Archive for April, 2010

AHEM.

It’s time to dust off that monocle and join us for the unveiling of the 2010  Shinnery Review!

The Black Tulip

Who’s invited: ALL ACU Students and Faculty

When: Thursday, April 29, 8-10:30 p.m.

Where: The Shore Art Gallery

What: Published authors reading original poetry and fiction from ACU’s student-run arts magazine, The Shinnery Review (and elsewhere), live music, hors d’oeuvres and more. You can pick up your FREE copy of the 2010 edition of the Shinnery at the door!

HEY BATTER!

Calling all interested English faculty, graduate students and majors:

Join Dr. Sanders’ Sport Literature class on a trip to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to see the Texas Rangers vs. the Chicago White Sox.

Date: Wednesday, April 28

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

Game plan: The carpool will depart from Chambers Hall at 2:01 p.m. We’ll buy tickets there (cheap seats: about $10), enjoy the game, then drive back that evening.

Questions?: Contact Shelly at shelly.sanders@acu.edu or Todd Womble. Please RSVP so we’ll know how big of a crowd to expect.

Welcome to the Summer Arabic & Persian Language Institute
at Georgetown University!

http://summerschool.georgetown.edu/index.cfm

2010 SUMMER SESSION DATES
PRE SESSION: MAY 24 – JUNE 18
1ST SESSION: JUNE 7 – JULY 9
2ND SESSION: JULY 12 – AUGUST 13

The Language Institute offers students the opportunity to acquire or master skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in Arabic and Persian. Language instruction is proficiency-oriented and imparts cultural experiences and knowledge. The materials used are broad-based and help students develop skills for communication. Students learn how to accomplish language tasks in formal and informal situations. Assessments reflect the model of an educated native speaker as well as proficiency (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language: ACTFL) guidelines.

Classes are small and students benefit from individual attention inside and outside the classroom. Experienced, dedicated, and diverse faculty use current techniques and incorporate technology-based instruction. The summer program provides real-time and on demand access to current media resources and the latest in classroom language learning technology. The Language Institute offers its students a gateway to an exceptional academic community at Georgetown University, a range of summeractivities in the Summer School, and state-of-the-art language opportunities.

Arabic: A comprehensive undergraduate program of intensive and non-intensive learning in Modern Standard Arabic will last ten weeks, with courses in basic, intermediate advanced as well as media Arabic. In the Pre-session, Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language will be offered which is open to both graduate and undergraduate students.

Content Arabic: Advanced Arabic language courses for advanced high learners are taught entirely in Arabic.. They offer undergraduate and graduate students essential subject matter learning (linguistic, cultural and political) while building their language proficiency. Courses include Arab Politics in the Middle East.

Colloquial Arabic: Undergraduate courses in spoken Egyptian, Iraqi, and Levantine Arabic will be offered with continuation in the Second Session. These courses are not open to native speakers of Arabic, heritage speakers of Arabic, or students who have completed three years or more of Arabic at Georgetown.

Persian: In cooperation with the Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages, three Persian courses are offered at the undergraduate level. Intensive First Level Persian and Intensive Second Level Persian as well as non-intensive First Level will be offered both sessions.

Partial Tuition Scholarships
Non-Georgetown students accepted into this Language Institute are eligible to apply for a partial tuition scholarship offered by Georgetown University (Please see Financial Information). For further information and special application forms, please contact the Scholarship Coordinator, SummerSchool Georgetown University, 3307 M. Street, N.W., Suite #202, Washington, D.C. 20007. Tel: (202) 687-8700.

For questions, please contact Meriem Tikue at mmt43@georgetown.edu
or the Arabic Department at arabic.georgetown.edu.

Arabic Department Phone:  202-687-2735
Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies website

BIBL 211 – Message of the Old Testament (3-0-3). An overview of the Old Testament providing an outline of special themes and the overall purpose of the books. The basic message of the Old Testament as a whole, including content and theological themes, will be examined. May be used to satisfy Bible University Core requirements. Syllabus

Session I:  May 10 – 27

Session II: June 1 – 17

Session III: June 21 – July 8

Session IV: July 12 – 29

BIBL 212 – Christianity in Culture (3-0-3). Examines some of the fundamental elements of Biblical theology and explores the basic principles of the Christian faith. Intended to promote the practice of theological reflections and investigate the relationship of basic Christian values with some of the realities of contemporary culture. May be used to satisfy Bible University Core requirements. Syllabus

Session I:  May 10 – 27

Session II: June 1 – 17

COMS 111 – Fundamentals of Communication (3-0-3).  An introductory communication course which overviews human communication principles and skills. Specifically, the course focuses on how to build skills in the preparation and delivery of informative and persuasive presentations, listening, and interpersonal relationships. Satisfies the Speech University Core requirements. *Note: Students must have access to a video camera for video taping speeches, and 5 adults as an audience for each speech. Syllabus

Combined Sessions I & II:  May 10 – June 17

Combined Sessions II & III:  June 1 – July 8

Combined Sessions III & IV:  June 21 – July 29

ECON 260 – Principles of Macroeconomics (3-0-3). Supply and demand, the framework of the free enterprise system, national income accounting, unemployment and inflation, fiscal policy and public debt, monetary system and monetary policy, international trade, economic growth, and selected concepts of business ethics. Prerequisites: 24 graded hours. Syllabus

Session IV: July 12 – 29

ECON 261 – Principles of Microeconomics (3-0-3).  Economics of the firm and industry; supply and demand; revenue and costs; profits; consumer behavior; markets; the price system; the role of government; inequality; comparative economic systems, as well as selected concepts of business ethics.  NEW!

Session III:  June 21 – July 8

EDUC 221 – Educational Psychology (3-0-3). An introduction to theories of development, learning, motivation, memory and intelligence.  Syllabus

Session II: June 1 – 17

Session III: June 21 – July 8

ENGL 221 – Major British Writers I (3-0-3). A survey of major authors, periods, and themes of British literature from Beowulf to Gulliver. Through readings of key texts and online discussions, students will consider how England’s literature, history, and values have shaped the world we live in today. Prerequisite: completion of freshman English requirements as required by degree plan. May be used to satisfy Core English requirements. Syllabus

Combined Sessions I & II:  May 10 – June 17

Combined Sessions II & III:  June 1 – July 8

Combined Sessions III & IV:  June 21 – July 29

ENGL 326 – Business and Professional Writing (3-0-3). Introduction to the theory and accepted practices of composition in occupational fields, including correspondence and report writing based on content in upper-division courses in the student’s major field. Some oral work required. Prerequisites: completion of sophomore literature requirements and junior standing. *Note: Students must have access to Microsoft Word. The University only offers this course through the duration of both Summer I and Summer II sessions (approximately 2 months in length). Syllabus

Combined Sessions II – IV: June 1 – July 29

MUSM 232 – Survey of Popular Music (3-0-3).  Surveys the musical, historical and social aspects of popular music in America from the late nineteenth century to the present. Emphasis on representative genres (including Tin Pan Alley, Blues, Country and Western, Big Band, Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Punk, Heavy Metal, and Hip Hop), characteristics, styles and performers.  Syllabus

Session I:  May 10 – 27

Session II: June 1 – 17

NUTR 120 – Nutrition and Wellness (3-0-3).  This course addresses current trends in nutrition (information and misinformation), basic nutrient information, the impact of nutrients, diet, and weight control on health, food safety issues, and world nutrition.  It empowers the student to ask questions and seek answers appropriately. Syllabus NEW!

Session I:  May 10 – 27

Todd Womble

Major: English

Minor: History

Hometown: Abilene

Career Goal: Professor

1. What do you appreciate the most about the ACU English curriculum? I really enjoyed all of the upper-level English classes because of the books that we read and mainly because of my professors. The English professors are all great and they definitely are the reason that I enjoyed my time in the department.

2. Why did you become an English major? After spending two years being undecided, I realized that what I really liked to do was read and write. It just seemed right to be an English major, I didn’t want to be in business or anything else.

3. What advice would you give to future English majors? Take advantage of the professors and also the Literature classes. Don’t be afraid to speak up in class and share your opinions, however different you might think they are from everybody else’s. Even though it is at a small Christian university, the English department is very open and encouraging to new ideas and thoughts.

4. How has studying English prepared you for your career goals? My time in the English department has greatly increased my love for Literature and also for writing about books and stories that I have read, which is a great basis on which I can work to get my Master’s and PhD and hopefully go on to be a professor at a university someday. I believe that there is no greater way to learn than by reading, and no better way to display your knowledge than by writing. Studying English extensively has given me a firm academic foundation.

April 3, 2010

My name is Mark Bolding and I, along with my wife, Zhu Yan, founded CNET in 2005. CNET (China Needs English Teachers) works directly with the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education (JPDE) in Nanjing, China to recruit English teachers for all levels of educational settings. We charge no fees for this service and are not a for-profit recruiting agency. This is our fifth year recruiting for the JPDE and we have had great success the previous four years. In 2009, we helped place 22 teachers in Jiangsu Province schools. I have contacted your department in previous years.

Zhu Yan and I are former teachers from the Jiangsu region who currently live in Houston, TX. We have assisted in recruiting since coming to Houston five years ago as a favor to friends in China who work within the JPDE. We are attempting to secure the best possible teachers for one or two semester teaching engagements. We are seeking dedicated, career minded persons who understand that living and working in China will be challenging, but very rewarding. This can be the opportunity of a lifetime in both cultivating their teaching careers and experiencing the fabulous culture of China. China is at a crossroad in its history and her children and their parents are desperate for English instruction and foreign involvement. For this reason, we recruit each year solely by contacting English and Education Departments at four year institutions in the United States.

Because our recruits will work directly for the Department of Education, there is very little chance of a contractual misunderstanding and, should a problem arise, it will be addressed and remedied quickly. We find that our recruits enjoy their time in China. We have formalized our relationships with some schools to send graduate or undergraduate student groups annually to our summer program or for one or two semester positions. We are always happy to serve as intermediaries in a dialogue between a college or university and the Jiangsu Department of Education.

If you have graduating seniors or instructors who might be interested, please refer them to our website at www.mmbolding.com.

Sincerely,

Mark Bolding

CNET

8450 Cambridge, #2167

Houston, TX 77054

713-962-7356

—
Dr. Nancy Shankle, Professor and Chair
Department of English
Abilene Christian University, ACU Box 28252, Abilene, TX 79699
shanklen@acu.edu
Visit The Inkwell, the English Dept Blog, blogs.acu.edu/english

Next week, Thursday, April 8 from 7-8 p. m, we will have the Second Annual Culp Professor of English Reading in the Living Room of the Campus Center. Like last year, the reading will feature some elements I hope will be entertaining as well as new additions. I am on record as saying I don’t like “stodgy” literary readings, so this is my attempt to create a different sort of creature…at The Novel-Tea.

• Some of my best students will warm us up by reading their poetry.
• I’ll unveil two chapters chapters from a novel I have in progress. (The story is about ordinary Christians in the suburbs and what happens when they unexpectedly encounter “signs and wonders” in the most unlikely places.)
• I’ll read some new poems I’ve written about Jesus that try to get at both his humanity and his wild and beyond comprehension divinity.
• There will be a cello player at the event to provide Bach musical interludes.
• Tea and cookies will be served.
• There will be door prizes. Yes, seriously. You might win something just by being there!

Three ACU English majors who are also Honors College students presented papers at the Great Plains Honors Council’s 2010 Conference, held March 26-27 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Great Plains Honors Council, an associate of the National Collegiate Honors Council, is the regional organization which serves Honors programs at universities in a six-state region. The annual conference was attended by over 250 students, faculty, and staff from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Students and faculty from any discipline are welcome to submit papers and panel presentations.

Joshua Alkire

Joshua Alkire, senior English and family ministries major from Abilene, received a Boe award for his paper, entitled “The Face of the Man: Fumie and Christian Art in Shusaku Endo’s Silence.” The Boe award recognizes “outstanding scholarly work” among undergraduate papers presented at the conference, according to gphc2010.com. Alkire examined portraits of Christ through the eyes of a fictional Portuguese Jesuit, Sebastião Rodrigues, the lead character in Shusaku Endo’s Silence. Alkire said Rodrigues’ perception of Christ changes as he observes persecuted Japanese Christians, who were being pressured to renounce their faith by stepping on a picture of Christ.

Alkire said he understood the novel more deeply once he researched the Japanese images of Christ, called fumie, for himself. “It’s a small piece of blackened wood, dirtied from so many people stepping on it,” Alkire said. “The face of Christ in Japanese art during the 17th century is this humiliated, worn-down Christ.”

Megan Faver

Megan Faver Hartline examined the commercialization of weddings in her paper, “The Most Important, and Now Commercialized, Day of Your Life.” Hartline—who was married just last summer—noted how wedding planners, marketing agencies, and a consortium of service providers have “changed the wedding ceremony from a sacrament into an industry.” Her paper pointed out that bridal magazines and salespersons are quick to label practices that date back only a few years as important wedding “traditions.”

Oscar Wilde’s well known novel of corruption was the subject of Katherine Sinclair’s presentation “The Monster Within: The Role of Roman Catholic Concepts of Sin in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Sinclair, senior English major from Abilene, said she identified with the themes in the novel. “Dorian Gray doesn’t realize the terrible things he’s doing to everyone,” Sinclair said. “That’s just human nature.”

Katherine Sinclair

Sinclair said compiling this scholarly presentation was the first time she felt her writing rose above a simple reiteration of something she had read before. She also appreciated the opportunity to present her paper through powerpoint and a concise oral summary. The ability to be able to think through and present one’s own ideas is essential to any communicator, Sinclair said. “I think presenting papers is something all English majors should do, regardless of what career they enter.”

Alkire also valued the resume-building preparation for graduate school and career that the conference afforded—even more than the $200 check he received as part of the Boe award. “I counted up the hours I spent revising it, and I think I got a little over minimum wage,” Alkire said. Still, he noted, that was “more than you get for most papers.”

The students were accompanied to Tulsa by Dr. Joe Stephenson, interim Dean of the Honors College, and Mrs. Stephanie Smith, Honors College advisor. “We are very happy these students got to present their research at the conference,” said Stephenson, who is also an Assistant Professor of English. The Honors College paid for the registration, hotel, transportation, and meals for the students. “The ACU papers were among the best at the conference,” said Stephenson, who added it was “no surprise that three of the four papers accepted to the conference were from English. The students had obviously been prepared well by their work with English faculty members.” Josh Alkire’s paper had been prepared for a class with Dr. Steven Weathers; Megan Faver Hartline’s paper for a class Dr. Laura Carrol; and Katherine Sinclair’s with Dr. Bill Carrol.

Christianna Lewis of the ACU Optimist helped prepare this press release.

Kayla Anderson Hewitt, a 2006 ACU graduate, has been accepted into the Master of Arts in the Teaching of English as a Second Language program at the University of Illinois for the fall of 2010. Kayla, a former English major and Spanish minor, hopes to help adult English learners overcome communication barriers.