Presentation on French Impressionism

 

Author to Speak on Diversity

Michael Korenblit, author of Until We Meet Again, a non-fiction book about his parents' survival of the Holocaust, will speak on campus Wednesday, April 16^th in Hearnes 102 at 5 pm.

 

His presentation will focus on diversity issues in society. He is the founder of the non-profit organization, Respect Diversity out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

 

This event is sponsored by the Multicultural Education Department and the Department of English & Modern Languages.

 

 

 

 

2014 Department Outstanding Graduate Awards

We are proud to announce our 2014 English & Modern Languages Outstanding Graduates:

Convergent Media: Matthew Hunt
English: Katie Walkup
English Education: Jay Scott
French: Anna Guilkey
Spanish: Lauren Ferguson

Our outstanding graduates will receive their awards during the annual department retirement and awards reception on Tuesday, April 22 at 4 PM in Spratt 214/216.

At the reception we will also be honoring Mr. Tom Pankiewicz and Dr. Karen Fulton for their years of teaching in the department.

Come by and give them a round of applause!


LeAnn Neal Reilly's Novel an Award Finalist

Foreword Reviews, the only review magazine solely dedicated to discovering new indie books, announced the finalists for its 16th Annual Book of the Year Awards, and an alumna is a finalist.

 

LeAnn Neal Reilly, a 1990 MWSC grad with an M.A. from Carnegie Mellon Univeristy, has had her third novel, The Last Stratiote, selected as a finalist for the category of Fantasy.

 

LeAnn is the author of two previous novels: The Mermaid's Pendant and Saint Sebastian's Head.

Congratulations, LeAnn!

First Thursday Reading

First Thursdays March Edition

Mary Stone Dockery reports– We had twelve readers of poetry, fiction, and  nonfiction, in an open mic hosted by Norty’s Bar & Grill. People had drinks and chicken tenders and fried pickles. We heard about cats possessed with the souls of ex-boyfriends.  We heard about New Orleans and shotguns and whiskey and callused hands. We were taught to blame Oprah for reality TV. Someone even shared a poem written thirty minutes in the future.

Our next open mic will be Thursday, April 3, at 7pm, at Norty’s Bar & Grill, and since April is National Poetry Month, we ask that readers only bring poems to share. For any questions or for further information, please contact Mary at mdockery1@missouriwestern.edu.

February Activities

Presentations

Dr. Jeanie Crain, Professor of English, performed a systems portfolio review for the AQIP accreditation body.

Dr. Cynthia Jenéy, Associate Professor of English, presented her paper "Keep Calm and Carry a Falcon: Riding Toward Catastrophe with the Arthurian Ladies" at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.   

Publications

Ms. Mary Stone Dockery, Instructor of English, has had her chapbook The Dopamine Letters published by Hyacinth Girl Press.

Prairie Lands Writing Project Activities

 

Prairie Lands Writing Project Director Susan Martens (MWSU), Co-Director Christie Leigan (Hall Elementary, St. Joseph), and Teacher Consultant Mya Treat (SJSD) interviewed candidates for the PLWP 2014 Invitational Summer Institute and were pleased to send official acceptance letters to 13 area teachers from a wide range of districts, grade levels, and content areas.

Work with teachers involved in the College Ready Writers Program (CRWP) funded by PLWP’s i3 grant continued in February with model lessons, book study groups, and other sessions with teachers and students in Braymer, Hamilton, and Breckenridge.  PLWP Teacher Consultants Janet Jelavich (Maryville, retired), Lynn Tushaus (Savannah, retired), Michelle Irby (Orrick High School), and Amy Miller (Benton High School, St. Joseph) joined Kathy Miller (Weston High School), Jane Frick (MWSU, retired) and Tom Pankiewicz (MWSU) in delivering these programs. 

On Feb. 19^th and 20^th, Teacher Consultant Terri McAvoy (St. Joseph, retired) conducted model lessons and met with teachers at Pickett Elementary as part of the SEED 2 Professional Development in a High-Needs Schools grant.

Finally, a number of PLWP Teacher Consultants were involved in numerous capacities at the Annual Write to Learn Conference, held at Osage Beach Feb. 27-March 1. 

·         Co-Director Tom Pankiewicz hosted an awards ceremony for approximately 200 people, which included student winners in grades 7-12, their family members and their teachers, for the Missouri Writing Region of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.  He was assisted by Teacher Consultants Josie Clark (Bode Middle School, St. Joseph) and Amanda Moyers (Central High School, St. Joseph) as well as by Director Susan Martens.

·         Clark, along with Teacher Consultant Stacia Studer (Bode Middle School, St. Joseph), presented a conference session called “Creative Power: Combining Creative Writing and Technology.”

·         Kelsey Corzine (a MWSU graduate) and PLWP Teacher consultant Tia Frahm (Bode Middle School) presented “How to Love Revision in Ten Mini Lessons.”

·         Tori Grable (Smithville) and Elisabeth Alkier (Bode Middle School) presented “Taking Flight with Technology: Using Current Technological Tools to Encourage and Enhance Student Writing.”

·         Dasha Davis (Savannah High School) presented “A Mile in Their Shoes: Increasing Global Awareness through Multicultural Literature.”

·         These and other PLWP Teacher Consultants also accompanied several teachers who were attending Write to Learn, some for the first time, as part of their work with the College Ready Writers Program,  including Terrance Sanders (Braymer), Diane White (Braymer), Candy Hensley (Hamilton), Renae Wattenbarger (Hamilton) and Linda Gaines (Breckenridge). 

Appointments

Ms. Mary Stone Dockery, Instructor of English, has been appointed an editor at Sundress Publications (a publishing collective). As an editor, she will be reading full-length manuscripts, chapbooks, writing blog posts, reviews, and other dutues.

Awards

Mike Cadden, Professor of English, was awarded honorable mention (runner-up) by the Children’s Literature Association for his article “All is Well: the Epilogue in Children’s Fantasy Fiction,” Narrative 20.3 (Oct 2012). The award recognizes the top scholarly articles on the subject of children’s literature published in English during a calendar year.