January 2022

January 13, 2022
Categories: Kudos

Monday, January 17, 2022

Dear Colleagues,

I hope your first week of classes went well and that the winter weather this weekend did not cause you any difficulties.  As you know, the university is closed today for the Martin Luther King holiday. I hope this day provides you with the opportunity for reflection and remembrance, and, if circumstances permit, service to the community. The legacy of Dr. King reminds us that we are part of communities large and small and that we share the world with others. Certainly, events of the past two years have provided evidence of that. Thank you for all that you do through your work and service for the benefit of others.

I have a few reminders to share as we go into the second week of classes:  

  • We have a department meeting on Friday 1/21 from 11-12:30 on Zoom. Angie will send out the link, agenda, and previous minutes later this week.  Pinku Mukerjee, CLAS Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, will join us at the beginning of the meeting to give a presentation.
  • Matt Rowney will give a talk titled “‘Satisfactions very sweet if not very sound’: Sweetness and Power in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park” this Friday 1/21 from 1-2 pm on Zoom https://uncc.zoom.us/j/96016372648. His talk is sponsored by the Faculty Development Committee.
  • In-person classes will resume on Monday 1/24.  You may want to upgrade your face masks to KN95 or KN94 masks. We should have additional surgical masks (the blue masks) on hand. Double masking with a surgical mask and cloth mask can provide added protection. If you need more surgical masks or bottles of sanitizer, please let Angie Williams or Monica Burke know.
  • If you are fully vaccinated and boosted and have reported that information to the university, you do not have to complete the daily Niner Health Checks that come to your inbox. However, if you develop COVID-19 symptoms or test positive, be sure to complete the Niner Health Check so that the university can track the number of cases. Here is a link to campus guidelines on quarantine and isolation: https://ninernationcares.charlottewp.psapp.dev/health-safety/quarantine-and-isolation
  • The university has said we may experience disruptions due to COVID-19 when we return to face-to face instruction. If illness becomes widespread in one of your classes (or if you become ill), you can move the class online for a week or two. Any long-term change to course delivery will need approval from the Dean’s Office. Please keep me and Liz Miller informed of changes or problems that might arise with your classes.      
  • If you have not done so, please send your spring syllabi to Monica Burke. 
  • Fall 2022 course descriptions should be sent to Jennie Mussington. 
  • Tuesday, 1/18 (tomorrow at 11:59 pm), is the last day for students to add or drop a course with no grade. 

KUDOS

Janaka Lewis presented a paper titled “Burdened but Unbothered:  Black Women Writers Respond to Racial Injustice” on the CLA at MLA panel “Rage, Resilience, and Response” in January.

Juan Meneses gave a paper titled “Is the Post- in Post-Apocalyptic the Post- in Post-Political?” at the MLA conference in January

Mark West, who serves as the Editor of RISE: A Children’s Literacy Journal, reports that the winter 2022 issue of the journal is now published.  Here is the link to the new issue: 

https://www.bedfordfallsusa.com/risejournals/rise-journal-winter-2022/.

Mark recently published an article titled “Recuperative Spaces in African American Children’s Literature” in Clio’s Psyche and authored two articles that recently appeared on the CLTure website. These include an article on the Book Buyers used bookstore (https://clture.org/book-buyers-charlotte/) and an article on 21 books by Charlotte-area authors that were published in 2021 (https://clture.org/charlotte-authors-books-2021/).

Best wishes,

Paula