The Weekly: Undergraduate News
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Issue #5 for the week of 9/21/2020
From the Director of Studies:
Week four!—and I am duty-bound to remind us of upcoming deadlines, most immediately, for you seniors, the thesis topic sheet, which is due at noon on Thursday, October 1. Be sure to keep your eye on the calendar below for others. On the roster of events, graduate alum Joshua Bennett will lead a workshop Wednesday on his new book, Being Property Once Myself: Blackness and the End of Man (details below), and Tuesday Daniel Mendelsohn will talk with our former chair Michael Wood, at Labyrinth, about Mendelsohn’s new book Three Rings: A Tale of Exile, Narrative, and Fate (register here).

Also worth your attention, the University’s new Forward Thinking initiative. At a time when it is easy to be hostage to our own immediate exigencies, the initiative is an attempt to organize the energies of our institution around long-range planning towards better futures. Among the areas where there is a lot of faculty and student energy are the Prison Teaching Initiative and the undergraduate organization SPEAR, where many English students have made an impact over the years. Prison education programs have proven themselves to be a powerful advantage for incarcerated people who are returning to society, but Covid has added substantially to their challenges. It is a good time to get involved. I taught a course two years ago that brought a group of Princeton students to East Jersey State Prison for a seminar on “Poetry and Belief,” joining with incarcerated students working toward their BA inside. It was a powerful experience and I hope we will see more courses like it in the department. If you're interested, let me know.

A moment of celebration, too: three of our seniors, Paige Allen, Tess Solomon, and Simone Wallk, have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, a recognition of wonderful work over their first three years of their degrees, in McCosh and abroad. The department is very proud.

And last but never least: read to the end for an afterword from Prof. Jeff Nunokawa.


Director of Undergraduate Studies
Other Sources of Assistance:




Outreach Coordinator



Undergraduate Administrator
DATES & DEADLINES:
For All Concentrators :
September 2020

September 23
12:00 p.m.| Zoom
Registration Required
Intersections Working Group presents Joshua Bennett
Event details listed below

October 2020

October 5-9
Midterm Examination Week

October 10 - 13
Fall Recess - No Classes

October 14
6:00 a.m. | TigerHub
Undergraduate Selection of P/D/F Option begins

October 14
12:30 p.m. | Zoom TBA
UG Graduate School Admissions Workshop

October 21
12:00 p.m. | Zoom TBA
Intersections Working Group presents: Lindsay Reckson
Event details TBA

October 22
7:30 p.m. | Zoom TBA
Common Works Lecture: Justin Torres, We the Animals

November 2020

November 3
11:59 p.m.
Undergraduate Deadline to Select P/D/F Option

November 24
Final Day of Regularly Schedule Classes

November 25 - 27
Thanksgiving Recess

November 26 - 27
University Holiday
Administrative Offices Closed

November 30
Reading Period Begins

December 2020

December 8
Reading Period Ends
Dean's Date: Deadline for Student Submission of Written Work

December 9 - 15
Fall Term Final Examinations

December 12
Deadline for Submission of Take-Home Exercises
Additional Dates for Juniors:

November 17
JP Topic Sheet DUE to Junior Seminar Faculty (ENG 300)

December 2
7:30 a.m.
Junior Spring Term Course Selection Begins

January 15
Deadline for Submitting Junior Independent Work


Please see the below information regarding O.U.R.'s funding cycles and the Departmental resources for research funding support.

Additional Dates for Seniors:

September 27
EXTENDED DEADLINE! O.U.R. Deadline for Fall Funding Application
S.A.F.E.

October 1
12:00 p.m.
Senior Topic Sheet DUE to UA and Dropbox.

October 9
O.U.R. Fall Funding Decisions Posted
S.A.F.E.

November 16
O.U.R. Winter Funding Application Opens
S.A.F.E.

November 24
Senior's 20-page minimum thesis chapter DUE to advisors and Dropbox
(link TBA)

December 1
7:30 a.m.
Senior Spring Term Course Selection Begins

April 13, 2021
Senior Thesis DUE



Please see the below information regarding O.U.R.'s funding cycles and the Departmental resources for research funding support.

LINK TO DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH UG WEBSITE
RESEARCH FUNDING INFORMATION:
Department of English's Sources of Support and Departmental Fellowships
The Maren Grant for Senior Thesis Research


The Maren Grant for Senior Thesis Research supports work toward the thesis for seniors in the English Department. Students should apply through SAFE, and choose the Maren Grant among their funding sources.

Please apply to all funding sources for which you are eligible.

For information on deadlines and eligible expenses, see the Office of Undergraduate Research Thesis Funding Page.

Applications to the Maren Grant for Senior Thesis Research may be made in any of the three OUR funding cycles:

  • for thesis research in the summer before senior year;
  • in the fall of senior year;
  • or in the winter before the thesis is due.


Awards are typically between $200 and $1200. 


Deadlines are early: be sure you consult OUR and plan ahead.
The Maren-Annan Grant for Departmental Research

The Maren-Annan Grant for Departmental Research supports student research for the Junior Paper and, under special circumstances, for other work for juniors or seniors within the context of a course in the English Department (excluding the senior thesis).

Applications should be made through SAFE, by choosing “Undergraduate Independent Projects” under “ACTIVITY.”

Please apply to all funds for which you are eligible along with the Maren Grant.

Allowable expenses correspond to those listed for senior thesis research on the OUR website

Applications may be made at any time, but we recommend submission at least four weeks before any planned travel. 
Awards are typically between $200 and $1200. 

Consultation with your JP advisor or the instructor for your class is essential.

Fall Semester O.U.R. 2020 Funding Cycle: 

O.U.R.'s Application Opened: Friday, August 28
O.U.R.'s Application Closes:  Sunday, Sept. 27 EXTENDED!!!
O.U.R.'s Award posted: Friday, October 9
Winter Break/ January Winter Semester O.U.R. Funding Cycle: 

O.U.R.'s Application Opens: Monday, November 16, 2020
O.U.R.'s Application Closes:  Sunday, December 6, 2020
O.U.R.'s Award posted: Friday, January 8, 2021
Summer O.U.R. Funding Cycle: 

O.U.R.'s Application Opens: Friday, February 19, 2021
O.U.R.'s Application Closes:  Sunday, March 21, 2021
O.U.R.'s Award posted: Friday, April 16, 2021
  • Your application for all funding must be made through S.A.F.E.
  • Students applying to the OUR senior thesis research funding program are required to apply for all departmental and programmatic funds for which they are eligible in one single application
  • You will be able to save your application in SAFE and go back to it, but you must complete and submit the application by the earliest deadline of all the funding sources to which you are applying; no changes will be accepted once applications are submitted and locked, except for the selection of additional funding opportunities when eligible.
Student Activity Funding Engine (S.A.F.E.)
DEPARTMENT NEWS:
Interested in connecting virtually socially with other English Concentrators?
Please take our brief survey HERE

*That frosty mug of goodness is an image of a vanilla and ginger ale float...
Check Out the Lit Review and Podcasts
Below!
NEW CALENDAR AVAILABLE:

Access Princeton's
Virtual Activities Calendar
EVENTS AROUND PRINCETON:
Online FLI Student Panel & Q&A session
Friday, September 25th, 2020 at 5pm ET. 
Join Project 55 alumni and FLI graduates Chris Shin '18 and Rae Perez '19, as they share about their transformative experience in Princeton AlumniCorps supportive program. Come learn about the unique Project 55 Fellowship experience and get answers to any questions you may have about the program. Soraia Francisco, Program Associate for Princeton AlumniCorps, will also be available to answer any questions you have around the 2021-22 application process.

Applications are due on November 13th, 2020. Students can register HERE. 
“A Queer, Queer Race: Origins for Japanese/American Literature”
Monday, September 21 12:00 p.m.
On Monday, Sept. 21 at noon, AMS is hosting Andrew Way Leong, assistant professor of English at UC Berkeley, for a workshop on sections of his monograph in progress, “A Queer, Queer Race: Origins for Japanese/American Literature,” which provides a genealogy for Japanese and English-language literary texts written by persons of Japanese descent who sojourned or resided in the United States between 1885 and 1924: https://ams.princeton.edu/events/ams-workshops/andrew-leong
Book Talk: Adventures in English Syntax
Robert Freidin, Linguistics
Mon, 9/21 · 7:00 pm · via Zoom
Humanities Council; Program in Linguistics; Princeton Public Library; Labyrinth Books
In his new book, Robert Freidin (Linguistics) shows how the understanding of English sentence structure helps to be a more effective writer, a more perceptive reader, and a more precise thinker.
For livestream information, visit: https://princetonlibrary.libnet.info/event/4507001
Daniel Mendelsohn and Michael Wood in Conversation
Three Rings: A Tale of Exile, Narrative, and Fate
Tuesday, September 22nd @ 6PM
We invite you to a conversation between best-selling memoirist and critic Daniel Mendelsohn and the acclaimed critic Michael Wood about Mendelsohn’s new book, in which he explores the mysterious links between the randomness of the lives we lead and the artfulness of the stories we tell.

Three Rings weaves together the stories of three exiled writers who turned to the classics of the past to create masterpieces of their own—works that pondered the nature of narrative itself...more

This event is presented in partnership with the Princeton Public Library and Princeton University’s Humanities Council.

Labyrinth Books. 122 Nassau Street. Princeton NJ 08542. 609/497/1600
Intersections Working Group presents:
Joshua Bennett

September 23, 2020
12:00 p.m.
Intersections Working Group presents a discussion of "Being Property Once Myself: Blackness and the End of Man" (Harvard, 2020) with author Joshua Bennett, Mellon Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College.

The first 20 people to register below for the event will be reimbursed for a copy of the book (Digital or Hardcover) available on Amazon.com or at Harvard University Press (links at bottom of page) 
 
If you are interested in attending the workshop and being reimbursed for a copy of the book, please register using the following link:
 
Joshua Bennett's Being Property Once Myself: Blackness and the End of Man is available at:
or 
That's Why We Become Witches: Sylvia Townsend Warner and Katherine Mansfield

September 25, 2020 10:00 - 11:00 p.m. EST*

*This event is held in Wellington, New Zealand on September 26, 2020 at 14:00 - 15:00; the date and time have been adjusted to reflect Princeton, NJ EST time.
Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) and Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) were modernist women writers who had lasting impacts on women’s writing as it exists today. Both Mansfield and Warner have been compared and contrasted with Virginia Woolf extensively, but rarely, if ever, have Mansfield and Warner been put into conversation directly with each other.

Join us online for this talk by recent Princeton University graduate Tessa Smith which explores Townsend Warner and Mansfield as speaking to different stories of queer women writers and the ways their legacies, in public and private writing, have been shaped.

There is no cost to attend the talk, just register below and we'll send a link out 24 hours in advance.

SAVE THE DATE:

Thursday 7:30 p.m.
October 22, 2020



A reading and Q&A
with

JUSTIN TORRES
author of

We the Animals
OPPORTUNITIES:
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
The Foundationalist
Due Date: October 25, 2020 midnight.
The Foundationalist accepts literary essays, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. We would also be happy to accept anything that had been written for class. There are no page limits or themes. We simply want students to submit their best work! In the past, we have published works from across the globe; giving writers the opportunity to join a community of over 100+ other authors from 70+ universities. If selected, the author’s writing will be published on academia.edu and in print format. 
 
The deadline is October 25th, 2020 at midnight. More information can be found on www.thefoundationalist.com.

Submissions and other queries can be sent to thefoundationalist@gmail.com
USEFUL INFORMATION
Faculty Bookshelf
Ever wanted to know what your professors have been working on when they're not teaching your classes?

Visit the Humanities Council's Faculty Bookshelf! Browse by author or discipline to explore the University's cutting-edge humanities scholarship. (Check out our Department's Faculty Author Q&A: CLaudia Johnson on "30 Great Myths about Jane Austen" here!)


For Juniors and Seniors:
80-minute, Discipline-Specific Appointments: From formulating a plan for semester- and year-long projects to conducting research and drafting and revising, our trained Graduate Fellows are available as students tackle the challenges of independent work! Make an appointment now: https://writingcenter.princeton.edu/s/80MIN

The Virtual Writing Lab (Sunday-Thursday 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET): Having a hard time getting motivated working on your JP or Thesis? Looking for a sense of community? Don’t go it alone! Join our Zoom-based virtual lab to write with peers, consult Fellows as needed, and tackle your short and long-term writing goals! Join here any time we’re open.

Writing Partnerships: Pair up with an experienced Graduate Fellow for a standing weekly appointment to structure the JP or thesis writing process and avoid a pile-up of writing at the end of the semester. If you’re interested in setting up a partnership, write to Dr. Creedon (greedon@princeton.edu).
Online access to millions of books from PUL's print collection resumes through HathiTrust emergency access service

In response to the needs of an increased number of students and faculty researching, teaching, and learning remotely this fall, Princeton University Library is pleased to announce the resumption of the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) effective August 31. Through this service, millions of books from our print collection will be accessible online. Full article.
Princeton University Library to launch Study-Browse Service on August 10

Princeton University Library (PUL) will launch a new service, the PUL Study-Browse Service, beginning Aug. 10 with a pilot at Firestone Library. Through an online reservation system, Princeton University students and faculty with an active PUID will be able to book a seat in a designated Library location for a specified period of time. The Library remains closed to the public and other patrons. The start date of the Study-Browse Service at branch libraries and Special Collections will be determined within the coming days. Access to Special Collections is not available at this time. More information.
Afterword:

This week's contribution is
From Francis Bacon's Essay XIV, Of Beauty (1612)
Chosen by Jeff Nunokawa

Professor Nunokawa writes, "I had occasion to read Bacon’s 'Of Beauty' this week and was touched and amazed again by the last sentence, droll, generous and as mature as one could want maturity to be!"

And here's the sentence:

"Beauty is as summer fruits, which are easy to corrupt, and cannot last; and for the most part it makes a dissolute youth, and an age a little out of countenance; but yet certainly again, if it light well, it maketh virtue shine, and vices blush."


Photo Credit: "The Beauty of Old Age" by VinothChandar is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Suggestions, events, additions, or questions: contact The Department of English's Undergraduate Administrator, Kelly Lake kalake@princeton.edu
Department of English
22 McCosh Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
(609) 258-4061
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