The Department of English and World Languages would like to announce the thesis defense of Taylor Green for her BA in Multidisciplinary Studies in Digital Journalism, Honor’s College. Her thesis, titled “An Analysis of Abbott Elementary Through the Lens Black Placemaking” is chaired by Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel with committee members Dr. Caleb Corkery and Dr. Elizabeth Thyrum. Her defense will be held tomorrow, April 28th, at 1pm in McComsey room 359.
Thesis Defense Announcement- “Disability Studies Informed Creative Writing: Care not Cure”
The Department of English and World Languages would like to announce the thesis defense of blue Guckert for his MA in English. His thesis, titled “Disability Studies Informed Creative Writing: Care not Cure,” is chaired by Dr. Emily Baldys with committee members Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel, Dr. Jess Hughes, and Professor Michele Santamaria. blue’s thesis defense will be held tomorrow, April 28th, in McComsey 359 at 4:30pm.
Successful Thesis Defense Announcement- William Artz
The Department of English and World Languages would like to congratulate William Artz on his successful thesis defense for his M.Ed. in English. His thesis, which is titled “The Digitized Post-Secondary Transdisciplinary Humanities Classroom,” was chaired by Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel with committee members Dr. Kaitlin Mondello and Dr. Emily Baldys.
English Internship Experience- Avery Hartman
I am currently completing an internship with Gemini Wordsmiths and I have to say, I couldn’t have hoped for a better internship. This internship heavily focuses on teaching me about the editing/publishing industry and ensures that they are providing me with projects that I deem useful for my future career. After graduation, I hope to go into the editing/publishing industry. Before this internship, I didn’t have much experience or knowledge of the field, but after completing 15 weeks, I feel that I have learned so much and even have a better idea on what career I hope to pursue after college. I went into this internship thinking that I wanted to go into copy editing. However, after working with Gemini Wordsmiths, I think I would rather pursue a career in book publishing. Not only has this internship taught me so much about the editing/publishing industry, but they have also helped me determine where I want to take my next steps and how I want to start the next chapter of my life.
My linguistic courses have played a major role in my success with this internship as I completed multiple projects in editing authors’ manuscripts. Many of my literature courses also played a major role in my success when it came to projects of recommending publication and research of authors. My degree has set me up for success for my career after college and I couldn’t be happier with my choice.
This internship has challenged me with new experiences in order to gain new skills. One of the projects I was given was to create a monthly newsletter. I had never created a newsletter before and was unsure of how to start. After sitting down with me and going over step-by-step what a newsletter entails, I was much more confident in completing this project and gained new skills to apply on my resume.
Throughout my experience with this internship, I was not only able to apply my relevant coursework to complete projects, but I was also able to expand on my hard and soft skills and gain more knowledge on the editing/publishing industry.
Throughout my college experience, I have developed skills in research, copywriting, copyediting, time management, attention to detail, organization, communication, and independence. A project that I think exemplifies these skills is a project where I was asked to be the first reader for a newly submitted manuscript. For this project, I read the entirety of an author’s draft to their manuscript, fact checked authors to ensure they were truthful in their previous work, researched books similar to theirs to see if they have been successful, and gave a full recommendation on whether or not the internship should follow through with publication. With this project alone, I was able to apply my skills of research, copywriting, time management, and organization as well as gain hands-on experience with the publishing industry. My degree has allowed me to apply recently acquired skills to the success of my internship. When I first applied to be an English major, I questioned if it was the right decision. Everyone asked me what I could possibly do with an English degree and said it would be difficult to find a career with a degree like English. I am so incredibly happy to say that I have successfully applied my degree to relevant work and am confident in my next steps after graduation.
Upcoming Events: LGBTQIA+ Luncheon, MU Disability Pride, ENWL End of Year Party
Join the Executive Director of Trans Advocacy Pennsylvania and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs Joanne Carroll for lunch on Thursday April 20th from 11:30-1:30 in the Ford Atrium McComsey as she shares her story and opens conversation on the status of 2SLGBTQ+ issues in PA. There will be free food.
Please register here to confirm your attendance.
Disability Pride returns to Millersville this year with a full slate of events starting with a screening of Crip Camp on Thursday April 20th at 8 PM in the Myers Auditorium. Friday there will be events all day including a keynote address from Dr. Sami Schalk.
Click here to register and get a free t-shirt. Check out the flyer and schedule for a full list of events below.
2023-mu-disability-pride-flyer—
Volunteers are needed to help support this event. Please sign up here if interested.
Finally, the end of the school year is upon us and the English and World Languages department invites you to come party with us and celebrate our students and faculty! We will be in the Ford Atrium from 12-3 on Monday May 1st to announce awards, give recognition, and announce things to look forward to next year. Come get some free food as we look forward to finishing another year together.
“Integrating Social Emotional Learning through Instructional Strategies in the English Language Arts Classroom”- Natalie Flory Thesis Defense Announcement
The English and World Languages Department would like to announce the thesis defense of Natalie Flory for her B.S.E in English and the Honor’s College. Her thesis, titled “Integrating Social Emotional Learning through Instructional Strategies in the English Language Arts Classroom” is chaired by Dr. Kim McCollum-Clark with committee members Dr. A Nicole Pfannenstiel and Dr. Karen Rice. The defense will be held today, April 14th, at 4:30pm in McComsey English and World Languages conference room 359.
Successful Thesis Defense Announcement- John Biles “Troubling Gatekeeping in Online Fan Discourse”
The Department of English and World Languages would like to announce the successful thesis defense by John Biles for his MA in English. His thesis, titled “Trouble Gatekeeping in Online Fan Discourse” is chaired by Dr. Caleb Corkery. Congratulations to John!
Upcoming April 2023 Events: Made In Millersville, Wellness Fair, Poetry Reading
Made In Millersville come out and see all the ways students get involved with research at Millersville. Made in Millersville will be online and in person at the Student Memorial Center from 9 AM to 4 PM on Tuesday April 11th. Check out their website for schedules, zoom links, and more information.
Wellness Fair come visit our booth to learn about “The Benefits of Mindful Journaling” and pick up some ENWL swag~ The Spring into Wellness Fair is Wednesday April 12th, from 11 AM – 2PM on the SMC Promenade and is sponsored by CHEP.
“A Poetic Response to the War in Ukraine” In collaboration with the Conference on Holocaust and Genocide, Millersville will be hosting award-winning Ukrainian poet and author Lyudmyla Khersonska who will read and discuss her collection of poems Today is a Different War alongside poet, writer, and translator Olga Livshin (Khersonska will participate in the event through zoom). This free even is Thursday, April 13th at 4PM in the Myers Auditorium in McComsey Hall.
Thesis Defenses – keep an eye on our blog and Instagram for updated thesis announcements.
“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.”