The University of St. Thomas Art History, English, Museum Studies, and Creative Writing & Publishing graduate programs will host a virtual interdisciplinary conference on Friday, April 23, 2021. While papers addressing any aspect of literature, film, art history, architecture, museum studies, new media, and cultural studies will be considered, the graduate programs particularly welcome proposals for papers exploring the conference theme across all time periods, media, and geographical regions. We are also seeking creative writers to read original work related to the conference theme.

The Power of Individuality

Carey E. Bradley

Business Major, Utah Valley University

English 2010

Professor Jonathon Patterson

December 13, 2020

Abstract

In today’s world, the function of the English classroom has fundamentally shifted. Instead of teaching the fully paper-based curriculum of the past, instructors of English now must incorporate genres that encompass anything from videos to website creation. 

In the study of literature, rhetoric, and composition, too, the field is beginning to recognize new and more multimodal forms of scholarship. Think of Kairos, the online only rhet/comp journal. Think of the work of scholars like Kristen Arola, Cynthia Selfe, and Qwo Li Driskill—work that asks us to think outside the box of the academic paper. 

In their chilling study “Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias,” Jamilia J. Blake and Rebecca Epstein conclude “that adults perceive Black girls as less innocent than white girls as young as 5-9 years old.” While Blake and Epstein centralize Black girlhood, this adultification bias similarly affects Black boys and other children of color. Children of color’s perception as ‘more adult’ than their white peers does not imbue them with any agency or power, rather, it divests them of childhood, at least within childhood’s contemporary definitions. Yet, these contemporary definitions of childhood are grounded in whiteness and white privilege.

The Sport Literature Association seeks entries for its annual graduate student competition, the Lyle Olsen Graduate Student Essay Contest.

Essays must pertain, in some significant way, to the literature of sport. For exemplary treatment of sport-related subject matter, applicants are invited to consult the association's peer-reviewed journal, Aethlon, “a print journal designed to celebrate the intersection of literature with the world of play, games, and sport.” All submissions must be unpublished work. Original creative pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, are not considered for this contest. There is no word limit, but Aethlon articles do not generally exceed 25 manuscript pages.

Critical Insights: Amy Tan

 “Writing is an extreme privilege but it’s also a gift.  It’s a gift to yourself and it’s a gift of giving a story to someone.”