The Weekly: Undergraduate News
...Coming to your inbox Mondays
Issue #9 for the week of 10/19/2020
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From the Director of Studies: |
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Welcome back, all!—though we have hardly been away; it was a fleeting break, but I hope a restorative one. We return to some exciting events. On Wednesday, Organizing Stories, founded and directed by Professors Autumn Womack and Monica Huerta, will host a workshop with Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis of the Poor People’s Campaign, explaining how organizers use narrative in their anti-racist work. Then on Thursday, Justin Torres will join us to talk about his novel We the Animals, one of the Common Works for the class of 2022, and a book everyone should read. He is a great speaker and you shouldn’t miss a chance to talk with him. More details about both follow.
Let me also point us back to an event that might be of interest, a colloquium from the beginning of the year entitled “Things as They Should Be,” which was recorded and is now available on the website of the Humanities Council. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (African American Studies), Barbara Graziosi (Classics), Jhumpa Lahiri (Creative Writing), and Melissa Lane (Politics) exchanged ideas about the role of literature, philosophy, and history in responding to the urgencies of 2020. It’s worth a listen, committed as we all are to the idea that the humanities can help see us through.
Finally, you’ll be hearing more later in the week about the undergraduate town hall on anti-racism and the curriculum, to be held virtually on Wednesday, October 28, at 4:30 PM. And finally finally, read all the way through for a new afterword…
Director of Undergraduate Studies
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Undergraduate Administrator
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October 2020
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
October 28
4:30 p.m. | Zoom TBA
UG Concentrators and Department Faculty Town Hall: Racism & Our Curriculum
October 29
7:30 p.m. | Zoom TBA
Asian American Studies Lecture Series: Karan Mahajan and Jenny Xie
November 2020
November 3
11:59 p.m.
Undergraduate Deadline to Select P/D/F Option
November 4
12:30 p.m. | Zoom TBA
Princeton University Press and Publishing Jobs Workshop
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
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Additional Dates for Juniors: |
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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.
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Additional Dates for Seniors: |
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November 16
O.U.R. Winter Funding Application Opens
S.A.F.E.
December 1
7:30 a.m.
Senior Spring Term Course Selection Begins
December 15
Senior's 20-page minimum thesis chapter DUE to advisors and Dropbox
(link TBA)
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.
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LINK TO DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH UG WEBSITE
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October 28, 4:30 p.m.
UG Concentrators and Department Faculty
Town Hall: Racism & Our Curriculum
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Check Out the Lit Review and Podcasts
Below!
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Here and There:
Issue 2: Shelter in Place features the creative work of Reb Ngu, Cole Vandenberg, Sophia Marusic, Abby Spare, Cassandra James, Aditi Desai, Lila Harmar, Anika Khakoo, Mel Hornyak, Natalia Arbelaez Solano, Brittani Telfair, and the editorial talents of Isabel Griffith-Gorgati.
Thank you to our wonderful contributors.
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RESEARCH FUNDING INFORMATION: |
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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.
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.
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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.
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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
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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
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Your application for all funding must be made through S.A.F.E.
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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.
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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.
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Student Activity Funding Engine (S.A.F.E.)
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NEW CALENDAR AVAILABLE:
Access Princeton's
Virtual Activities Calendar
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"Archival Silences in the Present Moment"
The Humanities Council
Tuesday, October 20 at 4:30 p.m. EST
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The Humanities Council will host a series of webinars organized by Kinohi Nishikawa (English) and Emma Sarconi (Special Collections), in the second year of the working group.
Archival Silences in the Present Moment
A Roundtable Conversation
October 20, 2020
4:30 p.m.
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Intersections Working Group presents |
The first 20 Princeton affiliates to register for the event below will be reimbursed for a copy of the book (Digital or Paperback) available on Amazon.com or at New York University Press (links provided below)
Book reimbursements can only be provided to University affiliates but the event is open to the public and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.
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Organizing Stories presents:
Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis
Wednesday, October 21 at 4:30 p.m.
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Organizing Stories is a student-driven project coordinated by Professors Autumn Womack and Monica Huerta that investigates the long histories of anti-racist activism, racial justice organizing, and coalition-building as they relate to questions of narrative, storytelling, and humanistic study more broadly.
Organizing Stories is excited to host Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis for our first workshop event on Wednesday, October 21st at 4:30 PM.
The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis is the Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, and the Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, a movement which builds on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work and has emerged as one of the nation’s leading coalitions for social change.
During her workshop, the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis will lead students in a spirited process of piecing together and piecing apart how organizers think about, make use of, and evolve narrative(s) in changing social and political contexts as a fundamental building block of their anti-racist organizing work.
All interested participants will receive an event invitation after completing the RSVP form.
Organizing Stories extends deep gratitude to the Princeton Humanities Council, the Center for Human Values, the Department of African American Studies, the African Humanities Colloquium, the Dean of Faculty, and the English Department for sponsoring the Organizing Stories workshop series.
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A Reading and Q&A with author
JUSTIN TORRES
from
We the Animals
Thursday October 22, 2020
7:30 p.m. EST via Zoom
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t4t: A Trans Studies Symposium
November 10, 12, 17, and 19 at 12:00 p.m. EST
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The Trans Studies Symposium will bring together artists, scholars, and community organizers to be in dialogue about the current state of trans studies and movement building. Over four conversations, the symposium will help to unfurl the legacies of trans organizing, scholarship, art practices, and histories, and how we might consider this history as we move forward into a precarious future.
Speakers & Registration Links:
Cassils
rafa esparza
Jules Gill-Peterson
Perry Zurn
Dora Santana
Río Sophia
Raquel Salas-Rivera
Kelly Díaz
Sponsors: 250th Fund for Innovation in Undergraduate Education, Department of English, Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Program in American Studies, Program in Latin American Studies, Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in the Humanities, Lewis Center for the Arts
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Community Invited to Engage in ‘Forward Thinking’ at Forward Fest, Oct. 23-24, 2020
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The Princeton community and other interested forward thinkers are invited to participate in Forward Fest, a monthly online series that kicks off Oct. 23-24 on forwardthinking.princeton.edu and is free and open to the public.
Part of “A Year of Forward Thinking,” the University’s community engagement campaign spanning the 2020-21 academic year, Forward Fest aims to spark dialogue among the entire Princeton community — students, faculty, staff, alumni and other interested thinkers — Forward Fest will explore, engage and develop bold thinking for the future.
The Welcome Kickoff will be streamed Friday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. EDT. President Christopher L. Eisgruber, Provost Deborah Prentice and other Princeton voices will discuss what is to come in “A Year of Forward Thinking” and how curious viewers can engage with Princeton thinkers in myriad topics, ranging from bioengineering to the humanities and creative expression, from public health to social justice.
Registration is not required, however members of the public and the Princeton community can RSVP to receive program updates and a resource guide with further suggestions about ways to connect more deeply with these forward-thinking ideas.
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The Racial Politics of Sexual Freedom
12:00-1:20 p.m.
October 20, 2020
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Join Greta LaFleur tomorrow for a talk examining how nineteenth-century white feminists and other social and sexual reformers sought to answer the problem of rape with eugenic theories pertaining to the productive and reproductive potential of sexual consent. “The Racial Politics of Sexual Freedom” reads a broad swath of writings by nineteenth-century utopian thinkers, and Free Lovers in particular, who wrote and published prolifically, articulating their vision of what sex and social organization might look like outside of marriage, monogamy, or the property relation. Sexual consent, she argues, emerged in these circles as a eugenic ideal; consensual sex, according to these thinkers, constitutes one critical element of the kinds of sexual behavior that will produce genetically robust, white citizens.
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Bodies I Have in Mind Embodying Myth on Stage
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November 3, 2020
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With Mary Alice Zimmerman, Northwestern University, in conversation with Katerina Stergiopoulou, Department of Classics.
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Princeton Alumni Working for Social Justice
Tues., Oct. 20 • 4:30-5:45 p.m. ET
Learn how you can find work that values personal and community empowerment, that challenges systems of oppression in our society and that leads to better equity in resource and privilege distribution.
Learn more & register:
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Wearing Masks Before COVID: Working While Black
Thurs., Oct. 22 • 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET
A panel of Black professionals that discuss their professional journey and how they have navigated jobs amid workplace discrimination.
Learn more & register:
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How to be Naturally You in the Workplace
Thurs., Nov. 19 • 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET
A panel of professionals will discuss the difficulties they have encountered with having a natural hairstyle at their workplace.
Learn more & register:
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
The Foundationalist
Due Date: October 25, 2020 midnight.
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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.
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University Center for Human Values offers events of interest: |
To access the events that the University Center of Human Values presents please use this:
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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!)
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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).
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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.
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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.
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This week's contribution is:
"Chapter 18. Flowing Water"
from The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery (2006)
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All it takes is one experience of being blind in broad daylight and able to see in pitch dark to wonder what sight is all about. Why do we see? While climbing into the taxi that Kakuro had ordered, I think about Jacinthe Rosen and Anne-Hélène Meurisse, who noticed nothing of me beyond what they could see (on Monsieur Ozu;s arm, in a world of hierarchy), and I am struck with incredible force by this proof that sight is like a hand that tries to seize flowing water. Yes, our eyes may perceive, yet they do not observe; they may believe , yet they do not question; they may receive yet they do not search: they are emptied of desire, with neither hunger nor passion.
And as the taxi glides through the early twilight, I become thoughtful.
I think of Jean Arthens, his scorched pupils illuminated with camellias.
I think of Pierre Arthens, his sharp eye, with the blindness of a beggar.
I think of these avid ladies, their greedy gaze unseeing, futile.
I think of Gégène, his sunken eyes with neither life nor force, seeing nothing beyond his own fall.
I think of Lucien, ill-suited to vision, because obscurity often, in the end, proves too strong.
I think even of Neptune, whose eyes are a doggy nose that does not lie.
And I wonder how well I myself can see.
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Photo Credit:"Eye Don't Cry" by cornerofart is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
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Suggestions, events, additions, or questions: contact The Department of English's Undergraduate Administrator, Kelly Lake kalake@princeton.edu
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Department of English
22 McCosh Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
(609) 258-4061
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