On campus on Tuesday?
Can you attend? April 30th from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. in JO 4.306 (BBS conference room).
This spring the Graduate Program in the Humanities is undergoing its mandatory periodic program review. We have prepared a self-study report and on April 30th a review team, including UT Dallas and external members, will view our facilities and meet with students, faculty, and administration.
The internal members of the review team have not been identified, but the external reviewers are Dr. Janet Kourany, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and Dr. Elizabeth Lowe, director of the Center for Translation Studies at the University of Illinois.
Feedback from our graduate students is needed. Please come if you are available. April 30th from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. in JO 4.306 (BBS conference room).
GSA Officers 2013-14
The polls have closed, and the results are in.
Your 2013-2014 GSA Executive Officers are:
President: Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri
Vice President: Jacob Crawford
Secretary: Rosalyn K. Mack
Membership: Rebecca Sader
On behalf of the outgoing 2012-2013 GSA Executive Officers, thank you so much to all who ran for office, voted, and participated with the GSA and the RAW conference during the past year.
Don’t forget to vote for the GSA elections!
Don’t forget to vote for the GSA elections!
Voting ends at midnight on April 16, 2013.
If you haven’t voted yet, the link to vote is in your official UTD email. (Search for email you received from Alice Salazar or Rebecca Gozzola).
BIG SCREENS, SMALL SCREENS: SIZE MATTERS (IN ADAPTATION)
CALL FOR PAPERS: LITERATURE/FILM CONFERENCE, 10-12 OCTOBER 2013
OREAD HOTEL, THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, LAWRENCE, KS. Deadline: June 1, 2013
“I like to watch. . .” writes David Thomson in his new book, The Big Screen. (2012). “We citizens are living with screens, even if nowadays we don’t go to ‘the movies’. . . .” Thomson, noted critic and historian, is the Keynote Speaker at the 2013 LFA Conference at the University of Kansas, 10-12 October 2013. His book provides the theme of this year’s Conference-”Big Screens, Small Screens: Size Matters (in Adaptation).”
This year we explore the changing aspects and consequences of the many “screens”-big, small, stationary, and mobile- that dominate our visual culture. These range from the big theater screens of classical Hollywood to today’s television and computer screens, mobile, hand-held screens of SmartPhones and Ipads, interactive video games, and the still frames of comic books and graphic novels. Moreover, we are no longer stationary viewers and readers positioned in public theaters and domestic armchairs; we consume our cinematic and literary texts on the move, in cars, office spaces, shopping malls, and airplanes. Consumption, perception, and comprehension of these texts are affected. As a result, the whole nature and practice of “adaptation” is changing.
In addition to traditional adaptation studies topics, other suggested subjects for conference presentations include:
* How have the convenience, variety, and ubiquity of digital technologies affected the distribution and consumption of classic literary texts?
* What literary texts have best lent themselves to a variety of channels of dissemination? How do newer and less conventional texts-such as comic books and video games-lend themselves to adaptation?
* How does the mobility of smart phones and ipads affect patterns of consumption?
* What consequences do the interactive potentials of video games have on classic literary texts?
* How do fan editors at their home computers adapt and “author” their own adaptations of pre-existing cinematic texts?
* And the question that hovers above it all: What does it mean these days “To watch. . . .”
In addition to David Thomson’s Keynote presentation, there will be special panels, roundtables, and workshops, including demonstrations on fan-editing and a new panel on “Poetry on Film.”
Please send your 200-word abstracts or inquiries to the co-organizers by June 1, 2013.
John C. Tibbetts: tibbetts@ku.edu
Cynthia J. Miller: cynthia_miller@emerson.edu
The conference host site is the new Oread Hotel, a attractive multi-service facility located at 1200 Oread Avenue, conveniently situated on northern edge of the campus of the University of Kansas, just a few steps from the campus Student Union. All conference activities and dining facilities are under one roof. If you wish to explore Lawrence, the Oread is just minutes away from downtown. The conference has secured a block of discounted rooms. Additional information can be obtained from http://www.info@theoread.com. Phone number: 785-843-1200.
CFP: SOUTHWESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
CALL FOR PAPERS:
75th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOUTHWESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
November 8-10, 2013 • Fredericksburg, TX
Conference URL: http://www.southwesternphilosophical.com/
Overview: Papers on any theme or problem in philosophy are welcome. Presented papers will be published in the Society’s journal, Southwest Philosophy Review. The Society gives an annual award of $100 to the best paper accepted for the program written by a graduate student or recent Ph.D. (degree must have been granted within three years of the meeting). Authors who are eligible for the prize should indicate this on the cover page of their submission.
Submissions: Electronic submissions are required and should be sent to swpssubmissions@gmail.com and contain “SWPS 2013 Conference” in the subject line. Papers must be in MS Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). Papers submitted in any other format cannot be processed. Papers may not exceed 3000 words in length, and those over 3000 words will not be considered. Submissions should include a word count and 150 word abstract (not counted in total word count) on the title page. Papers should not contain any information identifying the author of the submission.
In a separate title page document, please submit the following: title of the paper, abstract of the paper, author’s name, affiliation, email address and phone number.
Submission deadline: Papers must be received by Friday, 12 July 2013.
Membership: You must be a member to present. For information on becoming a member go to
http://collegeofliberalarts.uah.edu/philosophy/heikes/SWPSmembershipquerry.pdf or for further information contact Deb Heikes, University of Alabama – Huntsville, heikesd@uah.edu
2013 Conference Hotel: Fredericksburg Inn and Suites, 201 South Washington Street (2 blocks from Main Street). Rooms are $99 plus taxes Thurs night, $139 plus taxes Fri/Sat night. Reservations can be made by calling 830-997-0202. Please mention “Southwestern
Philosophical Society” when booking. The rate includes breakfast, parking, and wireless internet. Reservations must be made by 10/7/13. The hotel’s website is http://www.fredericksburg-inn.com/
2013 Conference Banquet: A banquet will be held in honor of the society’s 75th year, and will be hosted at a local TX Hill Country winery. The banquet must be reserved separately.
Questions or comments: Julie Kuhlken, Vice President and Program Chair,
Journal: For questions about the Southwest Philosophy Review, or to submit an article for consideration in the 2013 open issue (due by May 1, 2013), please contact Todd Stewart, Illinois State University, tstewar@ilstu.edu
Candidate Platforms, GSA 2013-2014
We have received two candidates for President:
Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri
Jerry Robinson
and only one candidate for each of the other offices:
Candidate for Vice President: Jacob Crawford
Candidate for Secretary: Rosalyn K. Mack
Candidate for Membership: Rebecca Sader
Elections will be held for all positions; all candidates (including uncontested candidates) will run against the option of a “write-in” opposing candidate.
Elections will be open April 9-16, 2013. Link to the election (using Survey Monkey) will be sent out via official UT Dallas email.
Elected candidates will take office on July 1, 2013.
All of the candidate platforms can be found below.
PRESIDENTIAL PLATFORMS
Responsibilities include: calling and running meetings (both general GSA and executive board); creating semester calendar; setting and creating agendas for meetings; attending department meetings; collecting and communicating relevant information to GSA advisor, A&H Graduate Advisor and A&H Coordinator of Special Programs; co-chair of RAW committee.
Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri
As an undergrad, for two years I was president of one of the more active (and “fun”) clubs on campus, the Italian Club. I went to a tiny liberal arts university where clubs were lucky to have more than ten attendees at their events. Events for the Italian Club routinely included between 50 and 100 attendees. I have been at UT-Dallas since the Fall semester of 2010, first as an MA candidate and now as a doctoral candidate. I have been regularly attending GSA meetings this year and have been learning about RAW symposium organization from our Vice-President, Courtney. As graduate students, I believe that attending conferences is the best way to network with our future colleagues. Hosting a conference, therefore, both provides a networking opportunity on our own campus and gives us the chance to increase awareness about our unique program. I believe that the two most important roles for the GSA are organizing RAW and providing a support system for all A&H graduate students at UT-Dallas. As president of the GSA, I would emphasize the importance of these two roles. I would be honored to represent you as president of the GSA.
Jerry Robinson
I seek the office of GSA President. I am a Grad student working to complete an ATEC PhD.
Relevant Skills/Experience:
I am a “returning student”. Marshall McLuhan coined a phrase: “The medium is the message.” I have spent a design career in physically enabling medium channels: A/V physical channels, computers, Editing, video servers, cell phones , AM/FM radio systems, and other media channels. Designing mediums required many skills: startup company leadership/engineering, writing software, electronics design, and more. I designed for: APPLE (I, II, and Macs), DEC, TI 99/4, Commodore Amiga, PCs, and telecom/ cell phones. I worked on the first PC Video Editing Systems (Amiga and Newtek), Video servers, and more.
My past is relevant to GSA leadership. Often a “little bit” of special “creative magic” is wrapped with traditional business or academic infrastructure. In creative disciplines, interests are diverse – yet need to be welded to standard ways of making a living.. Whether your future is in academic, corporate, or creative fields – there is commonality of structural need: paychecks, health insurance, or continued education.
I was President of my undergraduate Student Engineering Society. I am a past Secretary of SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers – DFW).
My UTD PhD research is in mHealth (Mobile Health).
I have done a Kickstarter project, have serious interest in Maker culture (3D Printing, etc), and have ePublications through Amazon. These are important skills for A&H/ATEC students.
My Specific Platform:
I’ll continue past GSA focus and add new outreach:
1. KEEP the GSA Web site current and useful for planning. Post conference schedules a minimum of two weeks prior to events -and update them. Expand Content.
2. Grad Student Retention: Of fellow grad students that entered UTD with you - how many will graduate? 20%? 50%? – do you know? For those who have left the program, why’d they leave? Could something have been done to help them stay and graduate? I’ll post numbers and make retention a priority.
3. Student Insurance is required for international students. Is it an appropriate value? If you use student insurance, are YOU getting appropriate value? Past performance has been a problem. I will research and publish numbers.
4. I’ll work to link A&H/ATEC to the greater DFW-Denton creative, professional, and corporate ecosystem. DFW-Denton is a RICH ECOSYSTEM – but with little UTD contact. Hook up with your professional and interest organizations! Networking leads to jobs!
5 – I will stress seminars, workshops, cons, and help organize “hands-on” events. How to: ePublish, do Kickstarter Campaigns, get involved in DIY Maker cultures (3D printing and more), do simple business structures for your creative efforts. I will bring in successful ePublished authors, filmmakers, creative industry leaders, and more. These things are lacking now – and Grad students NEED this knowledge.
I ask for your vote. I come at this job from the “long side” of a career and the goals above come from a “I wish I had known” perspective.
VICE PRESIDENTIAL PLATFORMS
Responsibilities include: co-chair of RAW committee; managing structure of GSA (bylaws; funding; organization); attending meetings in place of President when President is unavailable.
Jacob Crawford
I am a beginning second year doctoral candidate, and I hope to be your next
Graduate Student Association (GSA) Vice President. Apart from navigating through the program,
working as a Teaching Assistant, and completing coursework this year I had the opportunity to
participate as a member on the Research Art and Writing (RAW) conference committee, which was an
amazing accomplishment for the GSA and UT Dallas. We should all be honored at the dedication and
professionalism that went into staging such an important conference. My professional experiences
range from working as an adjunct faculty member to searching and examining recorded documents.
Additionally, volunteering has been a consistent part of my life and my experiences have ranged from
simple participation to working, organizing, and coordinating various events from picnics in the park to
neighborhood revitalization projects. I believe that my academic, professional, and charitable
experiences qualify me for this position. As Vice President I will continue to build upon the excellent
tradition of RAW, and attempt to promote greater accessibility, resources, and camaraderie within the
GSA.
RAW – Continuing and expanding the tradition of excellence:
• The planning and efforts made by the GSA leadership, administration, and faculty combined
with the response of paper submissions confirm the dedication, support, and success of our
student-run conference.
• Being a part of the Fifth annual RAW Conference proved to me that UTD graduate students work
hard and have pride in their academics, and I will continue in these efforts.
• Participation and support for RAW not only provides excellent opportunities to share our
individual works it also strengthens the value of our program.
Resources & Support to graduate students:
• The GSA as an organization is comprised of a diverse body of graduate students and should
become more accessible to each of us.
• Creating greater flexibility in scheduled activities and meetings should create broader
accessibility, and hopefully participation.
• We, as members of the GSA, need to be a resource for one another by supporting our diverse
academic pursuits and participating in growing our professional and social networks.
Strengthen our solidarity and camaraderie:
• We are a talented group, and the GSA should offer more opportunities to constructively
reinforce our academics through workshops, lectures, etc.
• The GSA should also help its members by providing some resources for our professional life
after the completion of our programs.
• Unlike most other graduate programs we do not inherently have a supportive group of
“cohorts,” and the GSA could help to better connect students and build greater unity.
Lastly, I believe the GSA’s success depends upon the vitality of active membership. Establishing
open dialogue and greater collaboration amongst students, from each program track, will enable greater
participation and less fracturing among us. From matriculation through commencement the Graduate
Student Association should be a resource for our success, and be tailored to fit our diversity.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jacob Crawford
Jxc128030@utdallas.edu
SECRETARY PLATFORMS
Responsibilities include: managing website/facebook/twitter accounts; writing and organizing minutes from GSA and executive board meetings.
Rosalyn K. Mack
My name is Rosalyn K. Mack and I am a second-year PhD student. I have been active in GSA since my second semester here at UT Dallas and have grown to enjoy both the membership benefits and the friends I have made through the organization. It’s my desire to continue encouraging other graduate students to participate more fully in GSA.
As a former English teacher, I am confident that my writing and communications skills will be an asset to maintaining the group’s electronic presence, particularly on the organization’s blog, website, and Facebook. I’m comfortable using social media to keep A&H graduate students informed of important departmental or University events or news. I enjoy writing and I love to share the information I’ve learned, particularly if it will help another person in some way.
I’m running for GSA Secretary because I believe that communication is key to the success of any organization and I would like to grow GSA representation among current students and alumni. In the past two years I’ve watched GSA grow through the use of Twitter and Facebook, both of which have greatly improved its communication with A&H graduate students. I would like to continue this trend. I particularly hope to increase traffic to the GSA website and Facebook page while also gaining more followers on Twitter. Another of my goals would be to create a space where students can post relevant questions for GSA and institute a forum for discussion of major issues facing graduate study at the University.
It’s my belief that the Secretary position is a major link between the GSA and the student body exactly because the secretary is responsible for communicating with the student body. I’d like the opportunity to continue improving that communication and expanding the GSA presence among A&H graduate students.
MEMBERSHIP PLATFORMS
Responsibilities include: organizing social events; working with alumni; acting as liaison for graduate students who are unable to attend meetings; managing yearly elections*.
Rebecca Sader
My name is Rebecca Sader and I would like to serve as the Membership Chair of GSA
for 2013-2014. The position needs an effective communicator and someone who is comfortable
socializing with others. I think I meet those criteria. I enjoy meeting and getting to know new
members of the UT-Dallas Arts and Humanities graduate program. I also enjoy keeping in touch
with UTD alumni who have moved on into academic positions.
Graduate school is difficult without a support group who knows the challenges of the
program. Many students lose connections with peers from their undergraduate days when they
move into graduate school. Social events are a way members of the GSA can connect with
each other and meet people who share common interests and goals. It is my goal to help GSA
continue to provide activities and events where our current members can network with each other
and with our alumni. I have many years of experience organizing events for groups of various
sizes and interests. I am well organized, an efficient time manager and a good planner. But, I also
know that any good event requires the help of many willing volunteers and I do not hesitate to
ask for your help.
A strong organization depends on committed leaders and informed and engaged
members. As Membership Chair it will be my goal to help the Secretary keep all GSA members
informed and involved, even those members who cannot attend meetings. I am available by
email and I am on campus every day; so, I am easy to find and always willing to listen.
GSA has a well-structured election process and I hope continue this tradition.
I would appreciate your vote. If you have any questions for me, contact me at
rgs072000@utdallas.edu. Thank you for your consideration.
*Please note that although the Membership Chair’s responsibilities include annual elections, by agreement of the Executive Board the 2013-2014 Elections are being handled by outgoing 2012-2013 Secretary Sara Keeth to avoid any conflict of interest.
Monday, April 8, 2013: 12-1pm
Graduate Lounge JO 3.930
Please come and meet the candidates for the 2013-2014 GSA Executive Board. You can also follow the meeting on Twitter with hashtag #utdgsa.
If you cannot attend and would like to submit a question in advance, please email utd.gsa@gmail.com, or tweet questions to @utdgsa or use hashtag #utdgsa.
We will post candidate names and platforms here on the website on Monday, once the submission period has closed and all names and platforms are collected.
Elections will be held online via Survey Monkey, April 9-16, 2013. You will receive a link in your official UTD email for voting.
