English Department Annual Events
Skidmore's annual Frances Steloff Lecture honors the work of a major literary figure. The Steloff Lecture series was established in 1967 at Skidmore by Frances Steloff, a native of Saratoga Springs, founder of the Gotham Book Mart in New York City, and well-known patron of writers. She endowed the lecture series as a way to bring outstanding literary and artistic talent to the college. Notable Steloff speakers have included five Nobel Prize winners and dozens of the world’s most important writers. Previous Steloff honorees include Mario Vargas Llosa, Nadine Gordimer, Seamus Heaney, J.M. Coetzee, Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, Colm Toibin, Don DeLillo, Marilynne Robinson, John Banville, and Joyce Carol Oates, among many others.
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The Fox-Adler Lecture series was founded in 1991 and commemorates Skidmore’s Norman M. Fox Collection, which features approximately 400 books by prominent Victorian authors and illustrators. Housed in Special Collections in the Lucy Scribner Library, the Fox Collection has fostered scholarship and played an integral part in students’ learning in courses and independent academic work. This annual lecture features a distinguished scholar or practicing artist, and focuses on the creation, history, culture, and/or theoretical significance of illustrated works, ranging from books and magazines for adults to children’s literature. Notably Fox-Adler speakers include Françoise Mouly, George Landow, Barry Moser, Scott McCloud, Jonathan Bate, and Michael Kimmelman.
On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, New Orleans-based author Michael Tisserand will speak on George Herriman and his famous comic strip Krazy Kat, syndicated in newspapers from 1913-44. Tisserand is the author of Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White (2016), the first full-length biography of a cartoonist who lived his life on America’s color line; Herriman was of African-American descent, but his prominent Creole family hid their racial identity. Tisserand will illuminate the artist’s insights into American culture through the comic strip. He will share his original research into Herriman’s family history and interviews conducted with Herriman’s surviving friends and family. It is our hope that the lecture will be held in Gannett Auditorium at 5:30 p.m.
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Every year the English faculty host a “Critical Futures” event, in which members of the department synthesize for students (and their colleagues) the most exciting and innovative developments within the field of literary studies. Centering on the research of faculty members, recent Critical Futures events have focused on disability studies, ecocriticism, and thing theory.
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“Why Read Aloud?” is an annual event that began in 2001 in order to bring students and faculty together to share their love of literature. The program celebrates the experience of communal listening and the spoken word. Since 2006, the program has been called “Why Read Aloud?: The Megan Rogers Annual Festival” in honor of the life of the 2003 graduate, who died of leukemia shortly after graduating. Megan Rogers was a beloved student, who majored in English and enjoyed all the aspects of this annual event. In recent years, the “Why Read Aloud?” program has focused on marathon readings of single literary texts, such as John Milton’s Paradise Lost and James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Calendar of Events and Important Dates - spring 2022
January 25
Classes begin
January 27
Last day to add a class without a signature
February 1
Internship for credit deadline
February 4
Department Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Zoom
February 4
Faculty Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Zoom
February 8
Drop and/or change to Audit deadline
February 10
Q&A w/students & Richie Hofmann, 5:30 p.m., Emerson Auditorium
February 10
Poetry reading w Richie Hofmann, 7 p.m., Emerson Auditorium
February 17
Prof. Mintz’s virtual book launch with Northshire Bookstore for Love Affair in the Garden of Milton, 6 p.m., see Northshire’s website for ticket information.
February 18
Critical Futures w/Profs. Benzon, Cermatori, and Wientzen, 5:30 pm, Davis Auditorium
February 22
Prof. Fawcett’s virtual book launch with Northshire Bookstore for Beneath the Stairs, 6 p.m., see Northshire’s website for ticket information.
February 24-25
ADE-MLA consultancy. Early Thursday evening and all-day Friday.
February 28
Exploremore w/Profs. Bernard and Cermatori, 5:30 pm, BOL 382
March 3
Creative Writing Reading with Professor Hrbek, 6-7:30 p.m., Wilson Chapel
March 4
Department Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Zoom
March 4
Faculty Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Zoom
March 11
Major Declaration Deadline (class of 2024)
March 12-20
Spring Break
March 24
Capstone Options meeting with Prof. Greenspan, 5:15 p.m., PMH 304
March 25
After the English Major w/ Prof. Hrbek and Junkerman, 3 p.m., BOL 281
March 25
3rd Annual Humanistic Symposium, 3-6:30 p.m., Tang Teaching Museum
March 26
3rd Annual Humanistic Symposium, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Tang Teaching Museum
March 28
Advising period begins
March 28
Open Mic Night: Grief and Healing with Prof. Cermatori, 7 p.m., Davis Auditorium
March 31
Mark Wunderlich Poetry Reading, 6-7:30 p.m., Wilson Chapel
April 1
Department Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Zoom
April 1
Faculty Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Zoom
April 5
Registration for Fall 2022 begins
April 7
Marty Baron, Zankel, time TBD
April 14
Coffee Hour w/Student Reps, Porter Plaza, 9-11 a.m. Rain location: Ladd 107
April 14
Withdrawal deadline
April 14
Moseley Lecture featuring Professor Susannah Mintz
April 21
Creative Writing Reading, 6-7:30 p.m., Wilson Chapel
April 29
English Department Writing Awards Ceremony, 1:45 p.m., BOL 281
April 29
Department Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Zoom
April 29
Faculty Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Zoom
May 3
Last Day of Classes
May 4
Academic Festival
May 4
Honors Convocation
May 5
Open Mic for Creative Writing students, 6-8 p.m., Wilson Chapel
May 5-8
Study Days
May 9-12
Final Examinations
May 12
Senior grades due from faculty
May 13
Spring semester ends
May 16-20
Senior Week
May 18
Faculty Meeting, 10 a.m., Gannett Auditorium and Zoom (hybrid)
May 21
Commencement
May 24
Non-Senior grades due from the faculty
June 24
Incomplete grades due from Faculty