Conference Reflection: ASLE Biennial Conference: "Notes from the Underground"

In June, the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (ASLE) held its Eleventh Biennial Conference, “Notes from the Underground: The Depths of Environmental Arts, Culture and Justice” in Moscow, ID. I had the opportunity to attend this conference as a presenter in a Saturday morning “jam session” on deep naturalism with five other presenters, including faculty and graduate students. As should be expected from a conference about the environmental humanities, it was a thoroughly interdisciplinary event:  art historians and artists presented alongside each other in collaborative panels, creative writers led several of the conference plenaries, and many presenters participated in fieldtrips to Moscow’s surrounding Palouse country:

  

A view of Palouse country from the University of Idaho arboretum

Highlights from my trip included:

• Stephanie LeMenager’s opening plenary, “Still Being Human, or Notes for an Everyday Anthropocene,” which discussed issues of pedagogy and genre while teaching in the Anthropocene
• “Unruly Cabinets of Wonders: Multispecies Catalogues & Edible Creatures,” a panel on food and environmentally-conscious art, chaired by Allison Carruth (UCLA) and accompanied by EcoArtTech (Leila Nadir and Cary Peppermint) and Heather Houser (UT-Austin)
• Being introduced to “cli-fi” (climate change fiction) and listening to ways other graduate students and faculty are incorporating climate change into their curricula
• And last, but not least, Donna Haraway and Anna Tsing’s collaborative show-stopper, “Tunneling in the Chthulucene: Stories for Resurgence on a Damaged Planet” which can now be watched here, courtesy of ASLE 

A shot of Tsing & Haraway's stunning Powerpoint

Until next time, ASLE!

Walter Benn Michaels (Oct. 23)

Just a reminder that Walter Benn Michaels is meeting with the Theory Center tomorrow (Friday, October 23) from 2:00-3:30. He will be discussing his paper "What Academic Work is For."

The discussion will be held at the CAHI house (1211 E. Atwater Ave.).   

Conference Shout Outs

Hey All,

We just wanted to shoot out a reminder that your colleagues want to hear what amazing stuff you are accomplishing this year! Whenever something of note occurs--you publish an article, you present at a conference, you attend a cool conference, etc.--shoot us (either Steph Luke or Brooke Opel) a quick, and informal announcement or write-up, and we will post it on the blog. We want this blog to be a way to not only keep in touch with academic happenings, but to also connect with each other! 

GSAC

Cultural Studies Conference Oct. 23/24, 2015

The Cultural Studies Conference whose theme this year is "Child Matters" will be held on October 23 and 24 in the IMU Oak Room.

There are several speakers from English and other departments across the country.

It looks like it will be an interesting event.

For more information, and to view the participants, view the announcement here:
http://www.indiana.edu/~engweb/child_matters_announcement.html

Money, Money, Money

Here is the pay schedule for English AIs this semester (Fall 2015):

                Pay Period Begin Date                   Pay Period End Date                    Check Date

                          8/1/2015                                          8/31/2015                                  9/4/2015

                          9/1/2015                                          9/30/2015                                  9/30/2015

                         10/1/2015                                        10/31/2015                                10/30/2015

                         11/1/2015                                        11/30/2015                                11/30/2015

                         12/1/2015                                        12/31/2015                                12/18/2015

                         12/1/2015                                        12/31/2015                                  1/4/2016

It is that time of year again where we all band together to start discussing our Grad Student Conference! Because we are anticipating that the conference will occur earlier than usual in March, we are doing things a bit differently this year.

GSAC has already tentatively decided on a very broad conference theme--CONSUMPTION, which includes topics like food, farm to table, community, reading, materialism, "eating the other," etc.; however, we still need your ideas and input to make this conference work!

Please join us on September 15th at 5:30pm in Ballantine 105, in order to brainstorm a title, sub-topics of our conference/list of items for the CFP, potential keynote speakers, and to volunteer for a conference committee. 

This is a great opportunity to see the inner workings of a conference, meet professors and other grad students, give back to the department, and create a great service line for your CV. All grad students from M.A. to Ph.D. to M.F.A. are welcome, and we especially encourage first years to come out and get involved!

Please let us know if you have any questions! 

See you there!

GSAC

Books, Music, and Prints Sale to Benefit The Lilly Library

Some of you might be interested in this event:

2015 E. Southdowns Drive (High Street end; brick house, large circular drive)

SUNDAY June 14, 10AM to 6 PM

Most paperbacks $1; most hardbacks $2.00

You are cordially invited to a sale of  books and related items to benefit the Lilly Library.  

The general interest books include fiction and poetry from all periods, children’s classics and fantasy, travel, garden, detective fiction (very good selection), cookbooks, art and artists.  Some new in their paper covers, appropriate for giftgiving.

Academic books include Shakespeare plays and criticism, literary theory and criticism, history of the book, art history, Renaissance literature, dictionaries and reference works. Also anthropology and social studies

Included in the sale will be a  selection of  framed and unframed prints(architectural, English landscape, floral, etc.), and home library furniture (reading chairs, bookcases, lamps, etc.)

Also: Sheet Music:  piano (Peters editions etc.), violin (Suzuki to professional level), vocal, and organ. Classical LP records (operas, etc.), and CDs (and LP and CD players).

For further information, email: dirmest@indiana.edu

New IUCAT Feature

We will try to keep you informed of library news and events.

You might not know, but IUCAT is constantly being updated with new features. One of the most recent features that is still in beta is "Newly Added Titles." This promises to be a useful tool. You can filter results by 30, 60, or 180 days, as well as searching for keywords within these results. See https://blogs.libraries.iub.edu/iucatbeta/2015/06/welcome-back-newly-added-titles/ for more information.

Introducing IU English Grads Blog!

Is your inbox overwhelming? Do you ever miss out on departmental events because you can’t possibly read all your incoming mail? Have you ever wished that someone would consolidate all the announcements and events for you?

If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, then GSAC has the perfect solution for you—the IU English Grads Blog, which will be your one-stop-shop for all things EnglGrad! Check it out at http://iuenglishgrad.blogspot.com/.

While GSAC will still send out emails about important information and upcoming events, we will also make sure to post all announcements on this Blog for your convenience, with the assistance of a calendar (Coming Soon). Additionally, the IU English Grads Blog will feature posts about topics and news relevant to the department and field.

So, make sure to bookmark this link, and keep checking back in for some news and awesome upcoming events!

You Stay Classy Bloomington,

GSAC

P.S. If you would like to contribute a Blog Post, please contact Steph Luke (smluke@indiana.edu), Brooke Opel (bopel@indiana.edu), or Julie Chamberlin (jkchamb@indiana.edu).