Former English Major Teaches Abroad

Below are notes from the field by Shelly Reed, a Belmont English major and recent graduate who spent time in Greece teaching English:

This past school year I received the Hellenic American Educational Foundation Teaching Fellowship, which awarded me the incredible opportunity to teach English in Greece. My placement was at Athens College, and consisted of teaching advanced high school students Shakespeare, running creative writing workshops for the literary journal, and coaching duet acting for the forensics team. As a recent Belmont graduate wondering about my career path, this was the perfect chance to discover what teaching is all about. 

The fellowship provided housing, a stipend, great health insurance, a transportation pass, and meals at the school. It also provided a free Greek language class. The stipend was enough to allow for travel and I took full advantage of exploring the Greek islands! 

 Not only did the fellowship offer a lot of professional experience, including valuable ESL experience, but it also changed me profoundly. While living abroad is exotic and exciting, it is also fraught with challenges. I now know what it is like to be a minority, to not speak the language, and to be truly disconnected from home. All of my time in Greece---the exciting times and the challenging times led me to a richer understanding of humanity, one that I believe I could not have gotten any other way. 

 So to those of you dancing with the decision about whether or not to teach abroad, my advice is to go for it! I guarantee the experience will teach you something, like not to eat oranges off the trees in Athens! 

- Shelly Reed

Belmont English Accolades

The English Department would like to congratulate the following students for their academic achievements!

• Matt Dodson, who received his B.A. in English this past spring, will be attending Oregon State University after being accepted into its School of Writing, Literature, and Film. Matt will pursue a Master of Arts degree in Literature and Culture and teach writing as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He wants to study American literature from 1900 to present with an emphasis on nature/environmental literature. He was also accepted by Masters programs at Colorado State University, Portland State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

• Jeff Russell, a Belmont graduate of the Master of Arts in English program, has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Tennessee.  He will pursue his doctorate with a concentration in Adult Learning and a minor in English Education.

• Michael Watson, a Belmont English graduate student, recently delivered a paper at The Joseph Conrad Society's Annual International Conference, held in Bath, England in July. His paper was titled, "Steaming Towards a Dark Intent: Establishing Discourse between the Production of Purpose and Self-Discovery in 'Heart of Darkness'."

Belmont English Congratulates Graduates

The Belmont English Department would like to congratulate its Bachelors and Masters graduates who took degrees in the Spring of 2012.  Here are this year's graduates:

Bachelor of Arts (English)

Taylor Boyd

  Amanda Buckner

Matthew Dodson

Heather Entsminger

    Katie Godwin

Jennifer Hamrick

Abby Henry

Allison Hill

 Rainu Ittycheriah

Jesse Johnson

Scott Maddux

Alyson McHargue

Britney Morey

Nathan Stabenfeldt

Laura Stack

Shannon Titus

Ashley Trabue

Lance Umenhofer

Rachel Worsham

Master of Arts (English)

Nina Adel

John Bjorklund

Michael Jackson

Margaret Kingsbury

Sarah Rowe

Associate Dean David Curtis 

prepares to lead CAS faculty at 

2012 graduation procession .

Students Receive English Department Awards

Congratulations to a number of Belmont students who received end-of-year awards from the Belmont English Department!

• Lindsey Ricker, Jesse Johnson, and Tim Beaton are the winners of the James and Sarah King Awards, presented to recognize outstanding papers written in response to assignments for English courses. These awards are given in honor of the parents of James B. King, former chair of Belmont's English department.

• Jesse Johnson was presented the Ruby Treadway Award in recognition of his outstanding creative writing. This award is given to honor Ruby Treadway, a former faculty member in the English department.

• Matt Dodson received the Carl Chaney Award; Katie Godwin and Rachel Worsham received the Virginia Chaney Award. These awards are given to outstanding English majors who have produced excellent academic work in the department and who show promise of excelling in their future endeavors.  

Hungry?

Haven't gotten your fill of The Hunger Games yet? Then come out to the forthcoming roundtable, "Another Way of Looking at a Mockingjay: Teaching The Hunger Games in the College Classroom." On Wednesday, April 11 as part of the English Club's Spring Lecture Series, Dr. Marcia McDonald, Dr. Cynthia Cox, and Professor Sue Trout will hold a discussion on how to successfully incorporate a pop culture hit like The Hunger Games into a college class. The roundtable will be at 10 a.m. in Beaman A&B. Academic Lecture convo credit will be offered.

Alex Lemon Reading on April 13

On Friday, April 13, 2012, to celebrate National Poetry Month, poet/memoirist/professor Alex Lemon will be giving a reading and lecture at Belmont, followed by a Q&A. The even will be at 7:00 p.m. in McWhorter Hall 110 (Culture and Arts convo credit offered). Alex is a phenomenal poet, one gifted with both the ability to write incredible poems on the page and then perform them equally well. More information can be found on his website, linked here: http://www.alexlemon.com

Here’s Alex’s bio: Alex Lemon is the author of Happy: A Memoir (Scribner), the poetry collections Mosquito (Tin House Books), Hallelujah Blackout (Milkweed Editions), Fancy Beasts ( Milkweed Editions), and the chapbook At Last Unfolding Congo (horse less press). His writing has appeared in Esquire, Best American Poetry 2008, AGNI, BOMB, Gulf Coast, jubilat, Kenyon Review, New England Review, Open City, Pleiades and Tin House, as well as other venues. He was awarded a 2005 Literature Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and a 2006 Minnesota Arts Board Grant. He co-edits LUNA: A Journal of Poetry and Translation with Ray Gonzalez and frequently writes book reviews. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas and teaches at Texas Christian University.

Belmont Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta Inducts Twenty-eight New Members

Dr. Cynthia Cox, Belmont's advisor for Sigma Tau Delta would like to recognize this year's new members. On Sunday, April 1, the Belmont Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta inducted twenty-eight members in a ceremony at Dr. Annette Sisson's home. Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society with over 800 chapters across the United States. Membership in the society confers distinction for high achievement in English language and literature studies as an undergraduate, graduate, or professional. Congratulations to the following inductees from Belmont!

Kristen Allerton
Hannah Baggott
Jill Loftus Barrett
Austin Boling
Amanda Buckner
Jessica Rheay Duble
Betti-Chandrea Frazier
Caroline Hart
Jennifer Hamrick
Abigail Lee Henry
Allison Hill
Rainu Ittycheriah
Jessica Lavender
Hilliel R. Levin
Daniel Ross Logan
Emily Lynd
Alyson McHargue
Scott Maddux
Richard T. Martin
Anna Matlock
Melanie Meriney
Jeremey Minor
Brittney Morey
Jessica Spradlin
Laura Elizabeth Stack
Heather Thompson
Kate Tully
Layne Walton