The Weekly: Undergraduate News
...Coming to your inbox Mondays
Issue #25 for the week of 3/1/2021
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From the Director of Studies |
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Maybe the first thing to say this week is to stop reading this, and go check out the latest edition of the department’s Here and There podcast, in which Isabel Griffith-Gorgati interviews Rene Boatman, who worked with Toni Morrison from 1992-2019, and our own Professor Autumn Womack. It’s a fascinating account of Toni Morrison’s life at Princeton and the archive she has left to the university library, and it also raises some deep questions of biography, archive, evidence, and criticism. I’ll wait here till you get back.
A tip of the hat too to Professor Rainof, our Outreach Coordinator, who has watched over the podcast and so many of our community activities this year. Including coordinating this week’s alumni panel, The Next Chapter: Alumni Conversations in the Department of English, coming up Wednesday, March 3, at 4:30. We have quite a group of former English concentrators coming back, with news of their fortunes in the great world, and a wealth, we expect, of practical advice.
News for juniors, as you’ll I hope have heard: we will not be able to run our Bread Loaf summer program in Oxford this year, but we will again host a virtual thesis proseminar, led by Professor Autumn Womack (there she is again!). You can find more details and an application form here.
I am a little boggled by the variety and richness of the talks advertised by the Humanities Council—Afro-Queer Journeys, Recycling in Beijing, Darwin’s foibles, and Factive Relative Clauses in Wolof—so I only commend to you the Council’s calendar for your own investigations.
One question unanswered in the podcast above: did the great novelist Toni Morrison write poems? For the answer, see this week's afterword.
Director of Undergraduate Studies
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Undergraduate Administrator
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ACADEMIC DATES & DEADLINES |
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2021
March 2021
March 3
The Next Chapter: Alumni Panel
via Zoom 4:30 p.m. EST
March 8 - 12
Spring Midterm Period
March 13-16
Spring Recess
March 17
*Classes Resume
*Undergraduate Selection of P/D/F begins
*A Taste of Success: Lunchtime Alumni Conversations. Bhaamati Borkheteria '20 English & Tech.
via Zoom 12:00 p.m. EST
March 18
King Lear. Read. Meet. Discuss. A Common Works Event
via Zoom 4:30 p.m. EST
March 19
Application Due: Thesis Proseminar Summer 2021
5:00 p.m. via Dropbox
March 23
Sophomore Open House Webinar
via Zoom Webinar 5:00 p.m. EST Registration Required.
March 25
A.B. Concentration Declaration Period Begins
April 2021
April 1
Akira Kurosawa's Ran. View. Meet Discuss. A Common Works Event
via Zoom TBA
April 6
*Deadline to Drop Spring Term Courses
*Deadline to Select P/D/F Option
April 13
*Declaration Day
*Junior Fall Term 2021 Course Selection
*Junior Independent Work Due
*Senior Thesis Due
April 14
Sophomore Fall Term 2021 Course Selection
April 15
First-Year Fall Term 2021 Course Selection
April 27
Spring 2021 Term Courses End
April 28
Reading Period Begins
May 2021
May 5
*Reading Period Ends
*Dean's Date
May 8 - 14
Spring 2021 Final Exams
May 25
Commencement
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Additional Dates for Juniors: |
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Additional Dates for Seniors:
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2021
March 22, 2021
Second JP draft due
April 13, 2021
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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2021
March 8, 2021
Deadline for submission of non-thesis materials for department prizes
April 13, 2021
Senior Thesis DUE
May 6-7, 2021
Senior Departmental/
Comprehensive Exams
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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The COVID-19 Dashboard now includes data from the undergraduates living on campus and those living locally with access to campus for the spring semester. Please keep in mind that the Dashboard is updated weekly on Mondays with results from the previous week, not in real time.
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Find links to recent public-facing writing by English Department alumni, faculty and current students (undergraduate and graduate) that addresses urgent contemporary topics, including the pandemic, the national reckoning with racism, the environment, and the role of arts in times of crisis. |
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Avidly:
The Poetry of the Past
By Virginia Jackson & Meredith Martin
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On Sunday, February 7th, a month after the insurrection at the capitol and two days before the beginning of the impeachment trial, some of America watched the Superbowl. . . .
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The New York Times Opinion:
What This Wave of Anti-Asian Violence Reveals About America
By Anne Anlin Cheng
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Too often, attention to nonwhite groups is only as pressing as the injuries that they have suffered. . .
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English Concentrators:
Thesis Writers and Junior Papers
English Writing Room
Sundays Spring 2021
1:30 - 4:30 p.m. EST
Sunday Writing Room Zoom:
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Here and There:
Issue 4:
Gratitude & Family
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Here and There Podcast Episode 3:
Reimagining the Archive,
A Conversation with Rene Boatman and Autumn Womack
Senior concentrator Isabel Griffith-Gorgati interviews Rene Boatman & Autumn Womack about Toni Morrison's legacy and archive at Princeton.
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Humanities Council Presents:
Webinar 3: Fictioning Archives
Tuesday, March 2
4:30 p.m. via Zoom
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Please join us for the third event in the series of roundtable discussions that interrogate inherent biases in archival practices, past and present.
In this webinar, three award-winning writers reflect on their engagement with archival documents in bringing their work to fruition. Panelists consider how institutional gaps in the historical record can spur imaginative thinking and offer insight as to how archives themselves may be transformed by creative writing.
Read about this event and plans for future discussions here.
"Fictioning Archives is part of the Humanities Council's Archival Silences Working Group series founded and organized by Kinohi Nishikawa (English) and Emma Sarconi (Special Collections) whose aim is to highlight and discuss work that engages and redresses the question of archival silences, exploring lost voices and sharing ways in which we can ensure ethical practices in the future.
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Register:
The Next Chapter: Alumni Conversations
in the Department of English
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. EST
via Zoom
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Join us for The Next Chapter: Alumni Conversations in the Department of English on Wednesday, March 3rd at 4:30 p.m. EST via zoom.
Registration required.
Meet former English concentrators who are now pursuing careers in the fields of law, medicine, publishing, journalism, film, theater administration, and non-profit education, when they return virtually to campus to talk with our current concentrators and prospective concentrators about their professional journeys and how majoring in English is critical to what they do now.
Our panel of Princeton University English Department alumni:
Eu Na Noh '16 (Law)
L. Driskell-Garcia '17 (Education)
Emily Silk '10 (Publishing)
Jack Lohmann '19 (Journalism)
Veronica Pickett '10 (TV/ Media)
Claire Greene '13 (Medicine)
Gunnar Rice '17 (Graduate School)
Bhaamati Borkheteria '20 (Tech)
Meet our alumni. Listen to their stories. Hear how English has served them.
Can't wait to meet this year's alums?
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The Department of English
Undergraduate Prize Submission Deadline
11:59 PM, Monday, March 8, 2021
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Prizes for freshmen, freshmen in the School of Engineering, Sophomores, and all undergraduates. Submitted work includes: poetry, short stories, essays, and academic coursework in English.
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Intersections Working Group presents
The Smell of Risk:
Environmental Disparities and Olfactory Aesthetics by Hsuan L. Hsu
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
via Zoom
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The first 20 Princeton affiliates to register for the event will be reimbursed for a copy of the book (Digital or Paperback) available on Amazon.com or at NY University Press (links at bottom of page)
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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The Department of English
A Taste of Success:
Lunchtime Alumni Career Conversations
English & Tech with Bhaamati Borkheteria '20
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
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Join English alum Bhaamati Borketeria '20, a Software Engineer with Amazon and Professor Rebecca Rainof, Outreach Coordinator, as they discuss Bhaamati's experience concentrating in English and how a degree in English facilitated her path.
Bring your lunch and your questions!
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King Lear
by William Shakespeare.
Read. Meet. Discuss.
A Common Works Event
Thursday, March 18, 2021
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. EST via Zoom
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Join graduate moderators, Lisa Kraege and Moeko Fujii to discuss this Shakespearean classic and Common Works text.
Open to current university concentrators and prospective concentrators. Class of 2022 concentrators are strongly encouraged to attend as this is connected to the Common Works.
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Summer Thesis Proseminar 2021
with Professor Autumn Womack
Application information in your email
Application due
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The Summer Thesis Proseminar is an intensive and collaborative thesis writing workshop that offers preparation for your Senior Thesis. Over the course of the summer, you’ll receive mentoring and research advising from a member of the Princeton Faculty along with directed feedback and support from fellow workshop participants. While the primary goal of the workshop is to encourage students to immerse themselves in thesis work, we will also think more broadly about what it means to embark upon a long-form writing project. Through weekly workshops with other English majors, students will refine the questions and research materials that will orient their thesis while staking out new and exciting lines of inquiry.
And here is a report from one of last year's students:
“The summer thesis seminar helped me to determine my research question and to better understand the conversations I’d need to enter in order to answer. Professor Womack is an incredible instructor who works to make the seminar helpful for the specific students in it. She provided examples of successful long form research papers and pushed us to be intentional and specific about the questions we asked. To me, the seminar was just the right amount of work to lay a solid foundation heading into the fall without being overwhelming. As someone in the CWR program, I can also attest that the process is beneficial for both creative and critical theses.” Paige Allen '21.
There are six places available for students who want to get a running start on the thesis, and are ready to commit to six two-hour sessions on Wednesdays from June 30 to August 4.
Application is available on our website (Juniors check your email too).
Please note that you will also have to ask a faculty member to send a recommendation directly to the DUS by Thursday, March 18, so plan ahead.
Applications Due Friday, March 19 by 5:00 p. m.
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The Department of English Webinar
Sophomore Open House
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EST
Webinar Registration
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Join us to meet current concentrators and the Department of English Professors Jeff Dolven (DUS) and Rebecca Rainof (Outreach Coordinator), to learn more about concentrating in English, Department courses, and what the Department of English can offer you!
Registration Required.
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Akira Kurosawa's film
Ran
View. Meet. Discuss.
A Common Works Event
Thursday, April 1, 2021
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. EST
via Zoom
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Join graduate moderators, Lisa Kraege and Moeko Fujii to discuss this Shakespearean classic and Common Works text.
Open to current university concentrators and prospective concentrators. Class of 2022 concentrators are strongly encouraged to attend as this is connected to a Common Work (King Lear) .
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Intersections Working Group presents:
The Cry of the Senses and The Fact of Resonance
by Ren Ellis Neyra by Julie Beth Napolin
Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Registration is Required
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The first 20 Princeton affiliates to register for the event below will be reimbursed for copies of the books (Digital or Paperback) available on Amazon.com or at NY University Press (links at bottom of page)
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.
Links to Purchase the books:
THE CRY OF THE SENSES
Amazon:
Duke University Press:
THE FACT OF RESONANCE
Amazon:
Fordham University Press:
Register for the Event Here:
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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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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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OTHER EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES |
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Call for Submissions:
Student Original Writing & Art Work
Here and There (The Department of English's Lit Review) in collaboration with The Black Writers Workshop
Deadline: March 20, 2021
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The English Department’s literary review, Here and There, will be collaborating with Princeton’s Black Writers Workshop this spring to produce a special issue featuring Black student writing at Princeton.
Students of all years and majors are welcome to submit work through our submission dropbox. We welcome written submissions of all forms (both academic and creative) as well as visual art.
The Black Writers Workshop hosts writing workshops that will be held throughout the semester and are low-pressure and student-led. If you can’t make it to the first workshop or have any questions, please email Hailey Colborn at hcolborn@princeton.edu.
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TIME WITHIN TIME
Center for Human Values
Film Forum Spring 2021
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The Film Forum started in the fall of 2005. It is dedicated to the discussion of films that not only delight us in the spectacular ways cinema most naturally does but also leave us puzzled, challenged, unsettled, or even irritated. The films we show cry out for discussion and have afforded us on many Monday nights with the pleasure of intelligent and passionate conversation.
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Spring 2021 Academic Fellowship Information Sessions
March 24 through April 17, 2021
via Zoom
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Check out the OIP Events Calendar and weekly OIP Newsletter, and like the OIP Facebook page for updates. All spring 2021 events (and advising appointments) will occur over Zoom using the links specified below.
From March 24 to April 17, we will be hosting an informal fellowships café series (on Zoom) on Wednesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. ET, featuring recent alumni and seniors speaking about their fellowships clustered around a particular focus, such as STEM, sustainability and the arts. We will post those on the OIP calendar. Students and alumni should request access to resources and recordings of taped presentations by emailing fellow@princeton.edu and request the Dropbox Fellowships Link for Spring/Summer 2021. Following each presentation, we will add updated slides and other information there.
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Call for Submissions:
The Foundationalist
Yale University's Literary Journal
March 21, 2021 Midnight Deadline.
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The Foundationalist accepts undergraduate 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 125+ other authors from 70+ universities. If selected, the author’s writing will be published on academia.edu and in print format.
The deadline is March 21, 2021 at midnight.
On behalf of the editorial board of The Foundationalist,
Cathy Duong and Shayley Martin
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Summer 2021:
Princeton's Department of Classics Intensive: Ancient African Language of Gəˁəz (classical Ethiopic)
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This summer, Princeton’s Department of Classics will be offering an intensive class for Princeton undergraduates and graduate students in the ancient African language of Gəˁəz (classical Ethiopic). If you are at all interested, please fill out the Google Form at https://forms.gle/mcRbjWQoYz6ve2gc6 to be updated on exactly where and when this class will happen.
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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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Humanities Council Faculty Bookshelf:
Visit the Humanities Council's Faculty Bookshelf! Browse by author or discipline to explore the University's cutting-edge humanities scholarship.
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Center for Career Development:
While our physical office may be closed, the Center for Career Development is still here to support you.
Wherever you're studying, you can access virtual advising, programs, resources, recruiting and more. The Center for Career Development serves Princeton undergraduate and graduate students of all years and interests.
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Writing Program
For Juniors and Seniors:
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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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HEY! CLASS OF 2021:
CLASS DAY IS 84 DAYS AWAY!
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Mark your calendars. It's time to dig through the baby pics.
CLASS DAY 2021
May 24, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
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Class Day 2021 is just around the corner! 98 days away!
We in the Department of English Undergraduate are already working to put together a wonderful experience to celebrate you, your family and loved ones, and your graduation.
To aid us in this, we need your help!
Please send us as jpeg/png/doc/pdf:
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Your favorite baby/ young person picture (think those photos of cuteness you, creative you, "little reader" you, or the one you like the most!)
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We've been in quarantine and socially distant, so definitely include a picture(s) of you now or recently. Please think of ones that "express you" or a photo of you that you love (and your family might too.)
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See #2 - we've all been socially distant and not on campus, SO....If you have them, please send us photos that we can share of you and other concentrators.
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We'll also be sharing a bit of what drew you to English. Please include a brief favorite poem or passage that resonates with you, one which knocks you over, makes your heart sing, your brain buzz, or the one that captured your interest and brought you to your thesis! We like you to share this as a very brief video of you reading this in the place you've found refuge to read this year. (Kindly send a text copy with title and author too!)
(Kindly label your files with your full name and what they are (eg: "myname_babyphoto.png" We accept pngs, jpegs, pdfs, word docs, and mp4s are all welcome.)
MATERIALS ARE DUE FRIDAY,
MARCH 19, 2021.
(this due date is 18 days away!)
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Someone Leans Near
Toni Morrisoni
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Someone leans near
And sees the salt your eyes have shed.
You wait, longing to hear
Words of reason, love or play
To lash or lull you toward the hollow day.
Silence kneads your fear
Of crumbled star-ash sifting down
Clouding the rooms here, here.
You shore up your heart to run. To stay.
But no sign or design marks the narrow way.
Then on your skin a breath caresses
The salt your eyes have shed.
And you remember a call clear, so clear
“You will never die again.”
Once more you know
You will never die again.
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Suggestions, events, additions, or questions?
Department of English
22 McCosh Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
(609) 258-4061
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