JCCC Department of English Blog

Mind’s Eye Student Literary Magazine Now Available

Mind’s Eye 2017, JCCC’s student literary magazine, is now available for sale (for $5) in the Writing Center (LIB 308), the English Department (CC 305), and in GEB 165H.  Professor Tom Reynold’s is the faculty director for the publication.

Prof. McWard Elected Chair of English 

Prof. Jim McWard, Ph.D., has been elected the Chair of the Department of English for 2017 – 2020.  He has a doctorate in 18th Century British Literature from the University of Kansas and has taught at JCCC for many years.  During the Spring 2017 semester, he updated his popular Masterpieces of Cinema, which he will continue to teach in the Fall.  Jim is replacing Prof. Keith Geekie, who is retiring in June after working at JCCC since 1994.

JCCC’s Day of Writing on June 3

Eighteen staff and faculty members joined the “JCCC Day of Writing,” the Kansas Studies Institute’s 7^th annual Kansas Writers Symposium, on June 3, 2017.  The day’s structure was informal but productive.  Participants convened for a light breakfast and discussion of their different projects.  Some attendees were novices, and Mathew Schmeer provided them with prompts, writing activities, and inspiring advice.

Writing spaces were spread around the campus—a learning studio, a computer classroom, and the entirety of Galileo’s Pavilion; because the weather was lovely, some participants found a sunny spot outside to sit and write.  The group met up again for lunch and lively conversation, then returned to their projects for the rest of the day.  At the wrap-up session, participants chatted about what they’d written and talked about their plans for continuing their projects.

This year’s Kansas Writers Symposium committee included Anthony Funari,  Farrell Hoy Jenab, Amy Pace, Paul Restivo, Matthew Schmeer, and Jane Stock.

Cavalier Conference on Writing and Literature News

The JCCC Third Annual Conference on Writing and Literature took place on April 21, 2017.   This year’s featured speaker was Professor Tom Averill of Washburn University, who gave a delightful keynote speech on the importance of collaboration in the writing process. Our theme this year was “Showcasing” and the morning of the conference featured 11 presentations from colleagues and visitors. Our conference also showcased the new Collaboration Lab.

Writing Center seeks student tutors; please spread word

The Writing Center is currently hiring student tutors for the 2017-2018 academic year. Applicants must:

• Have taken Composition I and received a B or better
• Be a student of JCCC
• Willing to learn on the job
• Available for mandatory training every Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. during the semester.

If you know a student who enjoys writing, likes talking with other writers and enjoys the process of collaboration, have that person apply today. Tutors gain a stronger understanding of the writing process, increase their communication skills and may receive CRLA certification.

Those interested should apply on the JCCC jobs page, and see job listing #170502. Only those submitting a complete application will be considered for the position.

The Common Read Launch

The Common Read launch for the Fall 2017 selection Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson was held Wednesday, April 5, in the Collaboration Lab. Attending this event was Tricia Bushnell, Director of the Midwest Innocence Project, who spoke briefly about her work with Bryan Stevenson and her commitment to the cause of social justice.

English Department News

–Professor Danny Alexander was featured in Episode 8: The Silver Screen and all Magazines at www.iconoclasofthings.com podcasts.  Professor Alexander of Rock and Rap Confidential was interviewed about music writers who were particularly influential in his career.

–Professor David Davis was the keynote speaker at the conference for the Kansas Association of Historians on Friday, April 14. His presentation was on science fiction in Kansas.

–Writing Center Director Kathryn Byrne and Kate McNeil, Professor of Accounting, were awarded a Perkins Leadership Grant to develop, pilot, and evaluate six online writing tutorials to be used in Accounting II courses.  These modules will focus on frequent grammar and citation mistakes that plague many accounting student’s writing.

–Professor Steve Werkmeister’s poem “Detasseling” was published in the Silver Birch Press’s My First Job series in May.

–Adjunct English Professor Anthony Funari served on a panel for projects integrating sustainability topics into non-Environmental Studies courses at “Sustainability across the Curriculum” workshop hosted by JCCC’s Center for Sustainability and KU’s Center for Sustainability

The Journalism Department Give Headline Award

The Department of Journalism  presented their Headline Award to Yael Abouhalkah, a former Kansas City Star columnist. He gave the presentation “Real Journalism in the Era of Fake News” on Thursday, April 20, in the Hudson Auditorium.  Each year, the Journalism and Media Communications department honors media professionals whose work serves as an inspiration to students. Recipients must have spent all (for retired professionals) or a majority (for professionals currently working) of their career contributing to the field of journalism and media communications.

Yael Abouhalkah and Mark Raduziner at luncheon for Headline Award winner

David Cantwell Wins Chet Flippo Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism

Adjunct Professor David Cantwell will attend the Pop Conference at the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Experience Music Project or EMP) in Seattle. PopCon is an annual gathering of academics, critics, journalists, and musicians. The theme this year’s conference is “Sign O’ the Times: Music and Politics,” and Professor Cantwell’s presentation is “Johnny Horton’s ‘The Battle of New Orleans,’ ‘Johnny Reb,’ and Country Music During the Civil Rights Movement.” He will also be moderating a panel, titled “Post-Dixie Chicks Country Music.” He has also been selected as the 2017 honoree for Rolling Stone‘s “Chet Flippo Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism.”  He will receive that honor in Nashville in June, at a luncheon during the International Country Music Conference (ICMC), where he will also be presenting a paper.

 Follow English on Twitter

The English Twitter account is hosted by Prof. Steve Werkmeister.  Follow him on Twitter at English_Dept@JCCCEnglish

A PDF of the Norton booklet outlining MLA 8 is available online (thanks for finding it Matthew!).

Norton MLA materials

PDF of booklet: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/writesite/research/Documentation_PDFs/DOC_GUIDELINES_MLA_2016.pdf

MLA model research paper: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/writesite/Web_Essays/Borchers2015.pdf

TV’s most-watched history series airs on PBS and has a library of over250 documentaries.

Source: WGBH American Experience . Murder of a President

The highlight of Thursday’s faculty meeting came at the very end when faculty association president Deb Williams awarded English Chair Keith Geekie with the FA faculty leadership award. The award, established a decade ago, has  been awarded only once before. Keith was nominated by Division Dean Larry Reynolds and the award was enthusiastically endorsed by the FA executive committee.

The presentation of the award was a surprise for the whole faculty and for Keith. As Deb began listing the award recipient’s activities and involvement on campus, every faculty member sitting in the English section began to grin in recognition. The last to catch on was, of course, Keith herself. When her name was announced, Keith (as moved as I have ever seen her) worked her way to the stage to the sound of thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

Diane Davis expressed the opinion of the department in an open email to Keith, writing “Several of your colleagues, while leaving the meeting today after the announcement you had won the  faculty leadership award, commented they couldn’t imagine anyone more worthy of this award than you, and even before the name was announced, their certainty that is had to be you.  You are a person who advocates far more for others than yourself, and who graciously deflects praise and shines the spotlight on the rest of us.  I can’t tell you how much it means to us, then, to witness the entirety of our college community united in their appreciation of all you do.  For the countless hours you spend often behind the scenes looking out for our students, our faculty, our curriculum, our courses, our department, division and discipline, I thank you.  Most of us will never know how often you have pulled this group together, fought to keep our division intact, unified us and strengthened us.  I’m delighted the spotlight is on you, where it belongs.”

Her acceptance speech has been reenacted by Merritt Wever here.