Schneider-Mayerson Essay in "American Quarterly

Matthew Schneider-Mayerson (PhD ’13) has a book review essay in the June issue of American Quarterly. The essay is titled “Necrocracy in America: American Studies Begins to Address Fossil Fuels and Climate Change."

CFP UChicago Engligh Graduate Conference

THE UNIVERSITY of CHICAGO is pleased to announce a call for papers for its English Graduate Student Conference. The conference is titled “Words Unofficial: Gossip, Circulation, Mediation” and will be held Nov. 19^th and 20^th, 2015. See below for more information and to apply.

Words Unofficial: Gossip, Circulation, Mediation
University of Chicago English Graduate Conference
November 19-20, 2015

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Susan Phillips, Northwestern University
Associate Professor of English and Alumnae of Northwestern Teaching Professor


From Chaucer's House of Fame to Gossip Girl, the distortive power of rumor and gossip has long generated both fascination and anxiety across media, genres, and periods. In the digital age, unofficial discourse has acquired the potential for frenzied transmission, often substantiating established fears surrounding the nebulous nature of the intermediary. The fascination and paranoia attached to the spread and (mis)handling of information speaks to a deeply-rooted unease around origins, third-parties, and modes of exchange. To label gossip as solely nefarious, however, ignores its positive manifestations as participatory, subversive, and empowering, as well as its potential role in anti-hegemonic discourse or storytelling. 
 
The University of Chicago Department of English Language and Literature seeks proposals for its 2015 Graduate Conference, “Words Unofficial: Gossip, Circulation, Mediation.” This conference will explore how various forms and modes, both literary and otherwise, have treated information misplaced and in motion. We are interested in fostering a cross-disciplinary and cross-temporal conversation, reflecting on various interpretations of unrecognized or cryptic modes of communication. 

We invite papers including but not limited to the following:

• Chatter, babble, and nonsense
• Oral tradition
• Authorship, authority, and ownership
• Editorial intervention and print culture
• Misprints, typos, and misinterpretations
• Translation and intertextuality
• Spaces/structures of transmission
• Social media and global consciousness
• Tabloids, scandal, and celebrity culture
• Privacy and publicity
• Libel and slander
• Surveillance and ethics
• Social network theory

 
We welcome scholars from a variety of disciplines. Please submit an abstract of 200—250 words to words.unofficial.uchicago@gmail.com by August 15, 2015.

GWSS Fall 2015 Teaching Positions Available

The Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies is seeking graduate instructors for the following Fall 2015 courses.  Please send cvs and a letter of interest to Tracey Deutsch at tdeutsch@umn.edu if you'd like to be considered.  ABD students are strongly preferred

1001 Gender, Power, and Everyday Life (online)
1004 Screening Sex: Visual and Popular Culture
3303W Writing Differences: Literature by US Women of Color
3305 Queer Cinema
4103/5104 Transnational Feminist Theories
4403 Queering Theory

Grad Admissions Office Graduate Assistanship Position

THE GRADUATE ADMISSIONS OFFICE is looking to hire a graduate administrative fellow (grad assistant) to work 30 – 40 hours a week during the summer, and then transitioning to 50% during the academic year. See below for more information and to apply

A link to the position on the HR website is forthcoming. For now, if interested email Dean Tsantir directly tsan0006@umn.edu

Position title: Graduate Assistant (Administrative Fellow)

Hiring office: Graduate Admissions Office

Percent time: 50% appointment with 100% tuition remission (excluding summer term)

Hours: Morning shift; M-F 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. during the semester.  Applicant must be available during this specified time.  The ideal candidate will join us between 30 and 40 hours per week this summer, then transition into a 50% graduate assistantship during the academic year.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Must be consistently available for the specified hours and currently enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  Proficient with PCs and Microsoft Office applications.  Able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment, provide superior customer service, maintain excellent written and oral communication, and develop positive professional relationships with diverse constituents. Strong organizational skills. Highly motivated, focused, and results-oriented. Able to work as part of a team and independently.  Ability to take initiative and make decisions. Adept at problem-solving and self-motivated.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in a university office setting.  High level of cross-cultural sensitivity and ability to successfully communicate with people of diverse backgrounds. Understanding of international student visa issues and I-20 processes. Experience with PeopleSoft, ApplyYourself, MyU Portal, and ImageNow programs. Adept at providing clear, detailed instructions on both admissions procedures and troubleshooting technical issues.

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

80% Admissions Advising/Inquiry Response:
Graduate Admissions front desk first point of contact for prospective and current students, as well as graduate program staff, faculty and other constituents.  Manage a high volume of phone calls, emails, walk-in visits, and voice mail.  Answer questions and provide counsel regarding all aspects of the admissions process, including application requirements, registration holds, assessing the validity/completeness of documentation, and final decisions.  Advise prospective students on potential programs of interest and general admissions process/timelines.  Route inquiries appropriately both within and outside the Graduate Admissions office.  Access applicant status in PeopleSoft and ApplyYourself.   Coach new program staff and faculty regarding the use of ApplyYourself and other admissions procedures.  Identify and troubleshoot issues reported by faculty, staff, and applicants; reassure constituents and provide guidance in resolving issues.  Advise international students on the process for I-20 documents produced by the admissions office for student visas.  Develop and maintain communication templates.

15% General Admissions Office Support:
Coordinate delivery of I-20 documents for international applicant F-1 student visas. Receive mail and sign for all Graduate Admissions packages. Maintain graduate program/department contact list. Gather data for monthly and annual reports. Participate in meetings with staff and unit administrators to discuss and evaluate office processes.  Assist in preparing and maintaining admissions staff training manual.  Assist with special projects.  Provide occasional back-up phone coverage for the Office of the VP/Dean for Graduate Education.

5% Application Assistance:
Ensure proper sending of materials to departments electronically, campus mail, or in-person.  Print, match, and file transcripts, open mail, assist with document re-filing and coding.  Copy and certify documents.  Maintain and update student application records in ApplyYourself and PeopleSoft.  Place and remove Graduate School student indicator holds, and/or search for other pertinent information.  Assist in scanning documents to ImageNow.

PROGRAM/UNIT DESCRIPTION

The University of Minnesota Graduate School provides administrative support for approximately 200 doctoral, master's, licensure, and certificate programs in the biological, health, engineering, physical, mathematical and social sciences; education and psychology; language, literature, and the arts. The Office of Admissions, with a full-time staff of ten, plus student staffers and seasonal part-time workers, is responsible for processing new applications for admission for graduate and professional programs, as well as applications for readmission and change of status.   Approximately 16,000 applications are received annually.  The office uses an online admissions system from the private vendor, ApplyYourself, which is also used by the graduate programs. The office also is responsible for international credential evaluation, issuing visa documentation for international students, recruitment, informing constituents about local and national admissions issues, and supporting prospective students, applicants, staff, and faculty with all admissions related questions.  For more information about The Graduate School and the Admissions Office go to www.grad.umn.edu

Mahdi named 2015 Exemplary Diversity Scholar

WALEED MAHDI, PhD candidate, has been named by The National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan as a "2015 Exemplary Diversity Scholar." The award recognizes his research, teaching, and community outreach contributions to diversity.

Annis Awarded CRES GRPP

AMBER ANNIS, PhD candidate, has been awarded the Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies Graduate Research Partnership Program Fellowship for this summer.