November 2021
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
November 23, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
I’d like to wish you and your families the very best for the Thanksgiving holiday and to thank you for all that you do on behalf of the English Department. Your dedication and hard work over the past two years have made an enormous difference and have made these challenging times more endurable. I know our students and their families are grateful for the support they’ve received from the department and for the outstanding teaching that you have done. For me personally, working with such incredible faculty and staff has renewed me in ways I could not have imagined a year ago. I sincerely thank each of you.
Please find below news of your colleagues’ recent accomplishments. At the end of this email, you will also find some upcoming dates for your calendar.
KUDOS
Janaka Lewisparticipated in the 3rd Tedx UNC Charlotte program, which was recorded on Saturday 10/30. Her topic was “The ‘Matter’ of Black Wom[x]n.”
Juan Meneses’s book, Resisting Dialogue: Modern Fiction and the Future of Dissent, was positively reviewed in the London School of Economics Review of Books. You can find the review here: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/11/19/book-review-resisting-dialogue-modern-fiction-and-the-future-of-dissent-by-juan-meneses. Juan was also invited by the UNC Charlotte Sustainability Development Goals Student Club to the 2021 Sustainability Summit, where he gave a talk titled “Culture and the Fight for Global Environmental Justice.”
Rebecca Roeder received UNC Charlotte Research and Economic Development awards at the annual awards ceremony, for securing a new external grant in 2021 (collaborative with Elise Berman, from Anthropology), being a co-PI, and participating in externally funded interdisciplinary collaborative research.
In addition, she gave a presentation called “PALM and the low back merger shift: Evidence from Victoria, BC” at the New Ways of Analyzing Variation conference, which was held virtually. Becky also gave a joint presentation (with Elise Berman, from Anthropology) called “Neocolonial Englishes: Marshallese Children’s Language in a Context of Migration” at the Anthropological Association of America conference, which was also held virtually.
Matt Rowney presented a paper titled “‘Dearest, sweetest Fanny’: Sweetness and Power in Mansfield Park” at the International Conference on Romanticism.
Clayton Tarr presented a paper titled “Bog Bonds: Temporal Unions in Sydney Owenson’s The Wild Irish Girl ” at the International Conference on Romanticism.
Mark West interviewed Caldecott winner Gail Haley for a virtual event sponsored by Atkins Library. Here is a link to a recording of that conversation:
In important alumni news, Sandra Hairston has received Senate confirmation to serve as one of North Carolina’s top federal prosecutors. She graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in English in 1981 and received her law degree from North Carolina Central University in 1987. Lynn Roberson has written an excellent article for University Communications. I will let you know when that article is available. Here are links to recent articles that were in the local news.
UPCOMING DATES
Department Meeting Friday, December 3, 11:00-12:30 (Angie with send out a Zoom link)
Department Holiday Party Thursday, December 9, 11:30-12:30. This will be in-person in the Seminar Room and also online via Zoom. (Angie will send out an RSVP form to indicate your preference and so we can plan for food and drink for anyone who might attend in person)
Spring 2022 Department Meetings
January 21
February 25
March 25
April 22
Awards Ceremony
April 22 (after the department meeting)
Best wishes,
Paula