This Week in English | February 8-14, 2021
Spring 2021 Internships Underway
Twelve students will be applying skills learned through their English degrees to the workplace (and earning college credit!) by completing an internship and taking ENG 496. Students will be working on projects with organizations as varied as science writing on COVID, web development, and usability testing with the Louisiana Department of Public Health (Sarah Penney); Narcan education and awareness through social media at the Health Equity Alliance in Bangor (Hannah Dyer); grant writing and program development at Welcome to Housing, an organization in Old Town that provides furniture and homegoods to people in need (Katherine Reardon and Cassie Lucci); and social media, news reporting, and videography for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences here at UMaine (Nola Prevost and Avery Maietta); among others. The students will create a community of support for one another to succeed in these endeavors through ENG 496. Updates on their progress with these exciting projects to come! For more information about the English Department’s Internship program, please contact Dr. Katie Swacha.
Updated Pass/Fail Policy
Students are encouraged to check their in-boxes for Provost Volin’s recent clarification of the policy on pass/fail courses this semester. Short version: Students of sophomore standing or higher can elect to take one course on a pass/fail basis by filling out this form and submitting it, with their advisor’s approval, to the Dean’s office by February 22, 2021 (two weeks from today).
Cultural Affairs Committee Seeks Proposals
Faculty members who are interested in sponsoring educational and artistic programming in the fall of 2021 are encouraged to submit a proposal to the Cultural Affairs Committee in advance of their next deadline of March 29 for events taking place after April 26. If you’re curious about the work of the Committee, or how best to craft a proposal, feel free to reach out to CLAS representative Jennifer Moxley.
Writing Center Featured in Maine Campus
Writing Center Director Paige Mitchell notes that the Maine Campus just published “a cool article about one of our coordinators, Kate Follansbee, and how ‘the Writing Center has turned the pandemic into a positive learning experience, giving students and staff a reason to boost their website as an accessible resource.’” Check it out here. An earlier story about the Center by Olivia Shipsey appeared in the paper shortly after the pandemic was declared in March of 2020.
English Department Drop-By on Friday
The English Department hosts virtual drop-bys most Friday afternoons to talk informally about matters of mutual interest and to compare notes on the week that was. A nice mix of majors, minors, graduate students, professors, and alumni have joined the conversation from one week to the next and created a warm and generous online literary salon. We’ll gather again this Friday at 4pm and keep the space open until about 5:30 (Zoom link here). Feel free to drop by for just a few minutes or to stay a spell: we’d love to see you!
Humanities Research Symposium
The Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium is an annual symposium hosting students from across the nation interested in presenting their scholarship. It is the first conference of its kind: there has been no other national platform for undergraduates in the humanities to share their work. Applications for the 2021 Macksey Virtual Symposium are due by April 1 (click here to apply). The symposium takes place April 24-25, 2021. A virtual flyer is available here.
UMaine English majors interested in participating should contact the Department to learn about options for defraying the registration fee for accepted proposals.
Bowdoin College Undergraduate Literary Journal Seeks Submissions
The student editors of The Foundationalist, the undergraduate literary journal at Bowdoin, have been in touch to say that they are seeking “undergraduate literary essays, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. We would also be happy to accept anything that had been written for class. There are no page limits or themes. We simply want students to submit their best work! In the past, we have published works from across the globe; giving writers the opportunity to join a community of over 100+ other authors from 70+ universities. If selected, the author’s writing will be published on academia.edu and in print format. The deadline is March 21st, 2021 at midnight. More information can be found on their website and submissions and other queries can be sent to thefoundationalist@gmail.com.”
Covid Reminder
If you or people you know in the UMaine community have concerns about COVID-19 symptoms, close contact or a positive test, call the COVID-19 info line at 207-581-2681 or fill out the online self-reporting form or email umaine.alerts@maine.edu.
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This Week in English 92 was sent to faculty, students, and friends of the department on Monday, February 8, 2021. If you would rather not receive these weekly bulletins, please reply with <unsubscribe> in your subject line. Earlier installments are archived on our website.
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