“Exploring Mythology Through Drama: A curricular artifact” Kara Travis Thesis Announcement

The English and World Languages Department would like to announce the thesis defense of Kara Travis for her MA in English. Her thesis, titled “Exploring Mythology Through Drama: A curricular artifact,” will be defended on zoom today, April 5th, at 2pm. Her thesis is chaired by Dr. Kim McCollum-Clark with committee members Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel and Dr. Justin Mando.

“L’État actuel du français louisianais” – Hunter Davis Thesis Announcement

The English and World Languages Department would like to announce the thesis defense of Hunter Davis for his BA in French and Spanish, Teacher Candidate, and Honor’s College. His thesis, titled “L’État actuel du français louisianais” or “The Current State of Louisiana French,” will be defended today, April 3rd, at 1:30pm in McComsey 237. His thesis is chaired by Dr. Christine Gaudry, with committee members Dr. Clarence Maxwell and Dr. Elizabeth Thyrum. The abstract for his thesis is included below.

Abstract: “In 2010, the American Community Survey of the US Census Bureau announced that less than 3.4% of the total population of Louisiana still spoke some form of Louisiana-dialectal
French at home (“Language Spoken at Home”). During the last 10 years, that number has only diminished, with a most recent estimate of around 1.5% of the total population in 2021 still speaking some form of the dialect (“Language Spoken at Home”). This shows a loss of 77,434 native speakers of Louisiana French or roughly 54.2% of the francophone population of Louisiana since 2010. The question proposed by this thesis is if there is any way to slow, stop, or reverse the decline of the use of dialectal varieties of Louisiana French in Louisiana. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the longevity of Louisiana French in relation to other linguistic groups who experienced a revival of their heritage language, with the goal of
analyzing their commonalities in order to draw concrete, feasible solutions for the case of Louisiana French.”

English Classes You Should Consider Taking Next Semester

With registration for the upcoming fall semester just around the corner, the English department would like to highlight some of the higher level courses that will be available next semester.

WRIT 280 – Intro to Rhetoric for Writers

Taught asynchronously by Dr. Pfannenstiel

Course Description: “In the past few decades, scholars of writing (Writing Studies and Composition) returned to rhetoric and rhetorical theories to develop productive ways of teaching writing. As part of our Writing Studies program here in Millersville University’s English and World Languages Department, Introduction to Rhetoric for Writers introduces students to the rhetorical theories that form the baseline of how we understand and develop as writers.

This course starts with rhetorical theory in Greek and Roman times. We then jump to contemporary uses. We build an understanding of how rhetoric exists within communication all around us, all the time

ENGL 331- Special Topic: The Beats- Before, During, and After

Taught by Dr. Ording on Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 11:00-11:50pm

Course Description: “Explore the brilliance and influence of The Beat Generation through the poets from each era. This includes predecessors Whitman, Emerson, then The Beats themselves Kerouac and Ginsberg, and their successors Brautigan, Bukowski, and Morrison.”

ENGL 334- African American Literature II

Taught by Dr. Jakubiak on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:10-2:25pm

Course Description: “Students will read works by 20th and 21st century African American poets, prose writers and playwrights including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and Colson Whitehead. Explore how these major writers use literary art to ask questions about race and intersectional identity in the United States.”

ENGL 343- Ecofeminist Fiction Seminar

Taught asynchronously by Dr. Mondello

Course Description: “Ecofeminist Fiction centers relationships between women and the natural world in novels, novellas (short novels), and short stories. While sometimes this takes the form of a celebration of connection, it is more often portrayed as a shared subjugation to patriarchal forces. Responses include solidarity between women, animals, and nature, as well as monstrous figures and revenge plots against exploitation. We will read texts from a variety of time periods to consider the history of ideas about the connections between nature and gender in fiction to trace the wide range of styles and techniques across literary fiction more broadly. Readings and class discussions will focus on literary representations of the environment with an emphasis on gendered, racialized and other intersectional depictions of nature, as well as on human and non-human characters who are associated with nature.”

ENGL 428- Contemporary American Literature (1945-Present)

Taught by Dr. Ording on Mondays from 6:00-9:00pm

Course Description: “Explore fiction and other cultural productions in the contemporary period through works by notable writers such as Salinger, Steinbeck, Morrison, and Baldwin.”

WRIT 466- Special Topics Seminar on Rhetoric, Writing, and Social Justice in Educational Settings

Taught asynchronously by Dr. Farkas

Course Description: “Words are powerful and can be used to inspire and foster change.  This course will examine the intersections among rhetoric, writing, and advocacy, and in it, students will focus on understanding the ways language and practice can affect systems of inequality, particularly in an educational context.  Beginning with a reflection on their own educational journeys and culminating with a case study of an educational context, students will examine whether Pennsylvania and Lancaster County schools (K-12 and higher education) provide a thriving learning environment for every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, disability, and sexuality. Students will also analyze the role of power and privilege in shaping educational policies and practices and develop strategies to advocate for equity and justice in education.”

Winnona Piazza Thesis Defense- “The Indigenous Persona: Examining the Modern Native American”

The English Department would like to announce the thesis defense of Winnona Piazza for her MA in English that will take place today, March 30th. Her thesis, titled “The Indigenous Persona: Examining the Modern Native American,” is chaired by Dr. Caleb Corkery alongside committee members Dr. Katarzyna Jakubiak and Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel.  The abstract for her thesis is included below.

Abstract: “Examination of the modern native looking beyond the stereotype or phenotype used to create the definition. Opening with a historical investigation on established Indian identity and how it was determined through governmental systems both on and off Indian reservations. The controversy with the ways of confirming native identity undermines the individual and negates their experiences. Through the voice of several Native American authors, their fictional characters are used to substantiate that the state of native identity is at a time of flux. The many characters that find themselves to not fully belong to their ethnicity or culture due to mixed blood is formidable. These native fictional characters are used to explore with aid of Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderland theory to reveal that the new native was something that did not meet the romantic view of the indigenous but worked to help create an identity of their own that belonged within the community and culture. Developed with the voice of the new native, four pieces of creative non-fiction written from experiences growing up on a reservation within the Native American culture.”

Successfully Defended Thesis Annoucement- Kristy Davis

The English and World Languages Department is happy to announce the successful defense of a thesis by graduate student Kristy Davis. She defended her thesis “Edutainment in Podcasting: A content analysis of education and entertainment in the Serial Killers podcast” on March 16th for her MA in English. Her thesis committee members include Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel (chair), Dr. Justin Mando, and Dr. Kerri Farkas.

Focus on Forms: Annotated Bibliographies

Do you sometimes reach the end of a semester and can’t remember anything about texts you read at the start of the course? Or, have you compiled a long list of Works Cited for a project and find that the sources are starting to run together in your mind? An annotated bibliography could help with that! For this series, “Focus on Forms,” we’ll be highlighting writing forms you may encounter in your courses and delve into any unique qualities they hold, beginning with annotated bibliographies.

Annotated bibliographies are like Works Cited pages with opinions—housing collections of sources with a short synthesis that may include a brief summary, key themes relevant between items, and how these sources contribute to your project’s goal. This index of citations evolves from a static list with the added information that assesses the accuracy of the pieces and relevance to your overall research goals. They can also be a bit tricky because annotations depend on concise, powerful execution to not only capture key elements of the text but also reflect their importance to your research project or interests. This is a curated collection; the pieces selected should consider what is unique about each text and how it contributes to the collection as a whole. Annotating a bibliography can help solidify a text’s resonance with your research or assignment and bring out new directions for your project (or remind you what ideas belong to what text at the end of a long semester). All in all, an annotated bibliography can test your research skills, synthesizing abilities, and increase your capacity to write concisely and powerfully to create a highly useful reference document.

For more on the mechanics of creating an annotated bibliography, check out Purdue OWL’s excellent breakdown (with links to guidelines for MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/annotated_bibliographies/annotated_bibliography_samples.html .

Want to learn more about creating a curated source list? Chat with a librarian during their “Ask a Librarian” hours online, over the phone, or in person at the McNairy Library: https://www.library.millersville.edu/home .

Have questions about bibliographies, sources, citations and more? The Millersville Writing Center is ready to help: https://www.millersville.edu/enwl/writing-center/ .

Fiction Reading Event with Millersville Alumni Tyler Barton

Written by Heather Verani

This Wednesday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Millersville alumni Tyler Barton, a writer who is hosting a fiction reading event of his debut short-story collection Eternal Night at the Nature Museum. This literary event takes place on March 28th at 7pm in McNairy Library at the alumni reading room (room 100).

Eternal Night at the Nature Museum received its interesting title based off of one of Barton’s previous works which is featured in this short-story collection. “It’s a short little one-page story” he describes, “that could also be considered as a prose poem because it’s very lyrical and shifting in a lot of different directions in a single page.” This almost-poetic short story is about a person being in a nature museum when a nuclear disaster strikes, and explores what it would be like to survive if that became your home for such an event. Although the collection of short stories don’t have a connecting thread, such as all the characters living in the same place or time, they do all share a common theme of home. Barton further explains this by stating all the stories deal with home by “either losing it, deciding to leave it, or finding it in a place you didn’t expect.” These stories differ in content, as they follow the lives of a variety of characters in disparate circumstances, such as having their house explode, or being evicted and accidentally joining a cult, but comes together as each character seeks to define what home is to them.

Barton started his writing career when he was a freshman in response to his feelings of disconnection and uncertainty of his community at Millersville. His practice of writing allowed him to connect with other students, like his now best friend Elliot White, whom he would trade stories with to get feedback. With his involvement in with creating creative writing clubs on campus, along with being a part of the creative writer’s guild, Barton left Millersville with an excitement for writing. After he graduated, Barton explains how he got the “bug” for writing and started publishing stories online. This led to him getting his MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato where he wrote all the stories that became the Eternal Night at the Nature Museum. The book was then published in 2021.

At the fiction reading event for Barton’s collection of short stories, students can expect the author to read some pieces from the book. He explains that although some don’t enjoy live literary readings, even some writer’s themselves, he finds they provide a space for readers to “engage with and understand the work better when hearing from the author’s voice.” At the event, Barton will also take questions and talk to students about their own interest in writing.

We are so happy to welcome Tyler back, and hope to see you at the event!

 

Black History Month Book Recommendations

Although the month of February is coming to a close, the importance of Black History Month should be recognized and discussed all throughout the year. The professors in the English department have provided some book recommendations that highlight different perspectives, narratives, and experiences. We hope you enjoy and possibly find a new favorite book!

Between the World and Me (2015)

Dr. Corkery recommends this book by Ta-Nehisi Coates that is presented as an epistolary novel, as it is a letter between the narrator of the story and his 13-year-old son. The intention of the letter is to prepare his son for his upcoming life as a Black man in the United States. Through the composition of this letter, the author goes through his personal, ancestral, and American history to deliver “an impassioned appeal to his son’s understanding of the truth about his racial identity in this country.”

When asked why he recommends this book, Dr. Corkery mentions that he points this book out to other teachers because of his use of it in his English composition courses. He states:

“Coates creates an ethos for himself that allows him to critique American race relations and expose many harsh truths about being Black in this country. He creates an image of himself as a concerned parent looking out for his son, not the angry black man. So, we hear many difficult critiques that might be hard for mainstream audiences to accept. Yet, audiences are invited to identify with him as a parent. His ranting and emotion come across as devotion and love for his boy, not hate for the country.”

Stamped from the Beginning (2016)

This novel, written by Ibram X. Kendi, is a recommendation by Dr. Mayers. He summarizes the novel as “a rich and detailed history of how racist polices lead to racist ideas, and how these ideas have become woven into the fabric of American society.” The author’s website states that this fast-moving narrative “uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and anti-racists.” This includes figures such as the Puritan minister Cotton Mather all the way up to American political activist Angela Davis, whose lives show how thinkers throughout history have either cemented or challenged racist ideas in America.

Dr. Mayers recommends this book because it “provides an excellent example of how meticulous scholarly work can both be readable and thought provoking.” He further states that “Kendi’s work challenges us all-regardless of our own racial identities and histories-to consider how racist ideas have shaped the ways we look at the world.”

Homegoing (2016)

This debut novel, by author Yaa Gyasi, is recommended by Dr. Pfannenstiel. She summarizes the story as “starting with two sisters in Africa, the book follows generations experiencing race across two continents.” The title of the book connects to an old African-American belief that “death allowed an enslaved person’s spirit to travel back to Africa” (Miller). The book splits the experiences of two sisters whose lives have taken two incredibly different paths in both Africa and America, and how their experiences bring up the discussion of different cultural and societal issues.

Dr. Pfannenstiel recommends this novel because:

“This book offers historical perspectives of race and the experience of race across generations. The stories are beautiful, the movement of people influenced by race, socio-economic status, and gender help the reader connect with the struggles and weight of complex life decisions. It is a beautiful book about family.”

Works Cited

Miller, Laura. “A Sprawling Epic of Africa and America.” The New Yorker, 23 May 2016, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/yaa-gyasis-homegoing.

Romance Novel Recommendations – Spring 2023 

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but the love for a good book never fades away. Whether you spent the holiday curled up with a good romance novel or treated yourself to a classic love story, there’s always room for more love in our reading lives. With that in mind, here are some romance novel recommendations from the Millersville University Department of English and World Languages faculty members that will keep the love alive all year long. So grab your favorite mug of tea or coffee, cozy up in your comfiest spot, and get ready to fall in love with these heartwarming reads.  

A special thank you to Dr. Pfannenstiel, Dr. Mando, and Dr. McCollum-Clark for their recommendations. 

 Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas 

Recommended by Dr. Amber Nicole Pfannenstiel 

If you enjoy typical romance novels, Marrying Winterborne may have what you like plus a “frank discussion on social differences, class differences, and the plight of women of the Regency era.” This novel features a plot in which an “aristocratic, impoverished, neglected heroine falls in love with wealthy businessman.” What follows is an exploration of “social miscues, class differences, and what women do/do not have access to.” 

When asked her personal reasons for recommending this book, Dr. Pfannenstiel writes “it is enjoyable and informative. As an avid reader of romance, I have thoughts and opinions on TDTL [Too Dumb To Live] heroines – Helen is one of my favorites. Reading as her story unfolds and she navigates society, reading the tangential characters and their version of the plight of women is phenomenal.” 

This book is part of the Lancaster Public Library System collection in physical, eBook, and audio formats and can be accessed for free with a public library card. 

Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins 

Recommended by Dr. Justin Mando 

Looking for something more daring and fanciful? Still Life with Woodpecker might fit that vibe. “This is the wild love story of Princess Leigh-Cheri and Bernard Mickey Wrangle (A.K.A. Woodpecker) full of explosive activism and an earnest crack at answering the question, ‘How do you make love stay?’” 

Dr. Mando relates “I read this book back in high school and just read it again recently, along with a handful of other Tom Robbins favorites. His books are always a fun ride.” 

This Tom Robbins book and others are available in physical form through the Lancaster Public Library System. 

Possession: a romance by A.S. Byatt 

Recommended by Dr. Kim McCollum-Clark 

If you are looking for something framed in a relatable context, Possession: a romance might hit close to your heart as it “features ENGLISH GRAD STUDENTS who find love letters from a (made-up) 19th century famous author and an early feminist author.”  Mixing narratives and poetry, “their 20th Century love story is juxtaposed with the earlier one beautifully!” 

When asked “why read it?” Dr. McCollum-Clark enthusiastically replied “Are you kidding?  English majors in love? And poets in love–and poetry to boot? The writing is gorgeous! It’s definitely a re-read!” 

Possession: a romance is available through the Millersville McNairy Library in physical form and the Lancaster Public Library System in physical and audiobook form. 

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