Conference on the Sympathetic Imagination: Literature, Film, and Writing of Sympathy and Empathy Co-hosted by the Association of College English Teachers of Alabama and the English Department of Troy University February 23 and 24, 2018 Troy University Troy, Alabama
Schedule of Conference Events FRIDAY, FEBRAURY 23 1:30-2:45 pm Registration Hawkins Hall Lobby 3:00-4:15 pm Hawkins Hall Auditorium Welcome ACETA President Bryan Johnson, Director of University Fellows, Samford University Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs/Provost, Dr. Earl Ingram, Troy University Presentation of Award-Winning Papers James Woodall Award -- Let Go and Give Students Control: The Modified Flip by Christy Burns, Jacksonville State University Mary Evelyn McMillan Award Disrespected, Unprotected, but Not Dejected: An Examination of Black Women s Resistance in Antebellum Literature by Madison Ogletree, Auburn University, nominated by Dr. Julia Charles Honorable Mention: Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: Menippean Satire in The Crying of Lot 49 by Maggie Sanderson, Montevallo University, nominated by Dr. Alexander Beringer 4:30-5:45 pm The Poetics of Empathy Hawkins Hall Room 107 Moderator: Michael Orlofsky, Troy University Speaking the Unspeakable: The Articulation of Suffering in Fraser s Strange Pieta by Bailey Bridgeman, Samford University A Study in Empathy by Michael Orlofsky, Troy University Surpassed by Her Beauty : The Patriarchal Readership, the Sympathetic Imagination, and the Complication of Marie de France s Proto-Feminism by Stephen G. Melvin, University of North Alabama
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23 (CONT D) 4:30-5:45 pm Imagining the Experiences of Women in World War II Hawkins Hall Room 111 Moderator: Eric Sterling, Auburn University Montgomery Sympathy for Women in Exile by Anna Taylor and Carly Niswander, Jefferson State Community College Aharon Megged s Hanna Senesh and Empathy for The Other by Eric Sterling, Auburn University Montgomery 5:45-6:30 pm Reception International Art Center 6:45-8:00 pm International Art Center Dinner Entertainment: Pendulum, Student Spoken Word Group, Troy University Keynote Speaker: Martin Puchner, General Editor, The Norton Anthology of World Literature and author of The Written World: How Literature Shaped Civilization SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 9:00-9:45 am Registration & Breakfast Hawkins Hall Lobby 10:00-11:15 am Eugene Current-Garcia Address Hawkins Hall 119 Dr. Kirk Curnutt, Professor and Chair of the English Department, Troy University, Night Fever: A Literary Soundtrack to the 1970s
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 (CONT D) 11:15-11:30 am Coffee Break Hawkins Hall Lobby 11:30 am-12:45 pm Expressions of Female Empathy Hawkins Hall Room 119 Moderator: Rebecca Duncan, Lawson State Community College Double-layer of Sympathetic Imagination by Christy Burns, Jacksonville State University Telling the Truth About My Own Experiences as a Body : Virginia Woolf as Both a Writer and a Survivor of Sexual Violence by Donovan Cleckley, University of Montevallo Daughter-Mother Understanding: The Sympathetic Imagination in Amy Tan s The Joy Luck Club by Taten Shirley, Faulkner University Breaking Barriers through Empathy Hawkins Hall Room 117 Moderator: Ben Robertson, Troy University Technology and Identity Theory: Cultural Considerations in FYC by Brandon Burrell, Auburn University at Montgomery The Evolution of Cross-cultural Empathy as Depicted through Language Contact in Film by Catherine E. Davies, The University of Alabama The Sympathetic Imagination and Racial Difference in The Lost Virgin of the South by Ben P. Robertson, Troy University 1:00-2:15 pm Lunch and Business Meeting Trojan Dining Hall Parking Hawkins Hall lot on John M. Long Blvd. (across the street from Hawkins Hall)
About Our Speakers Martin Puchner Noted for his work in promoting the humanities, Martin Puchner is the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University. His publications range from books and anthologies to over sixty articles and essays on topics in philosophy, theater, and world literature. Through HarvardX, his MOOC (massive open online course), Masterpieces of World Literature, encouraged the exploration of the texts typically taught in world literature survey courses as expressions not only of a single time and place but as part of an interconnected web. His new book, The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization, tells the story of how literature has shaped the world we inhabit using sixteen foundational texts drawn from works as varied as The Iliad to Harry Potter. Kirk Curnutt Kirk Curnutt earned his Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University in 1993 and began work at Troy University later that year. Currently serving as the Chair of English across Troy s campuses (Montgomery, Online, and Troy), Dr. Curnutt s recent work includes editing Cambridge University Press American Literature in Transition: 1970-1980 as well as texts centered on William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Brian Wilson. In addition to scholarly work, he has published five works of fiction including the mystery novel, Dixie Noir. Dr. Curnutt has been an active supporter of the Alabama Book Festival in Montgomery and the Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum.
January 29, 2018 Bryan Johnson, President Association of College English Teachers of Alabama Anissa Graham, Executive Secretary Association of College English Teachers of Alabama Dear Association of College English Teachers of Alabama: We send greetings from the National Council of Teachers of English to you and to all conference attendees on February 23-24, 2018! NCTE affirms the creation and offering of this Conference by the Association of College English Teachers of Alabama. Equally, we applaud each participant s contribution to the event and to the profession. Teachers benefit from ongoing learning opportunities as they improve teaching of English, English language arts, and literacy at all grade levels. Research shows that all students can achieve at high levels when their teachers are continuing learners, especially in teams with colleagues across disciplines. At this conference, teachers can share new ideas and work together with colleagues to better support their students learning. NCTE provides professional learning in multiple ways through professional learning programs; books, journals, and position statements; conventions and meetings; and participation in the National Center for Literacy Education. In addition, NCTE alerts policymakers at the local, state, and national level about effective teaching and learning practices to consider as they institute new policies. Just as your affiliate sparks your learning, NCTE can nourish your pedagogical knowledge, access to colleagues across the country, and love for your profession. We invite you to join us. Sincerely, Emily Kirkpatrick NCTE Executive Director Millie Davis Senior Developer, NCTE Affiliates Director, Intellectual Freedom Center
Thanks to Sponsors ACETA would like to thank Troy University for sponsoring and hosting the conference. Special Thanks Dr. Kirk Curnutt, Chair, Department of English, Troy University and to Michael Orlofsky, Local Arrangements Coordinator, Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing Program, Troy University ACETA Steering Committee President Bryan Johnson, Director of University Fellows, Samford University Vice-President Rebecca Duncan, Department Chairperson, Arts & Humanities, Lawson State Community College Executive Secretary Anissa Graham, Instructor of English, University of North Alabama NCTE Liaison Steve Hubbard, English and Literature Professor, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Past-President Gloria Horton, Instructor Emerita, Jacksonville State University Members at Large -- Christy Hutcheson, English Instructor, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College; Loretta Burns, Professor & Chair Emerita, Department of English, Tuskegee University; Pamela J. Horn, English Faculty, Southern Union State Community College; Peter B. Green, Assistant Professor of English, Alabama A & M University
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