ENWL Debut Era

We’re kicking off our Taylor Swift Era by highlighting ENWL connections to her first album! Taylor’s first album shares her name but has become known to Swifties as simply Debut. Released in 2006, this album is heavily connected to Taylor’s roots in the country music genre with her top hit from the album named after Country singer/songwriter Tim McGraw. The aesthetics from the album capture light-hearted simplicity featuring butterflies, flowers, and her acoustic guitar in shades of baby blue.

You may be in your Debut ENWL era too if you are:

  • In ENGL 110 – English Composition
  • Always over prepared
  • Just starting off in your writing journey
  • Will skip a class to go home early for break
  • Makes at least 3 drafts before submitting a paper
  • Will most likely visit the Writing Center
  • A member of the English Club

Dr. Rea is also in his Debut era because this is his first year as a professor at Millersville. “The Outside,” one of the tracks from this album, starts with the lyrics “I didn’t know what I would find” and we hope that Dr. Rea has found lots of great things in our department! This song also features a connection to Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” with the lyrics “I tried to take the road less traveled by” echoing Frost’s famous lines. Click on this link to read “The Road Not Taken” or check out another poem by Frost that shares Debut’s aesthetic: “Blue-Butterfly Day.”

Have you noticed any other unexpected connections to this album? Comment below to let us in on what you catch! Also, stay up to date with all our Taylor Swift content on Instagram and Facebook where we’ll see you next week with more “enchanting” fun;)

 

Research Corner – Data Logging

Week one logistics of our social media research project involved setting up data tracking log sheets and guidelines for collection. To set up our log sheet (see image below) we had to answer two primary questions a) what data is available and b) when should we collect data to make sure we are capturing meaningful information (without overloading our team with work). For our first week, we’ve settled into collecting information that is publicly available through each platform’s built in data analytic software. For data we expect to have slower growth (follower/subscriber/event attendance counts) we’ve decided to collect weekly numbers and for data we expect to change more rapidly (likes/shares/comments) we’ve decided to collect numbers at 24-hrs, 48-hrs, and at 1 week intervals until the conclusion of the study (with a total of 6-weeks for each data point). We hope that this range of data will be able to be used to determine if there is a significant impact (represented by an increase in these various metrics) from using Taylor Swift influenced content. We’ve separated our sheet into 6 sections (one for each week) with additional tabs for method notes and screenshots with sections on each tab for user added notes to document who is posting what when.

ENWL Enters Our Taylor Swift Era

With the announcement of Taylor Swift’s upcoming album titled The Tortured Poets Department, the English and World Languages Department is kicking off Taylor Swift themed events and fun leading up to a listening party on April 19th when the album drops. On this blog and social media, we will be moving through Taylor’s discography chronologically posting about unexpected connections Taylor Swift’s music has with English and World Languages (ENWL) by highlighting media, critical theories, research methods, and faculty interests tied into themes and literary connections in Taylor Swift’s lyrics and eras for each album.

This content strategy will also function as a 6-week study to measure student engagement metrics utilizing celebrity impact to generate interest in all things ENWL. Using Taylor Swift as inspiration will draw on an existing fandom to build a discourse community and provide a large base of material to fuel content. Not only will this allow us to potentially promote ENWL topics to a larger audience, but we will also be demonstrating our research techniques for this project by sharing our process on this blog including our world building strategies and research methods to show why and how ENWL research works.

The purpose of this study is two-fold: first it will establish a quantifiable content strategy to model systems of social media usage to determine the usefulness of social media to academic departments, and second it will provide additional means for students to connect with peers, professors, and ENWL media to establish community while also modeling ENWL research methods and methodologies for students to engage with. For this project, we will collect data that measures specific metrics of engagement on social media (likes, shares, comments, follower number) as well as in-person events (sign-in sheets). We will be sharing our process, documentation, and insights to show you in real time what ENWL research can do!

Join us for the next six weeks here, on Instagram (@ville.englishworldlanguage), and on Facebook (Millersville University, Department of English) as we present Swiftie connections to our discipline and envision new ways for our students to connect with each other and ENWL materials. The Department of ENWL is officially in our Taylor Swift era:)

Highlights from Reading and Conversation Event with Julia Fiedorczuk

This week, Millersville welcomed renowned Polish writer, poet, translator, and researcher Julia Fiedorczuk on the last stop of her North American tour. She read from her latest collection of poetry, Psalms, which was awarded the prestigious Wisława Szymborska Prize in Poland in 2018 as well as selections from her unreleased novel, The House of Orion, providing context and insight on her process and conceptual and physical groundings.

She sat facing us, a mixed crowd of approximately 40 community members, faculty, and students, in a red armchair in the Ford Atrium. Beside her, Dr. Katarzyna Jakubiak acted as moderator and co-presenter as each poem presented was read twice, first in Polish by Fiedorczuk and then in English by Dr. Jakubiak. Fiedorczuk remarked that she prefers to not read her poems aloud in English stating “I can’t read them not because I dislike them, they’re beautiful, but because Polish is so connected to me,” expressing a gratefulness to Bill Johnston, the translator for both Psalms and an earlier work Oxygen. The depth of her connection was evident, even to non-Polish listeners. She spoke in a soft breathy voice with conviction and pressing flow, transporting the audience in gentle percussive insistence into her work that interweaves narratives of human trauma and resilience with environmental beauty and catastrophe.

In simultaneously engaging two often juxtaposed topics, she masterfully shapes a dialogue that addresses both the ongoing climate crisis and human crises (most notably the great migration crisis in Europe that begin around 2013) challenging divisions of science and humanities, noting that these are the same struggle. The ongoing loss of biodiversity is inextricable from the loss of human life and language and vice versa. As such, Fiedorczuk powerfully argues for “science to be informed by poetry” stating that “literature needs to be precise and science needs to be imaginative.” Poetry specifically offers the ability to tap into human imagination that she describes saying, “imagination is a wonderful thing and imagination is a wild thing,” noting that human imagination is collective and often “more than” human. This ability to place ourselves in collective imaginings is key to understanding Psalms that explores the complicated interplay of two primary emotions: despair and joy.

Placing these two emotions in confluence creates a needed perspective that shares moments of the “absolute unconditional acceptance of life” and the “possibility of having real authentic joy” in the face of the complex fears of global climate and humanitarian issues. This is partly accomplished by centering the physical experience of language drawing from its oral beginnings and exploring how “little portions of sound” can create meaning. Describing this work as a “somatic translation,” that is partially a translation and interpretation of the Biblical poems of the same name, Fiedorczuk studied Hebrew and even memorized some of the verses so she could sing them and embody the experience of language. Despite the religious nature of the original material, she emphasized that her poems are not religious at all. They are “prayers” but only in the sense that they address someone who can potentially respond – like a crying child, who uses sound before they can construct meaning, is still calling someone, addressing someone. In this way, her Psalms are meant to invite or invoke another presence.

Humble and honest, Fiedorczuk also shared her struggle to find relevance as a writer in the face of such extreme human and natural suffering. After visiting the Białowieża Forest in 2021, a place for her that is rooted in mystical reverence as it is one of the oldest forests in Europe, she found herself questioning her value as a writer while witnessing the struggles of migrants who were displaced in the forest, sold on a false dream that it would offer an easy way to enter Europe. Her doubts about whether or not it was meaningful for her to write anymore had overtaken her until a friend reminded her “but that’s what you do, just do your job.” This experience is reflected in her poem “Cold” that states “Even when bombs are falling you ought to write” that also uses part of a phone call from someone who became trapped in the forest as part of Poland’s response to the migration crisis. She recognizes that her approach to these circumstances is not necessarily a solution, stating that while writing is “not going to solve problems, I’m a writer and that’s my contribution.” She also stated that even in the face of the global epidemic of hopelessness and numbness, “something can always be done” and that there is “always a way to help someone. Always a way to deeply care for someone or something.”

For many of us in the discipline of English and World Languages studies, that way is writing. Fiedorczuk suggests that when we feel hopelessness creep into our own lives to practice “place writing” that centers noticing and knowing what is immediately around you, leaving preconceived ideas behind; “start where you are, start with small things, start with noticing what’s around you.” In so doing, writing can allow us to build new ways of knowing and practice resiliency and recognize that “this life is extremely valuable, and we cannot wait for all these crises to be over because that may never happen. The art is to live in the present.”

 

We are very grateful to Julia Fiedorczuk for visiting and sharing her work (despite a twisted ankle!) and to Dr. Jakubiak and the Department of English and World Languages for hosting the event. Read selected poems from her latest book Psalms here: https://www.harvardreview.org/content/psalms/?fbclid=IwAR3mIzvhCxFtylEXd948anhK5FyyH-wpdsjrbKPsxyZBTaOHC8uwD_tz-rs

 

 

English and World Languages Faculty Focus: Research Talk

This past Wednesday, the department of English and World Languages hosted their first Faculty Focus Research Talk, a new event that will take place regularly throughout the semester. This event allows professors within the department to highlight either their current or past research projects, an opportunity to show a different side of their academic selves outside of the content they teach within their classroom. As a student conducting and participating in their own research, it is easy to forget that professors are engaging in those writing and researching processes themselves. This new event series provides a unique opportunity for students to connect with professors not only about the topic of their research, but also to ask them questions about it, which could help them to change or modify their own research and writing methods for the better.

For the first faculty focus research talk, Dr. Baldys and Dr. Rea presented their past research to a group of both students and faculty. Dr. Rea discussed rhetorical violence within a local Florida community titled “Striking Out in Ybor City: Baseball, Housing, and Rhetorical Violence.” This wonderful presentation prompted discussion that may not be found in a classroom, such as what is rhetorical violence, how can it appear in different conversations and modalities, why Dr. Rea chose to focus his research on this specific set of affordable housing in Florida, and why it matters to research this topic. Dr. Baldys shifted the conversation from a rhetorical to a literary perspective with her presentation titled “Disability and Victorian Feminism: Narratives of Resistance in the Novels of Mona Caird.” Mona Caird, a Scottish essayist and novelist, is not as well known in the literary world as she should be. Dr. Baldys’ research presented a different side of Victorian literature that may be overlooked in comparison to other texts that have been centralized in conversation in the classroom, such as more popular books and writers. In both presentations, Dr. Baldys and Dr. Rea showcased different fields, methodologies, and methods of research that show students not only how they could apply these to their own research, but also provide a space to ask questions and learn about new fields and writers they would not have encountered in the classroom.

Valentine’s Book Recs 2024

It’s that time of year again when love is in the air and in the pages –check out our Faculty and Staff recommendations for romantic reads below!

Love in the time of Serial Killers   by Alicia Thompson

Recommended by Dr. Pfannenstiel

While writing her doctoral dissertation, the protagonist moves to Florida to sell her father’s house – and falls in love with her neighbor whom she suspects is a serial killer. This is such a lighthearted romance read. There are so many misunderstandings, mixed in with the real pressures of navigating imposter syndrome, higher education, and real life – all at the same time. That level of real-ness really resonated, making the romance tropes even more enjoyable.

Check out a free physical copy with your Lancaster Libraries card here.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Recommended by Dr. Baldys

Two rival journalists fall in love while exchanging letters during a magical war. This book is an enjoyable blend of period piece (think British World War 2 vibes) plus an enemies-to-conspirators-to-lovers plotline, seasoned with magical realism and Ross’s lyrical prose. I’ve been on a YA kick recently and found Ross’s novel to be a standout: enchanting and satisfying without being sensationalist, and legitimately well written, too. Enjoy!

Check it out here!

Enchanted to Meet You by Meg Cabot

Recommended by Heather Verani

This paranormal romantic comedy novel is about a self-made witch who must team up with a handsome stranger to help protect her village from an otherworldly force. With the tag line of “It’s magic when you meet your match,” this book is an easy to read, slice of cheesy romance that we all need in our lives. I first picked up this book because the title is a line from the Taylor Swift song “Enchanted.” I love both witchy books and the romance genre, so I thought this would be a fun read!

Check out a physical copy for free with your Lancaster Libraries Card!

The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre

Recommended by Becca Betty

This book flirts with the supernatural and interweaves romance and found family as a group of strangers begin renting rooms together in The Only Purple House in Town. The main character, Iris Collins, has failed repeatedly to meet her family’s expectations and is struggling to find her place in the world. She inherits a house from a deceased relative and begins refurbishing and renting out the rooms to people that at first seem like unlikely misfits. The novel follows the repairing of the house and the hearts of its residents, embracing the human and the monstrous to overcome stereotypes about success, queer relationships, and what it means to be a family. Whimsy, sweet, and soulful, this book is an excellent read for anyone looking to be reassured that they can find love in themselves and others.

Access it for free online through Hoopla with a Lancaster Libraries Card!

Faculty Feature: Dr. Mondello

Although one of the newer members of the English and World Languages faculty, Dr. Mondello has already made a positive impact on the department. Dr. Mondello (pronouns she/her), is the Assistant Professor of Ecostudies for the department, and her main fields of study include Ecocriticism and Romanticism. These focuses directly connect to the classes Dr. Mondello has taught during her time here at Millersville, which include Science Writing, Romanticism, Folklore, Poetry, and Speculative Fiction. Currently, she is teaching courses in Honors World Literature, Fiction, Literary Criticism, Science Writing, and Speculative Fiction. Within the speculative fiction course. Dr. Mondello has the opportunity to teach and discuss her favorite book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with students.

Dr. Mondello received her BA and MA from Stetson University, and her PhD from the City University of New York (CUNY). As an English scholar herself, she describes what it means to be an English and World Languages Scholar as:

“a dedication to the value of literature and writing. That value for me is in the power of the written word to move us and to change our minds, to teach us about the world and ourselves.”

Dr. Mondello is participating in the upcoming Faculty Focus: Research Talk this upcoming Wednesday, February 14th at 3pm in the student lounge with Dr. Rea. This event will focus on their research, and allow student to discuss and ask questions. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Mondello’s research, this is a perfect opportunity to do so!

More information on the event can be found on the department’s Instagram page @ville.englishworldlanguage.

The ENWL Student Lounge is now open!

The Department of English and World Languages is pleased to announce the opening of our student lounge! This new space transforms an old office into a place for English and World Languages students to work, study, or hang-out. Located on the first floor in McComsey 248, the student lounge will be open to all students on weekdays from 8AM to 9PM.  

Students and faculty gathered on Friday to celebrate at our ribbon cutting ceremony with cupcakes and coffee. Dr. Emily Baldys shared the poem “In the Library” by Charles Simic with those gathered to commemorate this event and envision a future for the space. You can read it here https://poets.org/poem/library  

The student lounge is curated by students, for students with members of the Student Leadership Council contributing ideas and design to create a functional area to gather with like-minded peers. At the opening celebration today, a few SLC members commented on what it was like to be involved in this process and what they hope this space will mean for the ENWL community. 

The student lounge features comfy chairs, a mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and charging station as well as fun literature decor from the department’s archives and information about student organizations and upcoming department events.

Shout out to our Student Leadership Committee lead by Assistant Department Chair, Dr. Emily Baldys, for helping us coordinate this project and the Department of English and World Languages for funding. 

Check out the map below for more info on how to get there. Feel free to drop-by to eat or study. Clubs can reserve the room for meetings or events by contacting Dena McEwan: Dena.McEwan@millersville.edu

Calling All Poets!- Academy of American Poets Student Poetry Contest

The Academy of American Poets is hosting a student poetry contest and we invite both undergraduate and graduate students to apply! You can submit up to three (1-3) poems in any form to Dr. Farkas by emailing her at Kerrie.Farkas@millersville.edu with the subject line of “poetry contest.” In the email, make sure to include your name, MU number, and email address. Do not include your name or any identifying information on the actual poems. The deadline for the contest is Friday, March 15th, 2024.

The winner of the contest will receive $100, their poem published on Poets.org and listed in the Academy’s annual report, a one-year membership to Academy of American Poets, and a one-year subscription to American Poets magazine.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Farkas at Kerrie.Farkas@millersville.edu or (717-871-7399). Good luck and happy writing!

Taking Advantage of Academic Opportunities- Mary Miller

One of the aspects of higher education that I was underprepared for was the opportunity to apply myself outside of the classroom. As an undergraduate speech communications major, I joined a few clubs and worked hard in class, but I wasn’t too concerned about how my time in college could cultivate my professional experience.

Now, as a student in the English master’s program, my peers and professors have been so supportive in making sure I’m not only aware of all the opportunities I can have to showcase my research and my academic work, but that I’m comfortable and prepared to do so. I recently was able to travel to Philadelphia for the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference, and through the process of working with my fellow students and Dr. Pfannenstiel on our roundtable discussion presentation, it let me practice a lot of important skills that I don’t always get to work on.

Weekly meetings to prepare for the conference helped us put together a cohesive presentation, and talking out loud really helped me put my thoughts into words. In undergrad, I preferred to work alone and didn’t go out of my way for peer feedback, but over the course of this semester, my peers in the English department have been so inviting and supportive that it has allowed me to be more comfortable with collaboration as a necessary and constructive activity. Hearing their feedback made me feel more confident in what I was going to share at MAPACA, and hearing what they had researched gave me some ideas of my own.

These meetings and working together also gave me a structure each week, one built on making connections and spending time with others. Graduate school can be lonely – it can feel like it should be a solitary effort and like there aren’t a lot of moments to spend quality time with others outside of the classroom. I’m so glad to be a part of the English program at Millersville, because it’s been clear that while I’m here, everyone who’s a part of the department wants to see me succeed and wants to help me along the way. It can also be a little nerve-wracking (or, for me, downright terrifying) to present your own work in front of strangers, but working with such understanding classmates has helped me overcome that fear bit by bit.

Apart from the opportunity to travel to MAPACA as a way to learn more about what other academics in English studies are working on and willing to share, this whole experience has been an incredible way to build on my public speaking and research skills. Additionally, it helped solidify the fact that English is such a diverse field of study, one that has room for everyone and everyone’s unique interests. I feel very lucky to be a part of a department that understands this and allows room for us to pursue our interests, and a department that encourages me to attend events like MAPACA, even if initially I believed them to be outside of my comfort zone.

Faculty Feature- Dr. Farkas

This week, the department of English and World Languages would like to highlight the accomplishments and academic pursuits of Dr. Farkas. Dr. Farkas, who uses she/her pronouns, is a current professor of Writing Studies here at Millersville University. Currently, she is teaching courses such as Editing for Publication, Business Writing, and Special Topics in Writing Studies: Rhetoric, Writing, & Social Justice in Educational Settings. She currently has one book published about writing studies titled The Transportable Writing Tool: A Guide for Writing and Revising which provides different tools and perspectives on how to write and produce more effective texts. Her application of lifelong learning in her research and publications shows her dedication to not only her understanding of writing, but also her students. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Farkas helps students with their writing through her position as Coordinator of the Writing Center.

Dr. Farkas connects her other field of study, civic discourse and civic engagement, through her other role as the co-editor of both the Engage for Change and Made in Millersville Journals. She further states:

“I have a wide range of interests as far as my scholarship, but most of it focuses on civic discourse and the extent to which everyday citizens have access to and can contribute to decision-making that affects their communities. My scholarship overlaps with and informs my teaching, and I love getting students interested and involved in using writing to advocate and create change in their communities.”

When she isn’t participating in civic discourse or academia, Dr. Farkas enjoys reading or watching some of her favorite shows. Some of her favorite books include Little Women, The Grapes of Wrath, The Color Purple, Sarah’s Key, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Invisible Man, Seabiscuit, and any of Ken Follett’s books. Her favorite shows are Breaking Bad and the Walking Dead.

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