Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Randal Bays Plays, Tuesday, March 5, in C&J 144

The English department is sponsoring a concert featuring Randal Bays, Irish style fiddler and guitarist on Tuesday, March 5th 9:30-10:30 am and 2-3:15 pm in the Communication and Journalism building room 144.

Craig Davis talk on Gothic Beowulf March 4 at noon

Our department is sponsoring a talk by
Dr. Craig Davis
Gothic Beowulf: The Northern Ethnography of the Nowell Codex,
on Monday, March 4th from noon to 1:15 pm in Mesa Vista Hall History Department Commons.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Center for Regional Studies Hector Torres Fellowship

The Center for Regional Studies and the English Department at the University of New Mexico announce the Center for Regional Studies Hector Torres Fellowship

The Center for Regional Studies Hector Torres Fellowship supports graduate research and scholarship in the English Department directly related to the late Dr. Hector Torres’ fields, as well as the mission of the Center for Regional Studies. These areas include Chicano/a literary and cultural studies; theory (i.e. Marxism; post-structuralism; deconstruction; psychoanalysis; and globalization); film studies; and scholarship related to the mission of the CRS (including history; archival research; literature; and other interdisciplinary fields related to New Mexico, the USMexico borderlands, and the greater southwest).

The award amount ranges from $10,000 to $15,000 a year, depending on availability. Renewal is not automatic. The Fellowship is housed in the English Department but sponsored by the Center for Regional Studies.

Qualified graduate student applicants must meet the above criteria; be graduate students in good standing (3.0 GPA or better); maintain full-time graduate student standing during the tenure of the award; and complete a CRS application, which includes a letter of intent; transcripts; resume; two letters of recommendation; and proof of enrollment. Preference will be given first to advanced doctoral students (post-exams); doctoral students in coursework; and advanced MA students. Highly qualified applicants to the English doctoral program in American Literary Studies will also be considered for the fellowship for recruitment purposes. Submit all inquires and all application materials (in hardcopy) to Dr. Jesse Alemán, Professor, Department of English.

Deadline: March 18

Ruth Salvaggio Lecture: Trash, Old Women, Angels, Poems: Promising Figures for Disaster Poetics

Dr. Ruth Salvaggio will give a talk titled "Trash, Old Women, Angels, Poems: Promising Figures for Disaster Poetics" on Tuesday, March 5th at 12:30pm in SUB Acoma A&B.

Ruth Salvaggio is the author of several books on poetry and feminist studies, most recently Hearing Sappho in New Orleans: The Call of Poetry from Congo Square to the 9th Ward. A native of the New Orleans 9th Ward, she has written on the imperatives of poetry in times of disaster—before, within, and beyond Katrina. In this talk, Professor Salvaggio ponders the fate and functions of some unanticipated yet promising poetic figures who continue to arise at scenes of disaster in our increasingly trashed environments.

Professor Salvaggio taught for over a decade in the American Studies Department here at UNM, and she is currently Professor of English and American Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The talk is free and open to public, and her recent book will be available for purchase.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Caleb Smith passes

Warren Smith and our own Dr. Patricia Smith's son Caleb passed away of complications from an illness.

Sharon Warner remembers him this way: "He was such a fine young man, a librarian at Columbia, and briefly famous for his blog on walking all the streets of Manhattan. http://www.newyorkcitywalk.com/html/html/about.html . He was written up in the New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/03/050103ta_talk_mcgrath and elsewhere. Pat was so proud of him." He is also survived by his brother Josh.

For some interesting information about Caleb, and his work at Columbia University, please see: http://www.unmalumni.com/caleb-smith.html .

The Department will be officially dedicating the Patricia Clark Smith and Hector Torres Department Memorial Lounge on April 22, 2013.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Faculty and Graduate Student November 2012 Appearances

Jesse Alemán. “Rebel: The Screening of Loreta Janeta Velazquez.” American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nov 15-18.

Jesse Alemán. “Days of the (Un)Dead: Vampires, Zombies, and Other Horrifying Forms of Chicano/a Identity in Film.” El Centro de la Raza Brown Bag Series, University of New Mexico. November.

Marissa Greenberg. “Neuvomexicano Shakespeare: The Case of The Merchant of Santa Fe.” American Society for Theatre Research, Nashville, TN. November 1-4.

Natalie Kubasek. “Teatro on the Border: Re-Figuring Teatro Campesino as Transnational Avant-Garde.” Midwest Modern Language Association, Cincinnati OH. November 8-11.

Greg Martin. Readings from Stories for Boys. University of New Mexico. November 8.

Kathleen Washburn. “Lili’uokalani's Indigenous Modernity.” South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Research Triangle Park, NM. November 11.

Julie Williams. “Access for All? The New Nature Writing of Lucia Perillo,” Western Literature Association, Lubbock TX. November 7-10.

Mellisa Huffman wins A&S Teaching Award!

Many congratulations to Mellisa Huffmann, who just won the College of Arts & Sciences TA Teaching Award. This speaks highly of her and the RWPW Program. We're so proud of you, Mellisa! -- Gail Turley Houston

Danny Bogert passes

I’m deeply saddened to inform the English graduate student community of the passing of Daniel J. Bogert. For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to meet Danny during his time at UNM, he was a student in the Rhetoric and Writing program who dedicated his life and research to Hawaiian language, culture, and sovereignty. Danny passed away in Honolulu on January 18th due to injuries that he suffered in a motorcycle accident in early January.   -- Anna V. Knutson

Many of you will remember Danny Bogert as a dedicated Rhetoric & Writing graduate student. He was only with us for a year and then decided to go back to his beloved Hawaii. We were lucky to know this extraordinary young man. He will be greatly missed.
 -- Gail Turley Houston