The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

Thanks to everyone who came to hang snowflakes, decorate the tree, listen to music, and enjoy getting into the holiday spirit!

This Thursday, November 29th, from 12:30 to about 3:00, we will be decorating the department for the holiday season and would like to invite you all to join us! We’ll have a light lunch, holiday treats, good company, and lots of snowflakes to hang!

The Wednesday after Thanksgiving, GWS is hosting an event titled "Public Disclosures of Private Realities": LGBTQ History and the Archive of Everyday Life by Dr. Stephen Vider of Bryn Mawr College. This is a great chance to meet and mingle with an expert as well as attend an important lecture within the field of Gender and Sexuality Studies. When : Wednesday, November 28 at 6PM Where : Bartley 1010

Upcoming GWS Event! Mothers at Work: Who Opts Out? Presented by Dr. Liana Christin Landivar, Sociologist and Faculty Affiliate, Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park When: Tuesday, November 13th, 6pm GWS recruitment and information session at 5:30 Pizza will be served! Where: Tolentine 215 Liana Christin Landivar is the author of Mothers at Work: Who Opts Out? This book examines mothers’ employment rates and work hours in 55 occupations and shows that women in managerial and professional occupations were the least likely to opt out of the labor force but most likely to scale back on work by a few hours per week when they had children.

Thanks to everyone who came to this year's Teaching Roundtable!

When: Thursday, November 1st Where: 7:30pm in SAC 300 The Teaching Roundtable will feature some of your fellow classmates who are currently doing a teaching internship with a graduate faculty member in the department. This will be a casual discussion about the internship—and more specifically about their experiences and findings while teaching in the undergraduate classroom. We encourage you all to attend, but especially anyone interested in the internship or in teaching, and any current teachers in the program, to attend and join the discussion! RSVP’s aren’t mandatory- but if you know you might be attending, please let Brooke know.

"Where Do We Go Now?" A film by Nadine Labaki (2011) November 7, 3pm, Connelly Center Cinema Introduction: Dr. Kerry San Chirico, Theology & Religious Studies When violence threatens to break out between the Muslim and Christian population of a remote Lebanese village, it is up to the women of the village to come together to prevent more deaths. With creativity and humor, they do all they can to bring their community together again. Dealing with difficult topics like religious tensions, death and violence, the film beautifully manages to maintain a fine balance between comedy and tragedy

October 8, 3pm, Connelly Center Cinema "Pariah," A Film by Dee Rees (2011) Introduction: Dr. Katie Grimes, Theology & Religious Studies Alike is an African-American high-school student who loves poetry. Dreaming of having a girlfriend, she must negotiate her family’s visions of her future with her own ideas about who she is. When she meets Bina, she finds a new friend, and new possibilities open. The film accompanies Alike through a formative piece of her adolescence, sensitively dealing with issues of gender, race, sexuality and religion. This screening is sponsored by the Faith & Culture Forum/Office for Mission & Ministry, the Department of Theology & Religious Studies and the Gender and Women’s Studies Program.

Our annual PhD forum will be next Monday, October 8 , at 7:30 pm , in SAC 300.  Evan Radcliffe be joined by Prof. Adrienne Perry (PhD, University of Houston) and Teddi Sakellarides (MA graduate and current PhD student at Temple), to talk about various aspects of whether to pursue a PhD, how and where to apply, what PhD study is like, and the state of the academic job market. There will also be pizza! RSVP to Brooke at  brooke.erdman@villanova.edu by Oct. 8th at 3pm!

The GWS semester events are officially in swing so mark your calendars for this coming Monday, October 1st as we welcome Dr. Jim Ferris of the University of Toledo for poetry and performance.  Was Your Mama White? Excavating Hidden History Poetry / Performance by Dr. Jim Ferris, Professor, Ability Center Endowed Chair of Disability Studies, University of Toledo MONDAY, OCTOBER 1ST, 5:00 PM COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT STUDIO GAREY HALL Sponsored by: The Dept. of Communication, The Center for Peace and Justice Education, Gender and Women’s Studies, The Office of Disability Services, and Africana Studies Jim Ferris is a poet and performance artist. He is author of Slouching Towards Guantanamo, Facts of Life, and The Hospital Poems , which won the Main Street Rag Book Award in 2004. Ferris, who holds a doctorate in performance studies, has performed at the Kennedy Center and across the United States, Canada and Great Britain; recent performance work includes the sol...

Thank you to the English graduate students who volunteered their time and painting skills this past weekend to the Academy at Palumbo! Service day volunteers, including English grad students Christie, Nick, Daniella, Alex B, and Brian

Thanks to all who came to our Welcome Back reception last Friday!

The annual Thesis and Field Exam Workshop is coming up! When: Thursday, September 27th, 7:30 PM Where: SAC 300 All graduate students are welcome to attend, regardless of whether they are finishing up their degree this year or later. Although it is most important for any student who will be finishing this spring, everyone should consider attending. We will go over important information regarding the thesis and field exam process including the timeline, requirements, deadlines/graduation, and examples from recent graduates. We’ll also have pizza! RSVP to Evan at evan.radcliffe@villanova.edu by 5pm on Tuesday, September 25th!

Looking for a volunteer opportunity this coming weekend? The St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service is coming up this Saturday, September 15 ! Join fellow English graduate student and graduate assistant Nick Manai, who is organizing a service group at the Academy at Palumbo in South Philly. Last year, our group helped paint, clean, and reorganize some classrooms and administrative offices. Jobs this year will likely continue cleaning, painting, and rearranging! The high school is located at 12th and Catherine Streets (just below South Street) and will take place from approximately 9:30AM-2PM (if you need to arrive early or leave late, that is no problem at all). If you plan to bring significant others or family members, that's fine too, just please let Nick know ahead of time. The official deadline for registration for the event via the Villanova website has already passed, but that does NOT mean it's too late to sign up! See Nick's email address below, and contact h...