By Mike Downing
Nine members of the KU English Department traveled to California University of Pennsylvania in early October to attend the English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities’ annual fall conference.
Professor Carl Seiple led a team that included Andrew Vogel, John Ronan, Patrick Walters, Carissa Pokorny-Golden, Todd Dodson, Jonathan Shaw, Patricia Pytleski and Michael Downing.
KU English has a long history with EAPSU, including Carl Seiple and John Ronan’s service as treasurer and Mike Downing’s service as webmaster and current vice president.
In addition, Linda Cullum and Carl Seiple organized the fall 2001 conference. Curt Herr and Jennifer Bottinelli organized the 2008 fall conference. Todd Williams helped to coordinate the 2012 spring undergraduate conference, and Patrick Walters will be taking the reins as webmaster as of January 1.
Others have published in EAPSU Online, the organizations’ online journal, which Carl Seiple will be editing next year, and dozens of KU English faculty have presented papers at the conferences over the years.
Paper titles at the fall conference were as follows:
Andrew Vogel, “The Gospel of Good Roads: Walt Whitman, Republican Geography, and 21st Century Learning Objectives”
John Ronan, “Dickinson’s Perspectival Analysis of Christianity”
Patrick Walters, “Cracking a Closed Culture in Immersion Journalism”
Carissa Pokorny-Golden, “Incorporating Literary Theory across the English Studies Curriculum”
Todd Dodson, “School Days” (creative nonfiction)
Patricia Pytleski, “Teaching Writing From the High School to the College Classroom: Accounting for Prior Learning, Encouraging Creativity, or Shifting Blame?”
Michael Downing, “Advising College Newspapers in the 21st Century: Print, Digital, or Hybrid?”
EAPSU is committed to promoting scholarship and service opportunities for students and faculty across the PASSHE system and beyond. The group hosts an undergraduate conference each spring as well as a faculty/ graduate conference each fall.
Next fall, the group will celebrate its 35th anniversary at Slippery Rock University.
Website: www.eapsu.net