An Occasional Broadsheet
William G. Cooper, Jr., Honors Program in English, UALR
December 2005
WILL WE OR WON'T WE?
Right now it looks almost certain that the English Department will not return to its spiffed-up quarters in Stabler Hall until the end of January, several weeks into spring term. But stay tuned in case the situation changes.
COOPER SEMINAR & SPEAKERS FOR SPRING 2006
Dr. Paul Yoder is teaching a Cooper seminar on William Blake covering major poetry, early satires, and selections from Blake's unpublished notebooks and letters.
1. In conjunction with this class, Dr. Yoder will host visiting scholar Dr. Sheila Spector, whose topic is Benjamin Disraeli's Alroy (available in an electronic edition she edited), considered the first Jewish historical novel. Alroy is the story of David Alroy, the failed Jewish messiah of the period between the first two Crusades. Published immediately after Disraeli's visit to the Middle East in the early 1830s, it also marks the transition from his early career as a novelist to his formal decision to enter politics. Most significant is its relevance to current interests with its setting (Baghdad and Jerusalem) foreshadowing current politics in the Middle East. Dr. Spector has published two books on Blake and Kabbalah and two collections of essays on Jews and British Romanticism recently.
Dr. Spector's lecture will be held on Thursday 9 February 2006 in Donaghey Student Center Meeting Room C.
2. Dr. David Jauss will host a reading by prominent writer Sydney Lea, who teaches at Dartmouth College. Dr. Lea has published a novel, two collections of nonfiction, and eight collections of poems, including one that was in the top three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in 2001.
Dr. Lea's reading will be on Thursday 6 April 2006. Further details TBA next term.
COOPER SEMINAR FOR FALL 2006
Dr. Dennis Vannatta will teach a Cooper seminar on Hemingway and Faulkner in fall 2006. Time TBA.
FIRST EVER UALR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPO
On Monday 17 April in DSC Rooms A, B, and C, UALR will hold an Undergraduate Research Expo showcasing research and creative endeavors by undergrads in all disciplines. Participants will receive a $20 gift certificate, a T-shirt, and a certificate of participation.
Cooper students are strongly encouraged to apply to participate in this Expo. Further details are available from Zabelle Stodola. As from mid-January, application forms and information can be downloaded from the Graduate School/ Office of Research and Sponsored Programs website at http://www.ualr.edu/orsp
The format is poster presentations, not spoken delivery. This is an excellent opportunity for Cooper students to present their Cooper projects before the Cooper Colloquium, which is a few weeks later than the Expo.
NEW HIRE, WE HOPE!
The English Department is currently advertising for a specialist in English Education to help with assessment and teaching of the English major/Secondary education minor. The newly hired person will also teach in other areas.
COOPER STUDENT NEWS
- 2003 graduate BRYAN JACKSON is a student teacher in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, "taking swipes at grade eleven English essays and the like," to use his words.
- 2002 graduate GEORGIA (MILLER) MJARTAN is now Executive Director of Our House in Little Rock.
- 2004 graduate JOEL RICHARDSON works in Off-Campus Programs at UALR with BRADY FORRESTER, another Cooper graduate. Joel is training to use Adobe InDesign, Microsoft FrontPage, Information Architecture, and other Adobe programs and is also engaged in web-based research.
- 2004 graduate ROBERT WEBB, in his first semester of graduate studies at Syracuse University, sent a message saying that "Things are very busy for me here. I am taking three classes, and the work load is tremendous." And he thought he was overworked at UALR!!
- STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, who was one of the first Cooper Program graduates a decade ago, is now a lawyer with The Anderson Law Firm, based in Montgomery, Alabama.
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