Oceanic Books!

This Wednesday, June 8, is, as you all know World Oceans Day.  If you'd like to watch me moderate a panel on recent ocean-themed books as part of Capitol Hill Oceans Week, you can watch the event live here. 

To see the books we'll be talking about, go here.

For a list of other events, go here.

Happy Oceans Day!

Don Gio, written and directed by Josh Pangborn

St. John's DA student Josh Pangborn's new play, Don Gio, will be part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival this summer.  Tickets are going fast!

Teaser:  Don Gio, portly lover of pleasure, is after his next great
conquest, the lovely Ana. However, to win her he'll have to overcome
several obstacles, including a long dead brother, a transsexual witch,
and his affair with his butler in this gender-bending, hedonistic
romp.


Sidekick Productions will be presenting Don Gio, an original play by Joshua R. Pangborn, at the 12th Annual Midtown International Theater Festival. The performances are:

Saturday, July 16 at 4:30 (sold out!)
Sunday, July 17 at 4:00 (almost sold out--two tickets remaining!)
Monday, July 18 at 8:00
Thursday, July 21 at 6:30
Saturday, July 30 at 6:00
Sunday, July 31 at 8:30


Tickets are 18.00 and can be purchased at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/834895 <https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/834895> .

NOTE: Tickets can be purchased at a discount rate with the following code: ADVA. Offer expires May 27, 2011.

Artwork by Nicholas Keller

You can follow us on Facebook ('Don Gio') or Twitter (@SidekickProd).

Congratulations, Graduates!

It's here. Many of you have been anxiously awaiting this moment, counting down the days, ticking off assignments, consuming insane amounts of coffee. Wait no longer! It is time to celebrate! Many thanks on behalf of the entire English Department for your hard work, your dedication, your participation, and your all-around good cheer. You did it, and we are so proud of you.

Don't forget that we would like to celebrate your achievements, too. We hope you'll join us tomorrow after the ceremony. Here are the details:

Dr. Ahmad and Dr. Lubey have organized an informal reception tomorrow (Sunday, May 15) following the commencement ceremony. Many of the faculty will be in attendance and hope to congratulate you on earning your degree! Light refreshments will be served. Drop by the seminar room B40 with your family and friends after the ceremony.

Reminder about Summer online Graduate Courses

A quick re-post of the three summer grad courses the English department is offering online this summer, on starting on May 31 (Trauma Theory with Dr Travis) and two on July 7 (Shakespeare with Dr Mentz, and Writing Pedagogy with Dr Denny).

Please tell your friends about these courses as well -- students who are not yet enrolled but thinking about graduate studies in English can take one or more of these courses prior to applying to the program. 

St. John’s University Department of English

Summer 2011: Graduate Course Offerings Online

The St. John’s University English Department will offer three graduate seminars online this summer.  These courses aim to extend our engagement with literature and our students.  We log into dynamic course platforms to engage in discussions, post questions, and communicate with each other.  Everyone is welcome; nonmatriculated students can take summer courses and apply to the program next year.

Summer Session I: May 31 – July 6

E. 885: Topics in Cultural Studies: Trauma Studies: Before and After 9-11 (32591)

Dr. Jennifer Travis

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we all live in the aftermath of trauma, politically, socially, and culturally. This course examines how American literary narratives imagine physical and psychological trauma, from slavery, shell shock, and domestic abuse, to 9-11, terrorism, and war. We will read novels, short stories, testimonial literature, and trauma theory by Cathy Caruth, Stephen Crane, Jonathan Safran Foer, Sigmund Freud, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Roger Luckhurst, Toni Morrison, and Joseph O’Neill.

Please email the instructor, Jennifer Travis, for more details: travisj@stjohns.edu

Summer Session II:  July 7 – August 10

E. 300: Five Myths about Shakespeare (32631)

Dr. Steve Mentz

     

We read, teach, watch, and think about Shakespeare inside four hundred years of mythologized biography.  This summer seminar tackles the many myths that circulated about Shakespeare’s life.  Each student will read one recent Shakespeare biography, and together we’ll explore five myths and five plays.  We’ll also see a live performance of Much Ado about Nothing.

Myth 1:  He hated Women, especially his Wife: Much Ado about Nothing

Myth 2: He was a Thief: 1 Henry IV

Myth 3. He was a secret Catholic: Antony and Cleopatra

Myth 4: The Earl of Oxford Wrote His Plays: Hamlet

Myth 5: “He Was Not of an Age, but For All Time”: Macbeth

Please email the instructor, Steve Mentz, for more details: mentzs@stjohns.edu

E. 135: Critical Issues in Writing Assessment (32632)

Dr. Harry Denny

Teachers spend countless hours assessing their students’ writing.  This course focuses on the history, theory, and methods of writing assessment in English Studies. Students will explore their own experiences and practices and embark on original research that may commingle material from other online courses this summer.  For secondary school teachers, we explore how state-mandated exams and the prepping of students for them might be reimagined pedagogically outside received notions of templates and canned rhetoric. Students will respond to critical issues, push one another through discussion threads, and workshop their own writing and scholarship.

Please email the instructor, Harry Denny, for more details: dennyh@stjohns.edu

For information, please contact Lana Umali umalil@stjohns.edu or John Lowney, Director of Graduate Studies lowneyj@stjohns.edu

For a registration form, visit http://www.stjohns.edu/admission/undergraduate/visitsummer/register.stj

For more on St. John’s Graduate Programs in English, please visit http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/liberalarts/departments/english

English Undergrads: Call for Papers

Check out this call for papers for the inaugural edition of Ellipsis...A Journal for Undergraduate Research in the Humanities.

This call for papers is strictly for undergraduates and those who have graduated within the last year. Papers should be between 10 and 15 pages in length, and they must be accompanied by an abstract (250 words max). MLA Format. See the above link for more information on submission guidelines.

View the journal here.

View the full guidelines and forms here.

Address all questions to Patricia, editor of Ellipsis, at ellipsisscholar@gmail.com.

Attention Grads!

A reminder to all graduating English students:

Dr. Ahmad and Dr. Lubey have organized an informal reception on Sunday, May 15 following the commencement ceremony. Many of the faculty will be in attendance and hope to congratulate you on earning your degree! Light refreshments will be served. Drop by the seminar room B40 with your family and friends after the ceremony.

Good luck with all of your final classes, exams, and papers. And congratulations!

Events for Victorianists

Dr. King has kindly shared some upcoming events with us. If you are interested in Victorian Lit, both of these events are great opportunities to mingle, network, and expand your Victorian horizons.

On Monday, May 2, Tanya Agothocolous of Hunter College will be giving a talk entitled "Comparative Criticism, Cosmopolitanism, and Neutrality in the English Language Colonial Press in India." The talk will be held at the CUNY Graduate Center in the Liberal Studies Room (Room 4108). There will wine and snacks at 6:00 p.m. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome.

CUNY is also hosting their one-day annual Victorianist Conference. The conference is being held on May 6 at the CUNY Graduate Center and is on "Victorian Boyhoods." For anyone who was in Dr. King's George Eliot class last fall, you may be interested particularly in Karen Bourrier's talk on "Tom Tulliver's Schooldays."

Follow this link for more information.

Please feel free to comment on this post if you are interested in attending!