-574-4933) and can arrange to meet with you in-person or via Zoom. Just let me know.
KUDOS
Julie Dam’s honor thesis “Gothic Themes and Monsters in Dark Fantasy Manga: Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan and Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer” was published in the Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research. Here are links to the journal and to her work: https://research.monm.edu/mjur/mjur-2022-issue/ and http://research.monm.edu/mjur/files/2022/04/MJUR-i13-2022-7-Dam.pdf
Allison Hutchcraft will serve as an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park in Maine.
Janaka Lewis hosted the “Conversation on Public Memories and Changing Landscapes” for the Center for the Study of the New South as part of Charlotte SHOUT. She (along with Dr. Sonya Ramsey) was featured on the Queen City Podcast Network to discuss Black women’s stories, the Center for the Study of the New South, and the Public Memories/Changing Landscapes event.
Janaka also participated on a panel by UNC Charlotte faculty titled “You’re Not Burnt Out, They Are Setting You on Fire” at the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy (FWCA) conference in Washington, DC. In addition, she presented “Women and the Joy of Play” (based on her literary play research) to the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Women’s Leadership Conference. Janaka was elected English Language Area Representative to the College Language Association, a position that ascends to Vice President in two year and then President in four years.
Juan Meneses’s book, Resisting Dialogue: Modern Fiction and the Future of Dissent, was positively reviewed in American Literary History.
Liz Miller published a chapter titled “Hiding in plain sight: Methodological ideologies in discourse-based research in applied linguistics” in a volume edited by Simo Määttä and Marika Hall. The book is titled Mapping Ideology in Discourse Studies and was published by Mouton De Gruyter.
Tiffany Morin received the CLAS Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Full-time Lecturer. Here is a link to the Exchange article that features information about Tiffany and the award: https://exchange.charlotte.edu/clas-faculty-receive-teaching-excellence-awards/
Jen Munroe co-led the seminar, “Gender and Science,” at the Shakespeare Association of America meeting in Jacksonville, FL.
Alan Rauch received the CLAS Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award. Here is a link to the Exchange article that features information about Alan and the award:https://exchange.charlotte.edu/clas-faculty-receive-teaching-excellence-awards/
Daniel Shealy’s “‘Concordia’s Queen’: May Alcott and the Town of Concord” is the lead essay in The Forgotten Alcott: Essays on the Artistic Legacy and Literary Life of May Alcott Nieriker (Routledge, 2022). His edited collection of essays Little Women at 150 was published recently by the University Press of Mississippi.
Maya Socolovsky presented a paper titled “Narratives of Shame and Healing: Tourism, Consumption, and Solidarity in Malín Alegría’s Young Adult novel Sofi Mendoza’s Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico” at SECOLS (Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies) in Charlotte NC.
Clayton Tarr’s article “This Is How I Win: Uncut Gems, Colonial Violence, and the Victorian Adventure Story” has been published in The Journal of Popular Culture.
Ralf Thiede presented a paper titled “When Cognitive Linguistics Met Children’s Literature – in 1916” at the University of Alabama Language Conference. He also presented “Syntax Responding to Changing Cognitive Requirements: Anglo-Saxon vs. Romance Literary Narrative” at the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics.
Congratulations to everyone above. Best wishes for the summer!
Paula