To Read Literature in New Ways?

I couldn't resist blogging about this New York Times article about the Victorian Books project that exploited Google's scanned corpus of Victorian literature. The project searched for key words characteristic of Victorian literature and attempts to draw conclusions about the nature of the Victorian mindset as exemplified in that literature.

Although the method doesn't replace good old-fashioned reading, rereading, and close-reading, it does suggest that the digital age does hold the possibility of allowing new insights into literature. I would really like our chapter to think about how the digital revolution has changed the way we read, not just what we read (blogs, websites, social networking sites).

--Felicia Steele

To Convince Others of the Value of Literature?

As the American economy seems to be in free-fall to an unimaginable bottom, I ask myself if what I am doing has any sort of real world value. If money is tight, I reason, why would anyone pay anything for the chance to read great literary works, or to argue on paper about what literature means to us, or to discuss literary themes with others? Should Americans today focus only on business concerns, and is literature or language a luxury with which no one can afford to concern themselves?

Of course, I both hope that literature is still of value, and fear that these sentiments are shared by few. We inheritors of the Western tradition "own" many of the world's literary gems -- come to think of it, we humans taken collectively own all of the world's literary gems. We need not ever experience war ourselves, but Homer's Iliad or Crane's Red Badge of Courage still have the power to teach us. We may never ourselves be the victim of genocide, but the Diary of Anne Frank moves us. We need never fall in love to enjoy Austen's Pride and Prejudice. So, keep reading, and keep believing in the value of literature.

To Write those End-of-Term Essays?

Bliss Hall is buzzing, and everywhere I look I see students with books and papers. Faculty offices are filled with students with paper drafts and questions about their sources. A semester's work of thinking, reading, and discussing is all coming to fruition with the final essay of the course. It is both wonderful and a little scary.

To Race to Nowhere?

I just heard of this new documentary that is coming out called "Race to Nowhere", and I thought it would be appropriate to share on this blog posting, since it's school related. If you go to www.racetonowhere.com you can watch the trailer, but essentially it's a documentary about the pressure on students to become over-achievers. Apparently you can even fill out a request to 'host a screening' of the documentary at your school, which I think is a cool idea, or at least something to consider.

November 18, 2010 5:53 PM

Katie Pucci

To Collect School Supplies?

Turns out, it takes very few! Over the past several days, bags of pencils, notebooks, crayons, coloring books, pens, index cards and highlighters have been appearing at my office door -- as if by magic!

All of these school supplies are destined for the pediatric wing at the Richmond University Medical Center. What better than a fresh new notebook, thousands of blank coloring book pages, and newly sharpened colored pencils and crayons to put a s

mile on a deserving child's face?

So far, we have two large boxes filled, and we're happy to fill another, so keep those pens and paper coming. Remember how much fun a new box of crayons is to a child -- a picture can be made with little crayon stubs, but it is just not as much fu

n.

These pictures only show the first half of the donations we received. Thank you once again to everyone who donated school supplies and helped decorate the box!

To Discuss Lolita?

Earlier this month, Sigma Tau Delta members met for the second installment of our book club, where we discussed Vladimir Nabokov's classic Lolita.


On a track from her latest CD, pop star Miley Cyrus sings: "I've been to New York and to L.A. and to Baton Rouge / I met a boy in every city / No one kept me amused. / But don't call me a Lolita / 'Cause I don't let 'em through. / 'Cause I'm saving all my lovin' for someone / And it's you."

Whether or not Ms. Cyrus has read Lolita is not the important point here—it's the cultural impact of Nabokov's chilling novel. The term Lolita is now commonly used in reference to the situations found in the book, most often to describe a sexually precocious young lady. And as Miley shows above, the term is not limited to older generations.

Since its publication in 1955, the novel has been an object of controversy. It struggled to find an American publisher, was recalled because of its contents, and is frequently found on banned books lists. But despite it's controversial subject matter, the novel is still a quite profound object of beauty. Nabokov's brilliant narrator tells a sordid tale in undeniably beautiful language.

Keeping this post as spoiler-free as possible, discussion covered topics such as Humbert Humbert's status as an unreliable narrator, the way the writing contrasts with the subject matter, and one of the novel's most controversial questions: how much HH is to blame for the events of the novel. We also discussed the novel's great closing, and used it to gauge HH's remorse.

If you have not read Lolita, please do so immediately (winter break is coming soon). Not only is the book culturally important, but it is also one of the best novels ever written, showcasing Nabokov's extraordinary skill as a writer.

To Read Our Sigma Tau Delta Newsletter?

The Sigma Tau Delta National Newsletter is going "green"! Rather than receiving a paper copy of the "Fall 2010" edition of the newsletter, you can now view the newsletter at the following link:

Fall 2010 Newsletter

What do you think of the new online version? I like the .pdf format because of its convenience. Rather than losing or misplacing a paper copy of the newsletter, I can now save an electronic copy to my computer's hard drive.

Be sure to check out pages 5 and 6, which contain information about this year's convention speakers: Dave Eggers, Kay Ryan, Jacqueline Woodson, and Lorene Cary.

Also, if you are planning on attending Grad School or taking the GRE, check out the articles on page 16 and 18.

To Discuss Black Ice?

Our chapter recently met for our first book club meeting of the year. At the meeting, we discussed the Sigma Tau Delta common reader, Lorene Cary's Black Ice.


The memoir follows Cary as an adolescent, when she moves from Philadelphia to New Hampshire to attend a prestigious private school. As one of the first generations of black students to attend Saint Paul's School, Cary recalls the challenges she faced adjusting to the school while still remaining loyal to her roots. While the memoir details Cary's life after graduation, Saint Paul's is always the focus of the memoir, revealing the profound impact the school had on her life.

Topics of discussion included key passages in the novel, such as Cary's experience at a school science fair, her lesson in failure, and her sexual assault while at St. Paul's. We also discussed the thought-provoking title of the memoir.

Our members are excited to see Lorene Cary next spring, when she reads at the Sigma Tau Delta 2011 Convention in Pittsburgh, PA. Maybe she can shed some light on the tough questions we had concerning the book!

If you read the book, feel free to share any thoughts/opinions in the comments!

To Celebrate our 2010 Inductees?

This morning the Alpha Epsilon Alpha chapter of Sigma Tau Delta inducted our new members for 2010. We were honored by a welcome by the Dean of TCNJ's School of Culture and Society, Dr. Benjamin Rifkin, and an address by the chairman of the Department of English, Dr. David Blake. Dean Rifkin highlighted the close match between the goals of Sigma Tau Delta and the mission of the School of Culture and Society. Professor Blake explicated the quote we chose to illustrate the importance of "Truth" to members of Sigma Tau Delta: "God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please, -- you can never have both"--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

We were also honored at the end of the ceremony by a visit from our college's president, Dr. Barbara Gitenstein. We want to thank all three of them for taking time out to celebrate our new members and the accomplishments of our chapter.

To Plan the 2010-2011 School Year?

Here are minutes from our first general body meeting of the semester.
1. Introductions!
2. Google Calendar: Check for Event Dates
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=usgeke5njj38gc997hehfr47ag%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
3. Inductions: October 2, 11 am in the Library Auditorium. (Coffee with the Dean 10 am.)
4. Membership: Only Full, National Members may apply for scholarships, awards, or to attend the national conference. Social members are encouraged to attend all chapter (TCNJ) events.
5. Dues must be turned in by September 15th in order to be inducted this year.
6. Terhune Fundraiser: Contact Todd (petty4@tcnj.edu) if you would like to sign up! Shifts are 9-6 on any available day (see Todd for dates) and Terhune will donate $90 dollars to the organization per volunteer. (Also, there are delicious donuts and a great employee discount for any day you work!)
7. Book Club: Our first book will discuss Black Ice, the STD Common Reader for this year, and we will meet next Wednesday (9/15) at 4:30 in Bliss 228.
8. Convention (Pittsburgh): March 23-26 2011
a. For those who would like to submit: send Professor Steinberg (dsteinbe@tcnj.edu) what you plan to submit by October 22.
b. All Scholarship and Award applications go through Professor Steinberg.
c. Members may apply for anything for which they fit the award description.
d. If you would like to be added to the Pittsburgh Module inside SOCS and did not sign up at the meeting, please email Professor Steinberg.
9. Blog/Website: If you have something you would like to write, email an E-Board member and it will be posted to the Blog! Also, remember to comment on posts!
10. Also, additional fundraising information not mentioned at the meeting: The Student Finance Board is sponsoring live music and an outdoor grill every Friday before Fall Break and is offering $150 dollars in fundraising money to any organization that volunteers to grill for one of the events. If anyone is interested in looking further into organizing our participation, please let us know!
Other Important Links, also listed in the SOCS homepage:
Our award-winning chapter webpage is http://enghonor.intrasun.tcnj.edu
Our award-winning chapter blog is http://enghonor.blogspot.com/
Our national organization's website is at
http://www.english.org/sigmatd/index.shtml. Please bookmark this site and check it for information about internships, conference opportunities, scholarships, and publishing opportunities.

Take care,
Rebecca

To Stop Burning Books?

Today's discouraging news is that Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center is planning to go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran to commemorate the September 11 attacks on the US. American officials, including Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, and US military commander David Petraeus have all condemned the planned book burning and have pleaded with Pastor Jones, noting that his actions will make our troops -- indeed all Americans -- less safe.

Pastor Jones is within his constitutional rights to burn books that he himself owns -- book burning is protected as an act of free speech. It is, however, at the very least, an unkind gesture to burn anyone's Holy Book. Pastor Jones claims that his actions are directed only to radical Islam, but, of course, the Koran is a sacred text to all Muslims, not merely to the radical fringe. If Pastor Jones wishes to send a message only to radical Islamists, perhaps he should search for written texts advocating radical Islam, and burn those, leaving the Koran, with its messges of charity and peace, intact. Pastor Jones claims to have prayed over his decision; I respectfully urge him to pray again.

Much American anger has been directed against Muslims planning to build an Islamic cultural center in a renovated building in lower Manhattan. This Islamic cultural center will contain a prayer room, and will be within a few blocks of the site of the World Trade Center destroyed on September 11, 2001, but it will not be visible from "ground zero." The same Bill of Rights that allows Terry Jones to burn books also allows Muslims to follow Islam and to build prayer rooms, cultural centers, and even mosques on land which they themselves own. Many Americans are asking Muslims to respond with sensitivity to the feelings of those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, and to cancel plans to build an Islamic cultural center within a few blocks of "ground zero." Are those same Americans calling on Pastor Jones to be sensitive to the feelings of Muslims worldwide whose Holy Book is being burned?

Calls on Muslims not to build anything close to ground zero fill me with suspicion. Where exactly ought Muslims to build their mosques and cultural centers? Five blocks from "ground zero"? in midtown Manhattan? in New Jersey? no where in the Western hemisphere? Could stopping a cultural center be a wedge that eventually allows anyone anywhere in the US to have her or his feelings hurt by someone who wishes to build a non-Christian worship space, and so to halt construction of that mosque, synagogue, or temple?

It's important that those of us who read books take a stance in favor if keeping them unburned by those who prefer to use them as symbols of hatred.

To Start A Book Club?

As busy English majors, it can be overwhelming to think of the exhaustive list of literary classics that we feel we must read. And each year, new books are released that capture the attention of the literary world and seem to only make that list even longer. When selecting books to read outside of class, where do we begin? And without the guidance of literary experts (our professors), will we be doing it wrong?

To alleviate these problems, our chapter has decided to start a book club. As a group, students can read a selected book, then discuss it in a book club meeting. After a vote, STD members chose a diverse group of eight books to read together during the 2010-2011 school year, including classics such as Lolita, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice, contemporary favorites such as The Kite Runner and The Alchemist, the poetry collection The Stranger Manual, and one young adult novel, Shiver.


The first book club selection is this year's Sigma Tau Delta Common Reader, Lorene Carey's Black Ice.

A tentative schedule of the reading order and due dates:

1. Black Ice by Lorene Cary - Sept. 8th
2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - October 13th
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - November 12th
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - December 3rd
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - February 9th
6. The Stranger Manual by Catie Rosemurgy - March 16th*
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - April 15th
8. Shiver by - April 29th*
*date has been changed

To Manage 125 Teachers?

This summer, I have had the ultimate lesson in classroom management--managing 125 teachers at my internship with the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Each week, for five weeks, 25 new teachers have joined me and the seminar leaders at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey for a six-day residential program, in which they earn 45 professional development hours. One of the greatest aspects of the internship is meeting all of these Humanities teachers from throughout the state of New Jersey and asking them questions about teaching, texts they use in their classrooms, and methods of teaching. I am a sponge. Since I will be student teaching this semester, I have been using the opportunity to learn as much as I can.

The five seminar topics are as follows:

1. Race in American History and Culture: New Perspectives
2. Poverty, Affluence, and the American Dream
3. America and the Politics of the World's Religions
4. Narratives of Immigration: Latino/a Lives
5. Adolescent and Young Adult Literature

Needless to say, as a future English teacher, I am looking forward to the final seminar the most. However, all of the seminars have been eye-opening experiences, which have allowed me to learn how to connec these topics back to the classroom. If anyone is interested in professional development, I would highly recommend these seminars.

The above picture is from a field trip the Week 4 group took to the Seabrook Educational-Cultural Center to learn about New Jersey's role in immigration.

~Kristen C.

To Have Sense or Sensibility?

photo by Cara Mac Neil :)

Seeing as this blog needed a little updating I thought I would come back to it even as a graduate :) Over the summer Sigma Tau Delta-ers and Non-Sigma Tau Delta-ers alike have joined forces in agreeing to read and discuss Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. My friend Katie and I were the driving force behind this because we both realized that while we loved the ever-popular Pride and Prejudice we hadn't touched some of the other books.

A lot of people who consider themselves Jane Austen fans came out of the woodwork to say "I too haven't really read much besides P&P " or "I've read everything except Sense and Sensibility" and I'm wondering why exactly that seems to be the case. Surely Jane Austen is not a One Hit Wonder among female Victorian writers so it seems strange to me that she is known primarily for one novel. People assume that if they like P&P that they will love the rest of her books because she has developed a reputation for being formulaic: a Happy Endings type of writer.

I wonder if this is true, if this is false or if it is simply her genius.

Being about halfway through the book I cannot wait to have someone to talk about it with and am so excited that the society of English Majors seems to be a bond that lasts even after the college years become officially behind me.

Sometime in August (date TBA) we are all meeting to discuss this book and professors are even getting in on the deal! It really is amazing to feel like part of a literary community and it makes the reading experience sweeter knowing that I will absolutely get to dissect the nature of Mrs Jennings and other strange but loveables in this book.

It seems to me that we English Majors are full of sense..... and a bit of sensibility :)


-- Cara

To Change Our Blog Design?

Do you notice anything different about our blog? Why! The design has been changed of course! The scarlet red color fits in well with our national Sigma Tau Delta colors.

Be sure to read our blog on Tuesday, June 15th for the 2010 Book Club selections that you voted for!

To Select Books For A Book Club?

Now is your chance to vote on what books you want to read next year during our brand new Sigma Tau Delta Book Club! Try not to judge the books by their covers...I know I included pictures of all of the books in the survey, but if you're unfamiliar with a book please look up a summary/review online.

http://tcnj.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6EzsBclCYnB1Gni

Please remember:
1. Include your first and last name.
2. Select only your top 5 book choices! Only 5!
3. Type in which book is your #1 choice.

Feel free to rally for the book of your choice on this blog! Post a reply/comment to this blog post, telling us why we should choose a certain book to read.


This following chart shows the top 10 books so far. Keep that in mind as you're voting on books!

To read for 17 hours straight?

Our last post announced our effort to read The Fellowship of the Ring from cover to cover. As of 12:00 pm this afternoon, we were on chapter four, reading away in the Bliss Hall lounge. Come take a break from the end of semester stresses and enjoy Frodo's and Sam's adventures as the leave the Shire and embark on their journey to the dark lands of Mordor!

To Read The Fellowship of the Ring?

We are getting geared up for this year's marathon reading, and for the first time, allowed student members to "vote" with their spare change (all proceeds to the Trenton Public Libraries!). The year, we are reading the first novel in J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Ring trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring.

This is a novel I first read on the advice of my youngest brother Phil, who devoured it one summer while he attempted to live the rest of his life. He read it while delivering newspapers (American children used to walk around their neighborhoods delivering afternoon papers). He read it while playing Little League ball -- probably the most important reason his coach put him in left field.

To Find a New Hero?

About a dozen of us attended Chris Abani's talk tonight at the conference. We laughed, wept, and found ourselves questioning the essentializing labels we toss around: refugee, citizen, writer, literature. Earlier in the day, I attended his question and answer session and had much the same reaction to him. His book, Song for Night, is this year's common reader, and I now regret profoundly that we didn't organize an activity around the novella. So I promise $5 for the marathon reading kitty when we get back home. Let's read this profound story of a child soldier as he reconnects with his essential humanity.

I can't even begin to describe all the wonderful things that Abani said, so I would like members to come back in and revise my posting. But the most marvelous thing that he said this morning was "Writers are the curators of our humanity."

--Felicia Steele

To "Meet me in St. Louis"?

March 18, 2010: The first full day of the annual Sigma Tau Delta Conference here in St. Louis, MO. Everyone arrived safely, and everyone successfully registered for the Conference and checked into the hotel. Our rooms overlook the Mississippi River and the Gateway Arch. TCNJ is the largest delegation here at the Convention,with 21 students, 2 faculty, and 29 scholarly essays to be presented.

The Conference registration site has a bulletin board with 9 "outstanding essays" on the Conference theme of "Storytellers," and I was delighted to discover that one of these outstanding essays was written by our own Nicole Pieri! Congrats, Nicole.

I've attended both the Chapter Sponsors session, and picked up some good ideas -- let's celebrate Banned Book week next September -- and my first paper session -- at which Kristen Casabona read a super Toni Morrison essay on Beloved. In addition to the sessions, students are also planning to take the tram to the top of the Gateway Arch and visit the fabulous St. Louis city zoo and the Budweiser Clydesdales (who live here by the Anheuser Busch brewery).

More later . . . Diane Steinberg

Not to talk about cake!

In celebration of Tim Burton's take on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland saga (I keep thinking that the film must adapt Through the Looking Glass instead), Sigma Tau Delta is hosting a "Happy Unbirthday" Thursday, March 4, at 11:30 am, in Bliss Hall lounge. But here's the catch: we can't hang flyers on campus because we're serving cake!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, because we secured a food waiver, so that we could save a little money and know that the cake would arrive in the right place at the right time (rather than using on-campus catering), we're not allowed to advertise the fact that we're having cake. Thus, we can't advertise the event, because our flyers won't be authorized, because we already volunteered that we're having cake.

So, DON'T TALK ABOUT CAKE! We're having an unbirthday party, where we will be serving "uncake," a newly minted confection made with a core of light and fluffy pastry lovingly drenched in sweet, creamy, unfrosting!

Revel in the absurdity, beware the jabberwock, and enjoy tea and uncake!

--Felicia Jean Steele --Photo courtesy of the British Library

To Sell English Major T-Shirts?

Dear Fellow Lovers of English,

Do you chuckle to yourself when you recognize an allusion made to one of Shakespeare's plays? Do you recite quotes from literature in casual conversation with friends? Were you one of those children who hid under the covers in bed, with a flashlight, scrambling to read as much as you could before falling asleep?

If you answered yes to any of those questions....Good news! Sigma Tau Delta is sponsoring a t-shirt sale to help us raise money for our trip to St. Louis. You can support your local chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, as well as receive a cool English-Major-inspired t-shirt that you can wear around campus! The available t-shirts are "TCNJ English" or "English Majors Do It By The Book." Images of what the t-shirts will look like are posted below. Each t-shirt costs $15, and you can place your order at the following link:

https://jedi.tcnj.edu/webteam/cgi-bin/formgenie/formgenie.pl?form=38478

To Serve Pancakes?

Last Saturday, our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta sponsored a Pancake breakfast fundraiser at our local Applebees Restaurant. It was a huge success! Student representatives from Sigma Tau Delta transformed from literary critics, poets and avid book readers to busboys and waitresses for the day. We served faculty, other students and the nearby community delicious pancakes as part of a effort to raise money for the Sigma Tau Delta National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri next month- and raise money we did! As an organization, we sold nearly 100 tickets for the fundraiser and as a result of our fantastic customer service and a job well done by the entire STD 'staff' we were able to raise $650.00 in just a few hours!

We arrived at Applebees at 7:30 in the morning for a preservice training session where we learned the ins and outs of the restaurant business. How to seat guests, how to take an order, how to call out an order to the fantastic chefs in the back and even how to bus the tables was part of our training. After a few practice rounds, our waiters and waitresses were ready for the ensuing crowd, quickly scribbling down orders for pancakes, sausage, coffee, juice , you name it! It was a lot of fun to take on this new role for the day, and place orders for everyone from our own best friends to the many faculty members who came to support.

So much planning and preparation went into this day, so a special thanks to everyone involved- but a special thank you to Danielle Katims and Becky McGowan who were in charge of the event.

Now that we're all such pancake experts, it is probably about time for our honor society to open our very own restaurant chain... perhaps a 'Poetic Pancake House'?
















...or maybe we should just stick to our first love, literature!

To Review Tricks?

I recently finished reading a book by Ellen Hopkins called Tricks. The book is based on true events and follows five teenagers as their lives spiral downward and they eventually become part of the prostitution industry. I am a big fan of books by Hopkins, and the first time I read one of her books, Crank, I was only a sophomore in high school. She writes about mature topics, such as drug use, but does so in verse rather than in prose. The style of the text was what originally drew me to her works. However, I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable stocking texts like these in my classroom when I am a teacher. Has anyone else read any books by Hopkins? How do you feel about the mature content? Is there a certain age at which these books would be deemed acceptable to have in the classroom library?

To Make Valentine's Day Cards and Crafts?

TCNJ students whiled away their weekend raising money to go to the St. Louis conference. We`re still presuming no news is good news. While we wait, we make stuff to sell in the student center the week before Valentine`s Day. So stop by our lunch time tables and show your love!

To Teach the Movie or the Book

As an English-teacher-in-training I pretty much question daily what the best method is for teaching books. I've always thought that using a movie of a book as an end-of-unit treat is fine but I've recently been introduced to the idea that people do teach books strictly by their movies.

Now there is a quote that I live by which is: Never judge a book by the movie adaptation.

Still I just sat through an English class full of Seniors who watched Shelley's Frankenstein instead of reading it (and this viewing was supposed to make up their full exposure to Gothic Literature). Now I do not question the teacher because she made an excellent lesson out of what Gothic Literature is and I think that she would have lovingly made the students read the book if time permitted... but the excessive requests of School Boards and State Standards could fill many blogs all on their own.

But I think its interesting to think about whether or not you can really teach a book by its movie?

Personally, I think there are renditions of movies that I think could be useful for visual learners who struggle with reading. There are times when I feel overwhelmed by a text and desperately seek summaries and movie-versions because they give me a structure to follow, a mental picture to return to when I feel stressed out, and the 'lifeline' of a movie can make me feel secure enough to keep reading.

Still, I do not think that showing someone a movie gives them the same experience as a book and I'm not sure I would want to replace a book entirely with a movie and consider it thoroughly taught.

Does anyone else have experience with this or opinions about the scenario?

- Cara Mac Neil

To Start a New Semester?

I love the start of a new term -- when all sorts of learning is still potential rather than actual. Today, I told a student to "just e-mail me your draft and let me look at it; after all, I don't exactly have a backlog of grading tasks." Ah, the start of a new term, when I do not have a backlog of tasks and still have energy and enthusiasm for work!

This term, I'm prepping and teaching a topic I have not worked with (except for Jane Austen's novels) since my first term in graduate school (Ronald Reagan was still president and the Iron Curtain was still in place). It's refreshingly different to be teaching Romantic Era literary works, instead of Medieval and Early Modern texts. Students are finding the language of the texts more transparent, and students are finding that much of their own original poetry was written in the Romantic tradition, even if they had never yet realized this.

No matter which literary period I teach, I find connections to the world in which we live today, and the Romantics are helping me get in touch with the social reformers: those folks who see an injustice or a tragedy, and try to both bring it to our attention, and to arouse us to tackle the problem. Anyone else taking a class that resonates with their world?

To Decide if Walt Whitman Wore Levi's?

I'm sure, by now, many of you have seen the relatively new line of Levi's commercial's featuring poetry from America's indefinite and undeclared poet laureate, Walt Whitman. If not, here is a link to one of these commercials which features a reading (allegedly done by Whitman himself) of Whitman's iconic poem, "America".

The question I raise here (and I'd love to hear what people think) is whether this blending of advertising and poetry is ethical. Having been deceased for over a century, there is no way Whitman could have signed off on this project. On the other hand, Levi's is a quintessentially American company; Whitman has certainly become one of the greatest figureheads of America. Also, Levi's were in fact a company making jeans during the time Whitman was living and writing poetry.

There is nothing (that I can see) flagrantly offensive about the content of the commercial, nothing which spits in the face of Whitman's message or work. The commercial certainly has a historical feel to it and an attitude of independence and rugged individualism that is often associated with historic America. Still, the question remains, is this misappropriation of Walt Whitman's poetry? My question extends beyond just this commercial, which I am referencing as a departure point.

Does literature exist as one of the (relatively) unexplored frontiers of commercialism? When is it okay to mix media this way, to juxtapose an individual poem and individual video to create new meaning? How sacred do we hold the author's intentions and work? What responsibility to we owe to our great late authors? The forerunners of modern literature? And perhaps most importantly: Did Walt Whitman wear Levi's?

-Todd Petty

To Keep Ourselves from Getting Overextended?

The New York Times published an interesting article today about high school honor societies that posed a central question: how much is too much? One thing that caught my attention, of course, was explicit mention of Sigma Tau Delta's daughter organization the National English Honor Society. If high school students have accustomed themselves to graduating with six, eight, or even nine honor society honor cords, they will certainly feel the same pressure to participate in as many societies as possible in college.

The NYT article questioned how many of these societies were as active as they should be and how many were simply "place-holders" or "credentials." I know that we strive to be an active chapter that provides meaningful activities and experiences for students; but these students appear to be increasingly over scheduled, as do many of the faculty involved as well.

My personal resolution for this coming year is to keep myself sane and appropriately scheduled, but that doesn't mean that I want to give up any activities or responsibilities. The obvious answer, then, is to make all of these things work together toward a set of common goals. I'm certain that this is a common resolution among students and faculty at The College of New Jersey.

With that in mind, the Alpha Epsilon Alpha chapter of Sigma Tau Delta and the Office of Academic Affairs will sponsor a leadership workshop for honor society leaders Monday, January 18, 2010. Our goal for this workshop is to help students to develop organizational strategies so that they may find opportunities to work together, to work smarter rather than harder, and to effect lasting change in our institution through partnerships and skillful planning. So STD students, send your friends in other organizations to the registration site so that we can all start working toward the goals we share.

And Happy New Year to all of you!

Dr. Felicia Jean Steele