This Week in English | February 26-March 3, 2024
A Glimpse into ENG 222: Reading Poems
This Tuesday English MA student Michelle Hoeckel-Neal will lead a discussion of white supremacy culture in Ben Friedlander‘s section of ENG 222: Reading Poems. Her visit kicks off two weeks of focus on the visible and invisible work of whiteness in poetry. Last summer, Hoeckel-Neal and Friedlander joined other English graduate students and faculty in a Racial Equity in Teaching workshop hosted by CITL.
MA Students to Host Poetry and Prose Reading in Downtown Bangor this Thursday
The English Graduate Students Association is hosting an event they’re calling “warm winter wanderings” on Thursday, February 29 from 5-8pm at the Chimera Coffee Company on the ground floor of the Phenix Hotel in downtown Bangor. The event will feature poetry and prose readings and a mystery raffle.
The WGS Program Announces the Constance “Connie” Fournier Student Travel Award
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program has established a new travel award, thanks to a generous bequest by a donor.
The Constance “Connie” Fournier Student Travel Award will be available to all UMaine undergraduate or graduate students whose research, scholarship, or creative/professional work incorporates feminist methods or perspectives or addresses issues of equity and justice. This award program is funded by a donation from the late Constance “Connie” Fournier, a world traveler and educator with a passion for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
The award provides up to $600 dollars in travel expenses for conferences or other professional events to be attended this spring or summer.
You can find more information here.
Friday Deadline for Student Speaker Showcase
Apply to be a speaker at the Student Speaker Showcase! This event is an opportunity for students to give a professional presentation on a topic they are passionate about and practice their public speaking skills. This could be on a research project you’ve been working on, a topic that fascinates you, your experiences on an athletics team, running a club, participating in a volunteer project, or any other topic you want to showcase!
The event will be structured as a series of up to 10 minute “talks” by different students, with some being just speeches and other having more interactive presentations – similar to the famous Ted Talks. We want to give the opportunity to students to talk about what they are passionate about, practice their public speaking skills, and have a place where our community can come together and see what makes it unique.
The event will be taking place in Wells Conference Center on Thursday, March 21st from 2pm-4pm. Applications to be a speaker can be completed here and are due by Friday March 1st.
Friday Deadline for Terry Plunkett Poetry Prize
The guidelines for the Terry Plunkett Poetry Prize can be found here. The submission portal closes on March 1, 2024. The Plunkett Festival will take place on Saturday, April 27. More information can be found on their Facebook page.
All Maine Women Seeks Rising Seniors
All Maine Women is an inclusive honors and traditions society at the University of Maine that recognizes rising seniors identifying as women, transwomen, or nonbinary, that demonstrate exemplary leadership, scholarship, peer mentorship, and campus involvement at the University of Maine.
Application and nomination materials can be found here. Questions can be directed to the All Maine Women president, Abby Cadorette. Applications close Friday March 8th, 2024 at 11:59 pm
Paid Internships and Experiential Learning Opportunities
There is a new opportunity for students to receive funding for internships and experiential learning.
The Pathways to Careers Center received funding to increase student access to experiential learning opportunities, like internships, co-ops, clinicals, practicums, apprenticeships, or similar career-relevant experiences. Students can apply for funds to support any expenses that are needed to participate in these opportunities, such as mileage, housing, childcare, work attire, or equipment.
Applications are being accepted now. To receive support for a Spring 2024 internship, the application must be received by March 15. To receive support for a Summer or Fall 2024 internship, the application must be received by April 15. To qualify for funds, students are required to go through training to prepare them for their experiential learning. Many students are already engaged in a pre-professional course, career bootcamp, or other pre-experience training that qualifies or there is a new Brightspace course to meet this requirement. For more information with links to the application and Brightspace course, visit https://www.maine.edu/transforms/student-grant-information/
Pathways to Careers is funded with generous support from the Harold Alfond Foundation through UMS TRANSFORMS Student Success and Retention and from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.
Mark Your Calendars: Queer Romance Author March 26
WGS is hosting queer romance author Cat Sebastian for a Q&A and writing workshop on Tuesday, March 26 at 12:30 and 5pm respectively. No advance registration is required for the lunch-time Q&A. The afternoon workshop is open to all UMaine community members but is limited to forty participants. Advance registration is required. Please email Elizabeth Neiman at Elizabeth.Neiman@maine.edu to reserve a spot. The first 18 undergraduates to reserve a spot will receive a free copy of Sebastian’s 2023 novel We Could Be So Good! This event is co-sponsored by the Stephen E. King Chair. Sebastian is on IG here.
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