Fall 2020 English Student Accomplishments, Part II: Senior Capstone and Honors Projects

Katie Cowger presenting her Honors Thesis 

First off, a hearty congratulations to all the students who recently completed their senior capstone projects and presented them on Flipgrid! If you didn't get the chance to watch them yet, you can still join Flipgrid and watch (and comment) here: https://flipgrid.com/peters1300

The Senior Capstone presentations include:

Preston Manning's "Corrupted Blood" (an excerpt from his novel)

Mitchell Potts', "The Abject Objects in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying"

Cody Baggerly's "Lust, Pride, and Jealousy: A Discourse in Shakespeare's Love"

Kara Hodo's "Uncovering the Cause of Creepy" 

Bryce Clark's "The Stomach of Saturn" (short story)

Nikki Hatton's "Black Voices in the HS Classroom"

Amanda Daniel's "Miltimodal Systems in Education"

Megan Green's "Inside the Language of Orange is the New Black"

Teresa White's "Politics of Performance in Esme Weijun Wang's "High Functioning""

Kristen Mendoza-Keenom's "How to Build a Monster: The Frankenstein Effect in Romantic Literature and Modern Society"

Katie Cowger's "If the Savage One is Me: Disney's Dangerous Single Story of Indigeneity" 

Gloria Evans' "The Duality of a Dream or Destiny Deferred: Songs of Sympathy Across the Spectrum of Suffering"

Austin Ward's "V for Victim

Hanna Barnhart's "Confronting White American Identity: The Underexamined Black American Identity"

Jackson Embry's "Teaching AAVE and Black Culture in the English Arts Classroom"

Dani Woolly's "Mistaken Identity" (an excerpt from a novel)

Fall 2020 University Honors Showcase:

Six English majors also presented their scholarship at the Fall 2020 University Honors Showcase on Thursday, December 3rd. Kara Hodo presented two projects (one of which is represented in her Capstone project above), and Katie Cowger presented her Honors Thesis project, which is the culmination of all her Honors research! Congratulations on these great achievements! 

The presentations included: 

Katelen Cowger, English and Native American Studies, Thesis (Dr. Sarah Peters)

 

Kara Hodo, English, Project (Dr. Sarah Peters) & Kara Hodo, English, Project (Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir)

Teresa White, English, Project (Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir)

Megan Green, English, Project (Dr. Joshua Grasso)

Bryce Clark, English, Project (Dr. Joshua Grasso)

Click here for photos from the Honors Showcase like the one above: https://www.ecok.edu/honors-showcase-0

Fall 2020 English Department Student Accomplishments (part 1)!

Despite COVID and the very strange semester, the English Department continues to do what it does best:  teach students to think critically and examine their world. This is the first in a series of posts that will highlight some of our student accomplishments this semester! 

For our first post, Dr. Donelson has shared the research of two students from her English 1213: Composition II course. Check out their eye-catching, cutting-edge research below!

Vivian Tapia, "How Music Affects Our Brain" 

Razia Riaz "Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy"  

More to come in Part 2! And if you have great news or accomplishments, please share them with me at jgrasso@ecok.edu. 

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival 2021

From Dr. Ken Hada, director of the Scissortail Creative Writing Festival:

We will not host an on-campus Scissortail Festival, April 2021. Instead we will produce 7 sessions of live streaming (with re-postings) of Six excellent authors with various styles and personalities, along with a session dedicated to ECU Student readers, April 1-3, 2021. 

Special Thanks to Professor Mike Maxwell, Chair of Mass Comm, and Mark Bratcher, Assistant Director of Communications, for their help with the 2021 festival!

The 17th Annual Darryl Fisher High School Contest is in progress, in conjunction with the Scissortail Festival.

Bios of the 2021 authors and other information is available at: ecuscissortail.blogspot.com

Thanks to everyone who helps with this!! More details will be coming later.

THE SCHEDULE 

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival: April 1, 2 & 3, 2021

Schedule of Live-Stream Readings (all times are Central Time Zone) 

Thursday, April 1

4:00pm - Welcome to Scissortail 2021 with Moderator / Kai Coggin

6:00pm – Andrew Geyer

Friday, April 2

4:00pm - Tiffany Midge

6:00pm - Quraysh Ali Lansana

Saturday, April 3

2:00pm – ECU Students

4:00pm – Barbara Crooker

6:00pm - Author 6 / Closing out Scissortail 2021 with Moderator / Octavio Quintanilla

Fright Fest 2020 screenings and contest!

This October, you can be part of a new ECU tradition: the 1^st Annual ECU Fright Test! This Virtual Film Festival offers 31 movies for the 31 days of October, everything from Hellraiser to Halloween! The Virtual Film Festival offers a list of all 31 films, some of which are available to rent at the Linscheid Library. Even better, three films (The Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the 2019 Halloween) will be screened at the Ada Cinemark 8! To find out how to watch all the films, check out www.justwatch.com.

After you get a few films under your belt, the Virtual Film Fest challenges you to write about your near-death experiences! Write an analytical essay (you know, the kind you normally write in English and Humanities courses) about one of the films on the list and submit it to ecuenglishandlanguages@ecok.edu OR e-mail or turn in a hard copy to any English professor you see on the third floor. The Virtual Film Fest will award prizes to the top three entries. For more information about the contest or any questions, please e-mail the English department at the address above.

OHC's Podcast Brain Box, S3 Ep11, "New Ways of Seeing the World: The Value of Fantasy Literature"

The Oklahoma Humanities Council (which we've posted about before) has its own podcast, Brain Box, which interviews scholars, writers, and other artists on a range of cultural and literary topics. Their most recent episode interviews ECU professor, Dr. Joshua Grasso, on the importance of fantasy literature, and its focus on the role of the exile. The interview comes from his recent article published in OHC's journal, Oklahoma Humanities, which you can also find on their website.

Listen here if you need something to do between classes! https://www.okhumanities.org/page/brainbox-s3-ep11

Read Megan Thompson's (former ECU English prof!) essay, "That Is Who You Are" in Mutha Magazine

A handful of years ago, Megan Thompson was one of the small band of English professors on the Third Floor of Horace Mann, teaching Comp I and II as well as Creative Writing courses. Despite her short tenure, she made a big mark on the department, and I know many recent graduates still remember her courses fondly. For those of you who don't know her, this essay should give you a sense of what you missed. "That is Who You Are," without giving too much away, is about the struggle to define yourself apart from the job you loved and felt you had been groomed to follow. We always talk about finding your dream job and your 'calling,' but what happens if you get fired (or quit)? Or get lost? Have you betrayed yourself? The American Dream? Your family? This is a poor summary of a very profound and moving essay which uses the particular to express the universal. In other words, you don't have be an English professor to understand exactly what she's talking about. Oh, and she talks about some of her ECU experiences as well...

Here's the link: http://www.muthamagazine.com/2020/07/that-is-who-you-are/?fbclid=IwAR0Wsi7DIhD0LGYzh5Jhh-CFlg7yXup2edwOHX27xTJTtoiq_Yewdj1rBig

And here's an excerpt: "In my years of teaching, I had heard innumerable stories that shredded my heart, but I never broke down. I taught at regional universities in rural areas of the country, my students often first-generation college students, working multiple jobs, raising their own kids. They brought their books to class in plastic bags. I held their babies for them on the days when they gave their presentations and couldn’t find a sitter. I read their essays alone in my office, my hand over my mouth. I bolted down the hall to my department chair after one email from a student saying she felt like she was trudging through sludge and I didn’t think she could do it anymore. I listened to their stories about testicular cancer, relationships gone to hell, rape. I attended sessions on how to make my office a safe place, and put a sticker on my door saying that it was. I got wrapped up in their lives because I saw no way around it. Universities obsess over retention rates, so it was our duty to make sure students came to class. I knew them, and I loved them. And I was able to hold it all together until that day in the nearly empty building, 2:30 in the afternoon on the last day of class before summer, when I couldn’t anymore."

Download the Spring/Summer Issue of Oklahoma Humanities!

A great resource for teachers in our state is Oklahoma Humanities Magazine, which combines viewpoints from scholars around the state and often far beyond, including some of the bigger names in history, literature, and art. Each issue centers around a theme, and the contributors highlight the various ways to understand and complicate this idea. Previous issues have included pieces by ECU professors past and present, poets (including Dr. Ken Hada), and even a few alumni. 

For the most recent issue, the theme was Home, and the articles range from food, immigration, Dorothea Lange's famous Depression/Dust Bowl photographs, Woody Guthrie, and fantasy literature. The English Department's Dr. Joshua Grasso has an article on fantasy literature entitled, "Roads Go Ever Ever On," discussing primarily Tolkien's concept of home in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. You can download the issue for free below, or sign up for a free subscription and have it mailed to you. Enjoy! 

Link to the issue: https://www.okhumanities.org/doccenter/d66870df8ad249eb8b9ca560123d1db4

Subscribe here (it's free!): https://www.okhumanities.org/page/subscribe-to-oklahoma-humanities-magazine

Originals 2020

The 2020 issue of Originals student literary journal is here! Check out our YouTube playlist of students reading their published works!

2020 Russian Language student accomplishments

The Department of English and Languages is proud to honor the 2020 recipient of the LeMoine Blake Crabtree Outstanding Student of Russian Award.

This year's recipient is Aubrey Pence. She has completed 4 semesters of Russian language studies, and she maintained a 4.0 GPA in that program.  Aubrey recited a Russian poem at the Russian Music and Poetry recital in March. She qualifies to be initiated as a member of the National Slavic Honors Society “Dobro Slovo”. She is also active in the Russian Club.

She was supposed to present at the CARTA Conference in Washington DC in April, but the Conference was postponed because of the coronavirus. She submitted her paper entitled "The Theremin: An Instrument Played without Touch" for publication in the CARTA Journal.

Several students sign up for the annual trip top Russia and qualified for the Gary and Linda Ainsworth Travel and Study in Russia Scholarship. Unfortunately, that trip was also cancelled, but want to recognize these outstanding students.

The following students signed up and qualified for that Scholarship:

1.     Avery Stevens

2.     Tylor Gifford

3.     Aubrey Pence

4.     Willow Vaughn

5.     Joshua Morris

6.     Allyson Sing

7.     Grayson Scoggins

The above mentioned students also qualify for the Russian Club’s Travel Grant to go on a Study Abroad trip to Russia. Allyson Sing sold over $1000.00 worth of chocolates in order to raise money.

Spring 2020 Best Essay Winners!

Every year, the department has a call for the best essays written in classes throughout the department, and we had three categories this year: best essays for a lower-level (survey) literature course, for an upper-level literature course, and an upper-level writing course. The committee read through a variety of strong entries in each category and chose the following papers as our Spring 2020 winners! 

Best Essay in a 3000-4000 level Literature Class:  Lauren Jolly, for her essay, "“I’m Not Looking at You: An Examination of Sartre’s ‘The Look’ Within Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Kate Chopin’s ‘The Recovery’ and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline” in Dr. McMahon's Publication and Portfolio Capstone course.

Best Essay in a 3000-4000 level Writing Class :  Kara Hodo, for her essay, "“The Composing Process, as Told by One Disorganized Mess” in Dr. Murphy's Composing Theories course. 

Best Essay in a 2000-level Literature Class:  Kate Carlin, for her essay, "Death: The Greatest Eye-Opener," in Dr. Grasso's British from 1800 course. 

Congratulations to these three winners--and thanks to everyone who submitted essays! Remember that essays have a longer shelf-life than just a single class. They can be submitted to essay contests...they can be revised and adapted to future classwork...they can become the basis of an Honors thesis or related project...they can become great writing samples for graduate school applications...and they can become a snapshot of your intellectual journey at this stage in your life (so don't throw them away!). 

Read Dr. Hada's article, "What we fear to fear" just published!

Our own English professor, Dr. Ken Hada, recently published his article, "What we fear to fear" in Non Doc Media. You can read it here: https://nondoc.com/2020/05/02/what-we-fear-to-fear-a-pandemic-diary/

Non Doc Media is part of the Sustainable Journalism Foundation, an entity that has filed for nonprofit status and is governed by a local board of directors in Oklahoma, DBA: NonDoc Media. NonDoc’s editorial goals are simple and staked in “the public good.” Our governing board, editors and reporters value responsible news coverage, intelligent analysis, poignant photography and sharp humor. We strive to present our content accurately, fairly and transparently. We seek to publish diverse, interesting voices while serving as “a filter” and not a funnel, highlighting quality work from local and national sources while providing extra information and insight when possible. In addition to traditional reportage, we regularly feature commentary and opinion pieces from across the political spectrum. Our hope is you find yourself a little more informed and engaged by content that matters in our city and our world.

Spanish Scholarships for 2020!

Spanish Scholarships awarded for 2020-21 Academic Year

The ECU Department of English and Languages congratulates scholarship recipients in the discipline of Spanish language study for the 2020-21 academic year.

The C. B. and Eleanor Dedmon Spanish Scholarship, which can be continued for eight semesters, is awarded to an incoming freshman minoring in Spanish. The Dedmons established both this scholarship and the Ozella Waner English Scholarship in gratitude for their educations at ECU.

This year’s recipient is Michael Draper. Michael was named an Academic All-Stater and Oklahoma Academic Scholar out of Ada High School. In high school he participated in Student Council, Marching and Concert Band, Mock Trial, Academic Team, and the Science Club. He also served as the chapter president of Future Health Professionals of America and as a student ambassador for the Pontotoc Technology Center. He plans to major in Biology and minor in Spanish while at ECU.

Continuing Dedmon Scholars are Geovanni Trujillo, Mackenzie Bratton, and Abigail Fowler.

This year’s recipient of the Briles language scholarship is Jacob Talkington. Jacob is a highly motivated student who tells people that he learned Spanish on Duolingo, but that is only part of the story. Jacob came into the Spanish program with an admirable level of fluency because of his initiative to dig into the language before he ever took a university class. He enrolled in classes in his major at the Universidad de Extremadura in the Spring of 2020, but his semester abroad was

cut short when the countrywide quarantine caused by Covid-19 shut down nearly all activities in Spain, one of the areas hardest hit by the virus. He is back in Ada looking to finish up his degree.

The Luther Edge Spanish Scholarship was founded to acknowledge and encourage the academic achievement of Spanish-speaking students and students pursuing Spanish language studies.

Brittany West, one of this year’s recipients, has served on the Spanish Club presidency for the last two years, including as president for the 2019–20 academic year. In 2018, she traveled on ECU’s inaugural trip to Mexico City, where she visited places like Teotihuacán, Tula, Querétaro, Cholula, Puebla, and Mexico City. She is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society and has participated in the University Honors Program as an Executive Team Representative.

As an incoming Freshman, Vivian Kate Tapia is one of the youngest recipients of a Spanish scholarship this year, but she is also the only one who has traveled to Spain with a group from ECU. As a freshman in high school, she joined her cousin on the last trip that the Spanish program made to Spain. Spanish is her first language, and as a high school student she participated in tennis, basketball, and Rotary.

The recipient of the Higginbotham Family Language Scholarship is Callie Briggs. Callie is one of the most active students on campus, participating in numerous extracurricular activities. She is a former president of the Panhellenic Council and brought her experience to the Spanish

Club. She has even been known to skip Spanish class (excused, of course) to administer flu shots to the community as part of her work with the Nursing Program.

The Oscar L. Parker Spanish Scholarship was founded by Paul Swinford, a former student of Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker was a long-time employee of ECU and was also a founding member of the ECU Foundation, Inc. in 1970, and served as its first director. Emily Ford, this year’s recipient, will begin her sophomore year at ECU studying elementary education. She was one of the few incoming freshmen to receive a Spanish scholarship during the 2019–20 academic year. A member of the ECU Honors Program, she is an outgoing student who has generously given of her time to help fellow classmates understand the concepts studied in class.

The Beatrice Wiseheart Spanish Scholarship was established by Ms. Wisehart’s daughter, Susan Little, to honor achievement in Spanish language study and commitment to the ongoing practice of the Spanish language in a student’s personal and professional life. This year’s recipient, Patricia Alexander, is the epitome of perseverance. She grew up in Costa Rica, moved to the United States, raised a family, and has come to ECU looking to finish the studies that she began elsewhere. For the last semester, she has made an hour-long commute to Ada to attend her classes. She plans to receive a bachelor degree in psychology.

Paul Hughes Creative Writing Award Winners and Finalists

The Department of English and Languages presents the Winners and Finalists of the 2020 Paul Hughes Memorial Writing Award, an annual creative writing competition open to all East Central University students.  Any form of creative writing, including poetry, fiction, drama, teleplay, screenplay, and creative nonfiction, is eligible for consideration.

First Prize $250

Kara Hodo "The Marionette." This excerpt consisted of the first three chapters of her middle grade horror novel, which she has completed. Although the novel is aimed at younger readers, it demonstrates high levels of skill and artistry in every facet of storytelling. This is one of the most accomplished works ever submitted for a Paul Hughes Award.

Second Prize $150

Taylor Johnson "Bait"  This short story demonstrates excellent narrative skill, character development, and scene development. The dialogue is amazingly effective. Most years, this story would have claimed top prize. 

Third Prize $100

Mitchell Potts "Glass"  This story offers a new take on an old theme: a character stuck in a small town he cannot escape. This character-driven story is rendered with marvelous sentences and imagery. 

Finalists 

* Kate Carlin "Witness Statement"  This is the first time this author has submitted work for the award, and it is amazingly ambitious and skillful. She renders a police woman's experience with a young woman who is being abused yet is more deceptive than any of the other characters involved. Most years, this story would have received one of the three prizes. 

* Jill Taylor "Symphony"  This story blends narrative skill with philosophical theories in a stylish and provocative manner. 

* Bryce Clark "Trajectory"  This story uses a slice of life scene set in the future wherein a motorist stuck in traffic watches an ad on a video screen that depicts horrific explosions involving children, all in the name of societal motivation. 

Three More Senior Salutes: Ray Alkire, Carly Heitland, and Ginger Johnson!

Sharayah (Ray) Alkire

I’m an English Education Major

* I chose ECU because I heard they had one of the best teaching programs in the state!

* I have so many great memories at ECU it’s hard to choose. But one time during Dr. Grasso’s class he threw a piece of chalk behind his back and it perfectly landed on the chalkboard. Everyone in the class went crazy lol. 

* One of the most memorable texts I read at ECU has to be The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, I read this in Dr. Dorsey’s class. It resonated with me deeply and gave life to many of my current philosophies.

* I worked on a couple of huge assignments while at ECU but my favorite was a paper from Dr. Nicholson-Weirs class that I turned into an honors essay titled Black Queens Making Moves. I worked so hard on this and I’m still extremely passionate about it.

* I became a member of Sigma Tau Delta

* I’m proud of the multiple honors projects and presentations I’ve done. I’m also proud to have gotten not one, but TWO works published in the time I have attended ECU.

* I hope to become a middle school teacher soon, then eventually go back for a Doctorates in African American Literature where I can write and teach at a university.

* My advice for incoming freshman would be to keep pushing on no matter how tough things get. Your goals wouldn’t feel as good when you achieve them if there were no obstacles in your way.

Carly Heitland 
Major: English (Teacher Certification)/ Minor: Political Science

* I read so many memorable texts during the last four years! Perhaps the one that sticks with me the most is Albert Camus's The Stranger. I think I was struck by how the story could be so simple and so complex simultaneously. Still, with that text as with all of the texts I read in college, the class discussions were what reall made the text memorable.

* I am definitely most proud of my thesis. Completing a year-long project was a completely different process than any other paper or project I had worked on before. I was extremely grateful to have the faculty support that I did during the process (thanks, Dr. Dorsey)! 

* I participated in a lot of extracurriculars. My favorite was the Honors Student Association. I can not speak highly enough of the program!

* I was very honored to be selected as a George Nigh finalist this semester. I have known and looked up to many of the Nigh finalists from past years, so I was proud to be in their company. Next year, I will be teaching high school English, and I could not be more excited!

* I would advise incoming freshmen to focus on what is important to them. There are so many options available in college, it can be difficult to know what to choose (and even more difficult to try and do them all)! If you keep your personal goals in mind, everything will fall into place eventually. 

Ginger Johnson

- Major / Minor

Double Major Math and English

- I chose ECU among many colleges due to the low class size, involved Honors program, and scholarships.

- As a freshman, I went to the Great Plains Honors Conference with some other students in Honors.  Two of them are now my closest friends.  If it wasn't for a night spent quoting John Mulaney bits, we might not have become as close!  My boyfriend also danced with me on the stage in Wintersmith Park one random night to "The Pina Colada Song."

- Quicksand by Nella Larsen stands out as one of my favorites.  The writing was so engaging that I forgot it was for class and would read ahead.  It resonated with me in many areas, especially for mental health issues, and I think it's a book most should read.

-I'm proud of completing my Honors Thesis over representation of young adult women from book to screen. It took a lot of work, and there were times that no end was in sight, but it was very rewarding.  I'm also proud of a creative writing realistic fiction piece I wrote for the English capstone over impostor's syndrome.

- I was in the Honors Program, Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Chi, Pi Mu Epsilon, Mock Trial, and ECU Screens.

- I'm proud that I'm on track to finish with a 4.0 and honors.  For English specifically, I am proud to be featured in Originals and other school creative journals.  Creative writing was one of the main reasons I became an English major, and I think I've improved greatly.

- I'm going to pursue a Computer Science PhD at University of Tulsa.  My interests are in cyber and information security. Beyond that is unclear, but I will figure it out along the way.  I also plan to keep writing and, hopefully, publish a novel (even if it's just self published).

- What I wish I had known coming in was to not stretch yourself thin.  You should be involved, but you don't have to say yes to everything to please others.  It's okay to make your mental well being a priority.