Is that a phenomenology joke?


On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 2:17 PM, Goodman, Eric <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> So, did Inklings replace Dimensions?
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 2:12 PM, cheek, cris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> HI David,
>>
>> o i completely agree about the poets just wanting to be poets being a good
>> thing btw. Moi aussi :D
>>
>> cris
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Schloss, David <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Eric,
>>>
>>> Dimensions was the undergraduate literary magazine at MU for many years,
>>> with its own office/hangout at the Shriver Center and regular publication
>>> each semester. Large enthusiastic staff/cohort once. Jim Reiss, then I, were
>>> its advisers. Don't remember why it stopped after 70s-80s. Maybe lasted into
>>> 90s? The culture changed. It was once the haven of hip, disaffected writers
>>> as a severe minority in Oxford.
>>>
>>> I'd hope that Adv Comp will get enough registration to cover a few GAs'
>>> teaching. It's usually not that popular.
>>>
>>> Am I right to glean that threats of 3/2 and 3/3 teaching loads are
>>> returning? I don't know why MU faculty puts up with the top down
>>> Administration on the Plantation. UC's union just negotiated a 25% pay raise
>>> for each of the last two years in their new 4 year contract! They already
>>> out-earn Miami considerably.
>>>
>>> Shot through all these conversations are the very real limits of the
>>> possible placed on Humanities faculty by a truly uncaring higher
>>> administration. So the business school doesn't go after donations? MU does
>>> it for them? They're wallowing in wealth while everyone else is begging for
>>> crumbs. I'm glad to soon be quit of this inequality and the constant tension
>>> it engenders among the have-not CAS departments, frozen in poverty of
>>> support.
>>>
>>> When cris says the Grad poets just want to be poets, that's what school
>>> can be for, not vocational training, I think. What better use of a
>>> non-terminal degree grad program?
>>> Art for art's sake. Outrageous idea...
>>>
>>> Cock-eyed Unpragmatist
>>> .
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 12:35 PM, Goodman, Eric <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Evan has recently been in touch with me about an old undergraduate
>>>> publication called Dimensions.  An English major now a lawyer is coming to
>>>> campus, a potential donor, I believe.   ????
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 11:34 AM, Tuma, Keith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> MU Press used to have a GA line. I gave it up as part of a bargain to
>>>>> sustain funding for the managing editor/web position. This is the kind of
>>>>> thing the dean and provost tend to forget, but in the past I have reminded
>>>>> them as often as possible, usually about this time of year as I argued for
>>>>> continuing funding. (That funding is secured through December.) The line was
>>>>> reclaimed by CAS, which doles out these lines as one of its most precious
>>>>> assets. The total number of lines at Miami and in CAS has not increased in
>>>>> decades, I think, and I'll be surprised to see it increase soon, though I
>>>>> suppose anything is possible. Departments with grad programs in CAS compete
>>>>> for them. They get shuffled around a little but not much unless a program
>>>>> goes under. The Humanities Center does not currently have sufficient funds
>>>>> to support GA lines and would have to change its mission statement to
>>>>> support them if it comes into that kind of money.
>>>>>
>>>>> We traded in the GA for the press because we found that the students
>>>>> were not all that helpful or reliable, although there were exceptions--Kelly
>>>>> Cowan did good work for Jim Reiss. But the press works best with a managing
>>>>> editor who knows procedures and policies and provides continuity.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not sure how much of that is relevant to ideas for OxMag. My guess
>>>>> is that an argument could be made about attaching a teaching reduction to
>>>>> the OxMag editorship as part of the second year of the program. Perhaps
>>>>> there could be two editors, each getting a course off the normal GA load.
>>>>> That could be advertised as one of the attractions of our MA program--the
>>>>> chance to compete for that--and maybe help with our applications a little.
>>>>> Not sure how much it would help but we obviously need to try a range of
>>>>> things. The applicants would have to volunteer with OxMag in their first
>>>>> year to learn the ropes, so that would mean building OxMag into the program
>>>>> in the way that we have tried to build reading for the novella contest into
>>>>> it. Someone with full-time ongoing faculty status would have to supervise
>>>>> OxMag as part of a service assignment. I say this knowing that Joe has done
>>>>> great work on a pro bono basis. But if you build it into the program you'll
>>>>> need that full-time faculty person attached to it. I think Lu might be able
>>>>> to sell the reduced teaching load for the GA to the dean, but he'd have to
>>>>> work up a strong rationale since she would be worried about equity across
>>>>> CAS.
>>>>>
>>>>> I like the idea of a literature in translation focus as a way of
>>>>> building audience for the magazine and building bridges with GREAL, though
>>>>> I'm not sure they have a grad program--I can't remember. Faculty lines over
>>>>> there are few so I don't know about interest; they mostly teach 3/2 or 3/3,
>>>>> I think. SCA would like to collaborate with us but I'm not sure where that
>>>>> is at the moment. There's a new dean coming in next fall so I suppose there
>>>>> are possibilities.
>>>>>
>>>>> The university usually doesn't let local departments or programs do
>>>>> fundraising on their own, though we could see if Evan Lichtenstein and our
>>>>> other representatives in Advancement will put OxMag on their list as they
>>>>> make the rounds with donors and potential donors. That would begin with our
>>>>> telling Lu that we want this and then Lu selling the idea to Evan and
>>>>> Phyllis Callahan. The odds of their interest are long, I think, unless we
>>>>> can make a case for OxMag having an impact on undergrads.
>>>>>
>>>>> Keith
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 9:47 AM, cheek, cris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> HI Margaret, Brian and all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> i agree wholeheartedly that OxMag could be a much more powerful
>>>>>> vehicle and appreciate the sustained effort that Joe has put into keeping it
>>>>>> moving. I like your thoughts on the possibilities for it Margaret.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I conveyed Lu's confidence to you that there will be graduate programs
>>>>>> for all English Department cohorts in 5 years time. He's very buoyant about
>>>>>> that. I'm not as confident and am staring down the 3-3 load. But that
>>>>>> anxiety is my burden. Recruitment and refocussing are pressing.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Brian has very important things to say about the language we use for
>>>>>> our web call and i buy it all. That language needs to be revised and
>>>>>> reconsidered in light of changes in the profession and changes in the art.
>>>>>> When i met up with a batch of ex-students last year at the AWP in Boston
>>>>>> they all spoke of how rigorous the work at Miami was compared to their MFA
>>>>>> and even PhD programs. There's little doubt in my mind that the gravy train
>>>>>> for CW professorships is crashing into the end of its tracks. I'm spotting a
>>>>>> trend for folks to take an MFA and then retool for a Composition and
>>>>>> Rhetoric PhD in response to that. I'm trying to take the poetry workshop to
>>>>>> a place right now that the students clearly do not want to go. They want to
>>>>>> work on their poetry in a more closeted manner than I am offering. They
>>>>>> don't want to take on other attributes. They want to be poets. Instead of
>>>>>> most of the cohort applying for further programs over the passing few years
>>>>>> almost all of this group have no intention of applying for further programs.
>>>>>> They are doing this for their sense of themselves. They want to be writers,
>>>>>> not professors. Not critics, not scholars. They want to be poets.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> just tipping in . . can we meet? The week after next?? I'm sure
>>>>>> everyone schedules have shaken into a new shape. I could meet Monday and
>>>>>> Wednesday any time, Tuesday after midday.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> cris
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 8:21 AM, Luongo, Margaret
>>>>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I should add that Joe Squance has done a heroic job trying to breathe
>>>>>>> life into Oxmag and has scored some good work by Matt Kish, David Ebenbach,
>>>>>>> and others.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Goodman, Eric <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Margaret,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>     Some excellent suggestions.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>     Brain on leave.  Excellent notion.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>     My brain, having flown back from France yesterday after planning
>>>>>>>> study tour for MUDEC next fall seems to have left.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>      Eric
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 11:13 AM, Luongo, Margaret
>>>>>>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I'm late to chime in, but I agree with Brian.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Along the same lines, if we're worried about losing the graduate
>>>>>>>>> program because of 112's disappearance (and I'm not convinced that will be
>>>>>>>>> the consequence), we could look to making the idea of GA lines more relevant
>>>>>>>>> anyway--not teaching, but 1/2 teaching, 1/2 something else. Brian points out
>>>>>>>>> Elizabeth's job at FSB; maybe we can also revitalize something we've already
>>>>>>>>> got--OxMag, which has been languishing for quite a while. Student enthusiasm
>>>>>>>>> wanes when they get busy with teaching, and their OxMag responsibilities
>>>>>>>>> tend to go on the back burner.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> A focus on global literature, literature in translation, could make
>>>>>>>>> OxMag more relevant, especially if we get GA lines for it and some faculty
>>>>>>>>> support. One or two of the GAs could be responsible for finding funds inside
>>>>>>>>> and outside the university to pay writers, translators and
>>>>>>>>> artists--something they would certainly have to do in the future if they
>>>>>>>>> want to start up a journal or publishing house. This sounds like something
>>>>>>>>> for which there'd be support in CAS and through the Humanities Center. I
>>>>>>>>> could see us drawing on folks in the School of Creative Arts and GREAL. We
>>>>>>>>> could also use it as an opportunity for a few undergrads to gain publishing
>>>>>>>>> experience, and create, possibly, a mentorship between grads and undergrads.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I'm teaching 311 in London this year, with a focus on British and
>>>>>>>>> European literature, and I've included a publishing component: students are
>>>>>>>>> meeting with two of the independent publishers whose books we're reading,
>>>>>>>>> and some of the students will be volunteering in their offices. I've got way
>>>>>>>>> more students interested in doing this--essentially giving up travel time
>>>>>>>>> while abroad to work, for nothing--than I have openings. The interest is
>>>>>>>>> there.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> OxMag could be relevant, and maybe even useful--with the right kind
>>>>>>>>> of support. We shouldn't make assumptions about the future based on the way
>>>>>>>>> things have or haven't worked in the past--we should ask for what we want
>>>>>>>>> and see what happens. That's my brain on leave. I'm sure I'll take a more
>>>>>>>>> hopeless view of everything in the fall.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> That's all for now. Sorry to intrude on your break.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Margaret
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 11:33 AM, cheek, cris <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> we're in 338 instead of our more usual haunt
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> In respect of the website Brian wrote the following:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> There's one bit of verbiage on the website, that reflects an angle
>>>>>>>>>> of marketing of the last several years, that I'm increasingly ambivalent
>>>>>>>>>> about and feel may be hurting us:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "Here's something else you might want to consider as you try to
>>>>>>>>>> decide on a career path. In today's world, most young writers need more than
>>>>>>>>>> two or three years of support to reach their ultimate goals: publishing
>>>>>>>>>> their first book. So you should definitely consider coming to Miami for an
>>>>>>>>>> M.A. before going elsewhere for a subsequent degree. Recent poetry M.A.s
>>>>>>>>>> have gone on, with full funding, to top Ph.D. and M.F.A. programs, including
>>>>>>>>>> Brown and Syracuse. Fiction M.A.s attend or have recently completed M.F.A.s
>>>>>>>>>> at Iowa Writers Workshop, University of Colorado (Boulder), University of
>>>>>>>>>> Memphis, San Diego State, Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon, and Ph.D.s at
>>>>>>>>>> Florida State and University of Cincinnati."
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> So I have a few worries:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> We are telegraphing that an MA is not as good as an MFA. But
>>>>>>>>>> unless someone wants to teach at the college level, it really makes no
>>>>>>>>>> difference. Our program is just as rigorous. When I first got here, most of
>>>>>>>>>> the fiction grad students didn't even realize there was a difference.
>>>>>>>>>> Because most of them wanted to be writers, not teachers of writing, there
>>>>>>>>>> actually was no difference. Now it seems like ALL of our fiction writers
>>>>>>>>>> come in wanting to be professors. I wonder if our marketing is turning off
>>>>>>>>>> potential applicants that want a place to go to become writers--not
>>>>>>>>>> professors. A tiny pool.
>>>>>>>>>> which leads me to my second ambivalence. There's no academic jobs!
>>>>>>>>>> While i think it's fair to take students planning on applying to MFAs or
>>>>>>>>>> PhDs in CW so long as they know the low odds, i think it's an ever dwindling
>>>>>>>>>> pool of potential applicants. The word is out. Very few of my undergraduates
>>>>>>>>>> ask me anymore about how to become a CW professor, whereas many did before.
>>>>>>>>>> This verbiage also is limiting. It seems to suggest that if one is
>>>>>>>>>> interested in further higher degrees, it would only be a creative writing
>>>>>>>>>> degree. But we've had graduates do comp rhet phds for example, that actually
>>>>>>>>>> do have much better job prospects. (and you don't need to publish a book
>>>>>>>>>> BEFORE getting a tenure track job; same with lit). Moreover, I think our
>>>>>>>>>> students gain resume skills and experience that are going to be marketable
>>>>>>>>>> for a variety of jobs and careers and I think we should say that. And not
>>>>>>>>>> just teaching GAs. Elizabeth Jenkins is doing publicity and web work for the
>>>>>>>>>> business school, for example--and she didn't get a GA. That will be valuable
>>>>>>>>>> in the work world. I think we should make our marketing verbiage, here and
>>>>>>>>>> elsewhere, not implicitly limiting to people interested in nonexistent CW
>>>>>>>>>> tenure line jobs. We should make people feel that they can come here
>>>>>>>>>> primarily trying to be writers, but that unlike typical MFA and MA programs
>>>>>>>>>> you simultaneously acquire valuable resume experience teaching or otherwise
>>>>>>>>>> that could be useful for a variety of jobs. I'd suggest adding examples of
>>>>>>>>>> people who used their teaching and other experience to get other kinds of
>>>>>>>>>> jobs or go on to other kinds of educational programs.
>>>>>>>>>> "Fiction MAs attend or have recently completed MFAs at ...Memphis,
>>>>>>>>>> San Diego State." Implies that our program is inferior to MFAs at less
>>>>>>>>>> prestigious universities. I don't really think there's a difference. Yes,
>>>>>>>>>> it's worth mentioning the top places like Iowa and Brown. But why not leave
>>>>>>>>>> it at that and then include lit phds at places like cambridge, and comp rhet
>>>>>>>>>> Phds at places like michigan state? Otherwise we imply inferiority to even
>>>>>>>>>> middling MFA programs at less prestigious universities.
>>>>>>>>>> "In today's world, most young writers need more than two or three
>>>>>>>>>> years of support to reach their ultimate goals: publishing their first
>>>>>>>>>> book." I actually disagree with this. People don't need to have support for
>>>>>>>>>> years and years. They come here, learn, work on their book, and leave and
>>>>>>>>>> get a normal job in the real world and develop their manuscripts. You don't
>>>>>>>>>> have to be teaching for peanuts with a high course load. I think that the
>>>>>>>>>> people who apply for more school are not the ones whose primary goal is
>>>>>>>>>> publishing a book, but who also want to be college teachers. Which is fine,
>>>>>>>>>> but there's not many left. Meanwhile, we are also telling everyone in this
>>>>>>>>>> sentence that our program is not good enough to help them produce a book.
>>>>>>>>>> Other places imply or state otherwise.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sorry if this sounds negative. everything else about the letter I
>>>>>>>>>> like. I just feel that humanities folks need to think about skill sets and a
>>>>>>>>>> variety of jobs, rather than training and encouraging people to want to be
>>>>>>>>>> professors in jobs that are disappearing. It undervalues the skill sets we
>>>>>>>>>> teach. And I also think that there's a vast pool of potential applicants who
>>>>>>>>>> just want to write, not teach, and the MA/MFA difference is one we
>>>>>>>>>> implicitly overstate.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>>>> Brian
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
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