French Students Enjoy Banquet

Over 40 students of French and their guests gathered last Friday in the Presidential Dining Room to experience a six-course French meal. On the menu: olive cake, carrot salad, coq au vin (chicken stew) with egg noodles, green salad and vinaigrette, assortment of cheeses with bread. For dessert, talented students made delicious rochers à la noix de coco (coconut macaroons). Artistically inclined students decorated tables with elegant flower arrangements and provided beautiful, individual menus.

 

Everybody left with a smile on their face and a better knowledge of what dîner à la française entitles!

Mary Stone Nominated

Mary Stone, EML alumna and Instructor of English, has learned that her poem "Your Name is a Shape Made in the Mouths of Magicians," published last spring  in The Meadow, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the journal.

The Pushcart Prizes have represented the best work found in small press literary magazines since 1976.

Congratulations, Mary!

October Accomplishments

 

Presentations/Workshops

Jeanie Crain Served as reviewer for new edition (2nd) of Reading Pop Culture: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Jeff Ousborne.Boston: St. Martin's, 2013.

Claudine Evans represented Missouri Western at the annual meeting of partners of the Missouri Foreign Language Consortium, at the Foreign language Association of Missouri (FLAM) Fall Conference in Kansas City, MO.

 

Susie Hennessy attended the Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she chaired a panel entitled “Evasive Maneuvers: Mothers on the Move.” She presented a paper in that panel: “A New You! Mother’s Day Out in Les Grands Magasins.”

Meredith Katchen attended the Thomas Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Louisville, KY.  He attended two Webinars: "Building an Academic Foundation: Strategies for Teaching Argument," conducted by Nancy Sommers, and  "How Literature Can Help Students Write Arguments," conducted by John Schilb.

Student/Community Involvement

Marianne Kunkel works with young writers

Marianne Kunkel and Susan Martens recently presented writing workshops to fifth and sixth grade students from the SJSD’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program.  Invited by Prairie Lands Teacher Consultant and GATE instructor Deb Ballin, Martens presented place-based writing workshops, while Kunkel presented a poetry-writing workshop. These workshops were students’ first stop during their writing field trips to MWSU.

PLWP hosted a meeting of the College Ready Writers Program’s Teaching Argument Writing Cadre at MWSU.  Eight teachers and administrators from CRWP partner schools in Braymer, Breckenridge, and Hamilton joined PLWP leaders and Teacher Consultants in a day-long series of series of sessions designed to help teachers support student learning in writing better arguments through the use of source citations.  PLWP presenters and facilitators included Jane Frick (MWSU, retired), Tom Pankiewicz (MWSU, retired), Kathy Miller (Weston), Maridella Carter (Blue Springs), Janet Jelavich (Maryville, retired), Amy Miller (MWSU), and Valorie Stokes (Platte County). 

The inaugural study abroad and exchange program photo contest took place to promote study abroad, as well as award the best photos and exhibit them. Participating students shared their experience through photography and encouraged others to plan their own adventures. The contest had three categories with these winners:
Nature and Architecture
1st Place: Vatican. Elliot Swope
2nd Place: London. Andy Garrison.
People and Culture
1st Place: Le Troubadour. Elizabeth Young.
2nd Place: Trafalgar Square. Elliot Swope.
Griffon Wings
1st Place: Waterfall. Jordan Blew.
2nd Place: Dr Ashley and students. Derin McQuiston.

In Memoriam: Dr. Trish Donaher

 



Dr. Patricia Donaher, Professor of English, passed away on November 4, 2014 after a two-year struggle with cancer.

 

Dr. Donaher began her work at Missouri Western State College in 1995 as an adjunct instructor following her completion of the PhD in English at the University of Nebraska. After a year she secured a position as Lecturer. In 2001, Dr. Donaher was hired as an assistant professor of English and was promoted to Associate Professor and then Professor. She achieved that highest academic rank on the strength of her teaching, service, and scholarship, all of which were admired by her colleagues in the department, especially her teaching and advising. Dr. Donaher was a sought-after adviser, famous for her interest and support in her advisees’ academic and personal lives. Her office was rarely empty. In her time at Western, Dr. Donaher taught linguistics, composition, literature (including highly popular courses in popular literature and Harry Potter). All told, she taught over twenty different courses while at Western. She was a pioneer in online teaching at Western.



 

In recognition of her fine work in the department, Dr. Donaher was awarded the Jesse Lee Myers Excellence in Teaching award in 2006, was given sabbatical leave to work on her research (which included her 2010 book, Barbarians at the Gate: Studies in Language Attitudes), and was a certified teacher consultant for the National Writing Project. She was devoted to the Popular Culture Association in which she was area chair for language attitudes and popular linguistics. She often took her students to the annual Popular Culture Association meetings to present their work done in her courses.

 

Dr. Donaher will be remembered for her boundless energy and enthusiasm and positive disposition. It characterized her interactions at MWSU and never flagged, even during her illness. Her optimism and determination remain an inspiration.

 

At the Popular Culture Association with students

 

Teaching with Technology

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m., a group of EML faculty gathered in Eder 216 to hear from our technology-savvy colleagues Kara Bollinger, Claudine Evans, and Susan Martens. Each presented forward-thinking ways to integrate technology into our EML courses.

Presenters  (l to r) Claudine Evans, Kara Bollinger, and Susan Martens




Kara shared how to facilitate student peer review on Moodle, as well as how to create Prezi presentations (an exciting alternative to PowerPoint presentations). Claudine shared a video assignment that her students, especially the creative ones, always enjoy: a French version of the American TV show What Not to Wear.

Students use technology from MWSU'sInstructional Media Center, or their own phones, to videotape each other discussing fashion dos and don'ts in French. Susan shared the value of class blogs, which she easily creates through WordPress. Students are required to post blog entries outside of class about a class-related topic, and reading each other's blog posts builds a sense of community among the students.

This event was organized by the department's Morale & Motivation Committee, whose members hope to offer a similar professional development session each semester. The committee thanks Kara, Claudine, and Susan for sharing their terrific technology-driven class activities!

 

A Look at Publishing

In an effort to gather together English majors who have declared the new creative writing and publishing emphasis, and to inform them of their exciting career opportunities, Drs. Bill Church and Marianne Kunkel kicked off a CWP career series on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

 

Once a semester, a professional from the creative writing and/or publishing industry will meet with interested students to discuss real-world job opportunities. This semester, we were excited to host Tharran and Barb Gaines, a husband-and-wife team who write and edit for a variety of trade magazines. They've become so successful, they're able to hire out their services through their own company, Gaines Communications. 

 

About ten students attended the hour-long event, which consisted of presentations by Tharran, then Barb, then a lively Q&A session. Their valuable advice to students included taking advantage of course offerings at MWSU, never burning bridges with coworkers, and getting early experience through internships and writing/editing content that may not directly relate to one's interests.

French Film to be Shown

The French film Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël) (2005) will be shown on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:30 PM in Hearnes 102. (PG13, 116 minutes)

On Christmas Eve in 1914, during World War I, the Germans, French, and Scottish fraternize and get to know the men who live on the opposite side of a brutal war, in what became a true lesson of humanity. (www.imdb.com)

Directed by Christian Carion, starring Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann,Guillaume Canet.

In French, German and English, with English subtitles.

 

For more information, see the trailer.