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!).