Job Opportunity!

The National Council for the Traditional Arts seeks an Administrative Assistant/Intern for a five-month term, starting June 1.  See the AFS Career Center at

http://www.afsnet.org/networking/apply_now.aspx?view=2&id=153658
(This is different from the internship at the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, which Anna Christiansen recently received.  This internship also carries a stipend.)

Creative Nonfiction

The Human Face of SUSTAINABILITY

 

Deadline: May 31, 2013

Creative Nonfiction and Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability are looking for remarkable true stories that illuminate and present the human side of environmental, economic, ethical, and/or social challenges related to the state of the planet and our future.

Please click the folllowing link for more details!
https://www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/human-face-sustainability

Graduates Moving On!

Our graduating class of 2013 is moving onwards and upwards, not only in the academic field but also on the business side of things. Here are a few places some of our students are going:

Rosa Thornley will be teaching ENGL 2010 as an adjunct for USU RCDE (Regional Campuses/Distance Education). 

  

Laura Verna accepted a position as Assistant Professor of English in Professional Writing at Radford University in Radford, Virginia and will start in August.

 

Jeff Howard is planning to enter a Ph.D. program this fall at Idaho State University. The program is called English and the Teaching of English. He will have been given a fellowship, 1/1 teaching load, a stipend, and fee and tuition waiver as part of my offer. 

Kristin Ladd has received and accepted an offer for the Teton Science School this summer as an Outdoor Educator in their Curriculum Development and Youth & Family Programs.

Josh Anderson has decided to accept the offer at Ohio State for a PhD in American literature with an emphasis in US ethnic and post-colonial literature. He will have the opportunity to continue copy editing as he’s done here at Western American Literature, working with him at SAIL--which is the leading academic journal in the field of Native literature. Josh also considered attractive competing offers from Texas Tech University; University of Colorado, Boulder; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and Ohio State University.
 

Jacob Thomas will be working towards a Ph.D. in English and the Teaching of English at Idaho State University starting Fall 2013. 

If there are any other students from our graduating class that would like their story shared, please email Candi Checketts.

Title Page instructions for Plan A/B thesis or Dissertation:

The Grad School Publication Guide

(http://rgs.usu.edu/graduateschool/files/uploads/NEWPubGuide.pdf) will give you all sorts of information on formatting.  Also if you are looking for how to do that all-important title page (which you need to take to your defense), see pages 22-25.

ARTS PROGRAM REPRESENTATIVE I

Posted: 04/17/2013

Job Status: Full Time

Job Reference#: 29400

Job Description

Location:Salt Lake City, UT
600 E 100 S
Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts
Salary Range: $16.50 to $26.17
Category: EDUCATION / PUBLIC INFORMATION / ARTS
Agency: Dept of Heritage and Arts
Application Period: 04/17/2013 - 04/28/2013
Part/Full Time: Full Time

Job Characteristics: The individual in this position is responsible for coordinating components of the arts education program, and grant implementation. Incumbent will assist in the coordination of additional components including Poetry Out Loud, professional development workshops for teaching artists and educators/administrators, etc.) In addition, this person will also assist the Program Manager with special projects in the Arts Education, Folk Arts and Literature offices. This position requires significant interaction with the public that visits the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Art, including guiding tours for the public. Clerical work associated with all administration of programs, building maintenance requests, website tasks, updating of SalesForce data, preparation of materials for workshops/conference activities with partners, preparation of financial materials required to honor contracts, MOUs, purchases or workshop materials, office supplies, etc.

"Grad Toast" Party

Graduate students who would like to be toasted at our annual “Grad toast” party on Saturday, May 4^th, should immediately contact Melody Graulich and tell her who is on their committee.  Melody.graulich@usu.edu.  Anyone who graduated in December or will graduate in May or this summer is eligible.  We need to know who will be there to make sure someone is ready to do the toast. 

Everyone is welcome to attend this event, 5:30-9.  Family members or partners/friends are all welcome. 

Notice to Prospective Students:

USU English MA/MS programs in Literature and Writing, American Studies, and American Studies/Folklore are still accepting applications for the Fall 2013 semester. Applications should be completed by May 15. Any applications submitted after that deadline will likely be delayed by for much of the summer. For information about the application process or about the available programs can be found at these links: http://usuenglishgrad.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-do-i-apply.htmland https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/37859439/GradProgramFlowchart.pdf.
Please note that deadlines for the MS in Technical Writing or the PhD in Theory and Practice of Technical Communications have not been extended. The next application deadlines for those programs are Nov 1 (for MS only) and January 15 (for PhD). 

Feminist Theory Fall 2013

Please click the following link to read about the online Feminist Theories course, taught by Robin Parent, being offered this fall (for advanced undergraduate/graduate level).

Feminist Theory

Prague Summer Program

Good news, we're extending our application deadline until May 20th! The scholarship/fellowship application deadline will still be May 1st, so send in your writing samples!

New Service Opportunity:

 
I am looking for 2-4 grad students to serve on a Graduate Liaison & Recruitment Committee. Committee members will act as liaisons to those students who are considering our program and for our incoming grad students. The outreach roles will involve peer mentoring and some work on social media. Responsibilities include having your name and contact info listed on the blog and on the grad program facebook page as a contact person. You will be fielding both lifestyle questions and the general program questions. For instance, you may be asked about housing in Logan, outdoor recreational opportunities and community programs for singles or students with families, campus activities, department community, the social aspects of GI-ships, research facilities, faculty teaching styles and research areas, teaching responsibilities, and general logistics questions that might concern new students. You will also be expected to post regularly on the program Facebook page.  Interested students would also be welcome to post video clips about life on campus, in the department, in Logan (for instance, a virtual tour of the fourth floor offices or a clip of a group of you hiking in the canyon). You may also be asked to participate in development of a recruitment video that will be produced by a professional advertising organization.  If you are interested in this service opportunity, please email Evelyn.  We will have a meeting before semester’s end to discuss how to proceed. I would expect committee members to serve a one year term. Thanks!

Fife Honor Lecture for 2013

Hello all-- Shalom Sabar, the Fife Honor Lecturer for 2013, will be giving a talk in my folk art seminar tomorrow on birth amulets.  The lecture is open to everyone.  We meet in RBW, room 308 at 4:30.  He is one of the foremost experts in the world on the beautiful folk tradition of illustrated marriage contracts ("ketubbot"). Shalom Sabar is a Professor of Jewish Art and Folklore at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Born in the neo-Aramaic speaking Kurdish-Jewish community of Zakho, Iraq, Professor Sabar earned his Ph.D. in Art History from UCLA , writing on the illustrated marriage contracts of the Jews in Renaissance and Baroque Italy.

Hope to see you there!


Lisa Gabbert
Associate Professor of English
Assistant Director, Folklore Program
Department of English
Utah State University

Job Opportunity

Technical Writer EarthSoft is interested in hiring a Technical Writer in the Cache Valley, Utah area to assist with software documentation and all writing and editing tasks as part of a team. EarthSoft offers prospective employees exciting opportunities to grow and prosper within a dynamic company. EarthSoft is the creator of EQuIS; the most widely used environmental data management system in the world. EQuIS is used by many government agencies, industrial property owners, over 300 consultants, and over 400 analytical labs around the world.

The Technical Writer will assist as part of a team to draft, edit, proofread and publish online help articles to meet the needs of EarthSoft clients. This individual will also support any additional writing or editing tasks as assigned, and work directly with software and system engineers and additional EarthSoft staff. All tasks will be completed online, via email, and at times via remote conferencing tools, and telephone.

Skills:

• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Adobe, HTML
• Adept using cloud-based software tools 
• Support environment experience desirable 
• Learn new software quickly
• Meet tight deadlines 
• Write clearly and concisely
• Know and use correct grammar, sentence structure, punctuation 
• Prioritize effectively 
• Collaborate well in a team environment 
• Gather relevant information for writing assignments 
• Work productively with minimal supervision

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Writing with a Minor or Emphasis in Chemistry, Environmental or Geological Science, Computer Science, Engineering or Geography (preferred) 
• 3+ years technical writing experience
• Access to high-speed Internet connection

Apply:
Email a cover letter and resume to resumes@earthsoft.com with Case 87872 in the subject line. 
Compensation is commensurate upon experience. Telecommuting is required. Principals only. No Recruiters. Phone calls are not permitted regarding this position!

THE DR. DAVID BUCHAN STUDENT ESSAY PRIZE

The International Society for Contemporary Legend Research (ISCLR) is pleased to announce that it is to award an annual student essay prize to honor the memory of Dr. David Buchan (1939-1994), leading international ballad scholar, and a staunch supporter and perceptive writer in the area of contemporary legend research.

◊ The prize will be awarded for the best student essay that combines research and analysis on some aspect of contemporary legend, or contemporary legend research. Previously published essays will not be considered for the award.  The Selection Committee will consider both papers presented at the annual conference and papers sent in before the conference (by 15 May 2013).

◊ Applications are invited from registered (post)graduate students, although undergraduate essays will also be accepted for consideration on the advice of faculty members.

◊ Either students or their teachers may submit essays. Instructors are asked to encourage students with eligible essays to enter the competition.

◊ The deadline for submission is 15 May 2013, and the essays should have been written within the previous academic year, or the current academic year.

◊ The award will be made by the President of ISCLR upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee appointed by her, and will be announced at the annual meeting of the Society.

◊ The winner will receive $250 (U.S.), and a year’s membership to ISCLR. The winning essay will normally be submitted for publication in the Society’s journal, Contemporary Legend.

Please send your papers to  Elizabeth Tucker (ltucker@binghamton.edu)

Summer 2013 Offered Coures

Shook
ENGL 6890/7890 - Visualizing Information

In this class we will investigate the theory and practice of presenting information through the use of illustrations (as opposed to charts and graphs).  In the theory segment, we’ll read and discuss (lots of discussion) how people perceive illustrations, how they make sense of them, and how problems can arise when illustrations are used to transmit information. In the practice segment, we’ll produce illustrations using cameras, manipulate them, and use them as the basis for informing documents. Only the most basic of camera and computer equipment is necessary (a phone camera will do) as the emphasis is on the process rather than the quality of the finished product.

McLaughlin
English 6470/7470 - Marketing Documents
This course will focus on the world of marketing documents, including customer analysis, advertising, both print and on-line, and the basics of proposal writing.  It will bring together a variety of disciplines in order to understand the process by which companies communicate with customers.

Sowder

Can be taken as ENGL 6883, Poetry Writing Workshop, or ENGL 6884, Nonfiction Writing Workshop

Writing Poetry and Prose About the Natural World.

Writing Poetry and Prose about the Natural World focuses on learning strategies for opening one’s creativity through writing about the natural world, as well as on strategies for shaping, developing, and refining one’s writing into compelling nature essays and poems.  The classroom experience will combine the examination of the work of published writers, studying and practicing writing strategies, individual writing time (both in the classroom and outside), conducting research about the natural world, sharing work in large and small workshop critique,meeting individually with the instructor, and learning and practicing revision. The course should result in the production of one finished essay or a series of five to seven substantial poems. The methods and strategies practiced in this workshop are also designed to be useful to participants who are educators themselves and wish to replicate them in their own classroom. Graduate students will produce a significantly larger amount of creative work at a more advanced level and will take a more active role in the class, as in leading class discussions of both published work and student work in large group workshops, introducing course materials, teaching particular writing strategies, and facilitating small-group workshops. 

 

McNeil

Fife Workshop

Topic is "Vampires: from Folklore to Fandom".  We'll be looking at the original folk vampire's transformation into a literary and popular form, and the way that people engage that idea now with fandom and subcultures.  Dr. Heather Joseph-Witham (of early Mythbusters fame) will be our guest speaker.

 

Great things about USU and Logan:

USU bragging rights:

• "Best in the West" College (Princeton Review, "2012 Best Colleges: Region by Region," Aug. 2012)
• #5 ranked public university in "America's Best College Buys" (Forbes, "America's Best College Buys," Aug. 2011)
• #1 highest-ranked public university in the West and #4 in the nation for lowest tuition in "America's Top Colleges" (Forbes, "Top Colleges," Aug. 2011)
• #1 safest metro area in nation, Logan (CQ Press, March 2013)
• #3 in "Top 10 College Towns for 2012," Logan (Livability.com, Aug. 2012)
• #1 best performing small city in the nation, Logan (Milken Institute, March 2013)
• One of the "Best Underrated College Towns," Logan (Maria Minsker, Cornell University, "Best Underrated College Towns," Feb. 2012)
• Cache County is #22 in the nation's "Top 25 Counties That Have Experienced the Most Job Growth in the Last 10 Years" (CNN Money.com, "Where the Jobs Are," Aug. 2011)
• One of America's "Best College Towns," Logan (MSN, "A Survey Course in College Towns," Sept. 2011)
• One of the "Best Places to Live," North Logan (CNN Money Magazine, Aug. 2011)
• One of the country's most environmentally responsible universities (Princeton Review, "Guide to 311 Green Colleges," April 2011)

Logan, Utah by the numbers:

Logan Population - 48,174
Cache County Population- 112,656
USU Enrollment: 28,786
Elevation: 4,778 feet (on Logan Campus)
Average summer highs: 85 degrees
Average winter highs: 34 degrees
Cost of public transportation for Logan campus, Logan City, Cache Valley: $0
81 miles northeast of Salt Lake City
5 hours south of Yellowstone National Park
1 hour drive to four ski resorts
2 minute drive to Logan Canyon
Number of steps to the top of Old Main Hill: 124

For more information about USU, see:
http://www.usu.edu/about/at_a_glance/