For a bonus opportunity for this unit, you may participate in the upcoming Sigma Tau Delta English Studies Conference. I will reward five points to anyone who attends at least two panels and writes a one and a half to two page response to the papers s/he listens to. I will reward ten points to anyone who submits, is accepted, and presents at the conference. The conference will take place on March 28 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
If you want to attend only (5 points)...
If you want to present (10 points)...
If you want to attend only (5 points)...
- Attend two panels at the conference on March 28.
- Take notes. Listen attentively. Ask questions.
- Write a one and a half to two page response to the papers you listen to.
- Submit your paper electronically before April 1.
- You may submit your paper electronically on the submissions site or in hard copy. I prefer that you submit .pdfs if you submit electronically.
If you want to present (10 points)...
- Read the call for papers below.
- Write a brief abstract. (see below)
- Submit your abstract to [email protected] before March 21.
- Wait patiently for acceptance. If you are not accepted, you may still attend for seven points (5 points for attending and writing a response and 2 points for submitting an abstract). If you are accepted, keep reading.
- Write your paper if you haven't written it yet. Revise your paper if you have written it. Make sure that your paper is readable. For example, the language, structure, and ways of writing will be different if you have a reader versus if you have a listener.
- Show up on March 28 and present your paper. I will try to attend everyone's panel.
- Eat Shawarma King.
- Present your paper.
- Submit your final paper that you read to me electronically on the submissions site or in hard copy. I prefer that you submit .pdfs if you submit electronically. These must be submitted before April 1 to receive full credit.
English Studies Conference Call For Papers
Sigma Tau Delta is seeking submissions for our annual English Studies Conference. Conferences are a great way to gain professional experience and to enjoy the company of like-minded peers. If you're considering graduate school at all, conferences are also an excellent way to demonstrate your leadership skills and commitment to the field. We are seeking all kinds of submissions--any type of writing you've done that pertains to English is fair game. Studies in rhetoric, linguistics, literary analysis, creative writing, cultural studies--we want it all! Again, this doesn't need to be work completed in school. Personal projects are equally welcome. If interested, please submit your work to [email protected] as soon as possible.
The conference will take place on March 28, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Please specify a time preference in your submission, otherwise a time will be selected for you. This annual event is regularly attended by many faculty members and students. It would make a great addition to any CV, and it's also a lot of fun! Please note that there is a small fee of $10 for those invited to present. Friends and guests will not be charged. Feel free to write to [email protected] with any questions about this event. We sincerely look forward to reading your work!
The conference will take place on March 28, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Please specify a time preference in your submission, otherwise a time will be selected for you. This annual event is regularly attended by many faculty members and students. It would make a great addition to any CV, and it's also a lot of fun! Please note that there is a small fee of $10 for those invited to present. Friends and guests will not be charged. Feel free to write to [email protected] with any questions about this event. We sincerely look forward to reading your work!
Abstract WritinG SAMPLES
I realize that many of you may not know what an abstract is. An abstract is a short (somewhere between 150-500 words depending on the CFP—that's call for paper—requirements) explanation of what you will be arguing and presenting on at the conference. If you are doing an argument-based presentation (i.e., most literary and cultural analysis, linguistic papers, etc.) you will definitely want to present your thesis and context for your paper. If you are submitting creative
Check out these 150-word abstracts below. These are two successful abstracts for a national conference on children's literature. These are very theoretical abstracts, but I want you to pay attention to how the abstract is written and the types of things included. Do not pay attention to content or get hung up on what the abstract says. Note that each entry has a title, a background, and an argument. These are the key parts of an abstract. If you want help writing your abstract, I would be happy to meet with you.
Sample #1
“‘The Sisters Were Best Friends At Last’: How Frozen Redefines True Love as Necessarily Reciprocal”
In their study of nine Disney films ranging from 1937 to 2009, sociologists Dawn Elizabeth England, Laura Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek find that “princes often perform the climatic rescue of the movie” and that “no princess [...] did a final rescue without the assistance of the prince” (561). Famously, several such rescues come in the form of heterosexual kisses that awaken sleeping princesses through the power of “true love.” In these instances, true love is not only framed as a power that exists exclusively between romantically-entwined men and women, but also one that can be activated without the woman’s consent. The agentic prince’s kiss is often sufficient to break the spell on the passive, even unconscious, princess.
However, Disney’s newest film, Frozen, challenges this tradition, lauding sisterly affection as a perfectly legitimate form of “true love.” The omission of a prince from film’s resolution is radical enough in itself; however, in this discussion I will explain why Frozen goes even farther in subverting traditional definitions of true love and the mechanics of its power. Though several book adaptations of the film frame the curative “act of true love” as Princess Anna’s self- sacrifice (e.g., Anna “saved her own life,” write Sarah Nathan and Sela Roman in Frozen: The Junior Novelization), I will first explore interpretations in which Queen Elsa actually lifts the curse. Second, I will argue that in fact, rather than being a one-sided “savior” act on either sister’s part, the “act of true love” is a two-part phenomenon that requires (1) mutual care and (2) mutual action. I suggest that it is this redefinition of true love as a power that necessitates reciprocation in banishing isolation that makes Frozen a truly revolutionary narrative, in addition to (and in accordance with) its feminist and queer leanings.
Sample #2
“Just words. No more pictures.”: Queer Narrative Techniques in Winger
Andrew Smith merges traditional prose narrative with illustrations throughout his novel, Winger, to subvert expectations of novel writing and reading. As Ryan Dean West narrates his account at boarding school, he inserts cartoons, comic panels, charts, graphs, and diagrams that represent the narrative isolation and queerness of his experience. Even though the content of the panels are undeniably heterosexual, I argue that the panels are queer interventions in the text that become associated with queer narrative techniques to defamiliarize the expectations of traditional novel structures as Ryan struggles with his own identity, narrative isolation, and role as narrator.
The diversity of these graphics also becomes a queer embodiment of the openly gay character Joey. When Joey becomes missing from campus, the queer graphics disappear from the text. The exchange of graphics for words indicates a move to safety, normalcy, and understandable ways of narrating. Later, once Joey is discovered beaten to death, all of Ryan’s understanding of normalcy and language collapses as, “The words won’t come.” The words, which are understood as the familiar, the mundane, and the expected way of narrating become lost. Ryan Dean is left isolated in silence as he copes with the queer loss of his friend and words.
Ultimately, Winger provides a new framework for an emerging form of YA literature that incorporates diverse forms to craft a more accurate and clear narrative to show that sometimes all we have are words, but even those can fail us in moments of trauma and tragedy.
Check out these 150-word abstracts below. These are two successful abstracts for a national conference on children's literature. These are very theoretical abstracts, but I want you to pay attention to how the abstract is written and the types of things included. Do not pay attention to content or get hung up on what the abstract says. Note that each entry has a title, a background, and an argument. These are the key parts of an abstract. If you want help writing your abstract, I would be happy to meet with you.
Sample #1
“‘The Sisters Were Best Friends At Last’: How Frozen Redefines True Love as Necessarily Reciprocal”
In their study of nine Disney films ranging from 1937 to 2009, sociologists Dawn Elizabeth England, Laura Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek find that “princes often perform the climatic rescue of the movie” and that “no princess [...] did a final rescue without the assistance of the prince” (561). Famously, several such rescues come in the form of heterosexual kisses that awaken sleeping princesses through the power of “true love.” In these instances, true love is not only framed as a power that exists exclusively between romantically-entwined men and women, but also one that can be activated without the woman’s consent. The agentic prince’s kiss is often sufficient to break the spell on the passive, even unconscious, princess.
However, Disney’s newest film, Frozen, challenges this tradition, lauding sisterly affection as a perfectly legitimate form of “true love.” The omission of a prince from film’s resolution is radical enough in itself; however, in this discussion I will explain why Frozen goes even farther in subverting traditional definitions of true love and the mechanics of its power. Though several book adaptations of the film frame the curative “act of true love” as Princess Anna’s self- sacrifice (e.g., Anna “saved her own life,” write Sarah Nathan and Sela Roman in Frozen: The Junior Novelization), I will first explore interpretations in which Queen Elsa actually lifts the curse. Second, I will argue that in fact, rather than being a one-sided “savior” act on either sister’s part, the “act of true love” is a two-part phenomenon that requires (1) mutual care and (2) mutual action. I suggest that it is this redefinition of true love as a power that necessitates reciprocation in banishing isolation that makes Frozen a truly revolutionary narrative, in addition to (and in accordance with) its feminist and queer leanings.
Sample #2
“Just words. No more pictures.”: Queer Narrative Techniques in Winger
Andrew Smith merges traditional prose narrative with illustrations throughout his novel, Winger, to subvert expectations of novel writing and reading. As Ryan Dean West narrates his account at boarding school, he inserts cartoons, comic panels, charts, graphs, and diagrams that represent the narrative isolation and queerness of his experience. Even though the content of the panels are undeniably heterosexual, I argue that the panels are queer interventions in the text that become associated with queer narrative techniques to defamiliarize the expectations of traditional novel structures as Ryan struggles with his own identity, narrative isolation, and role as narrator.
The diversity of these graphics also becomes a queer embodiment of the openly gay character Joey. When Joey becomes missing from campus, the queer graphics disappear from the text. The exchange of graphics for words indicates a move to safety, normalcy, and understandable ways of narrating. Later, once Joey is discovered beaten to death, all of Ryan’s understanding of normalcy and language collapses as, “The words won’t come.” The words, which are understood as the familiar, the mundane, and the expected way of narrating become lost. Ryan Dean is left isolated in silence as he copes with the queer loss of his friend and words.
Ultimately, Winger provides a new framework for an emerging form of YA literature that incorporates diverse forms to craft a more accurate and clear narrative to show that sometimes all we have are words, but even those can fail us in moments of trauma and tragedy.