English and Modern Languages – News

2020 ��ý Western Reading of Banned Books held virtually

kheier — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 17:53:38 +0000

Sept. 30, 2020–��ý’s 24th annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books in recognition of the American Library Association’s National Banned Books Week will be held virtually this year. The reading will premiere on YouTube at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, and will be available for later viewings as well. Watch at .

��ý Western students and faculty as well as members of the St. Joseph community hold an hour-long reading of books that have been either banned or challenged in U.S. schools and libraries in recent years, including works by Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, Kurt Vonnegut, Harper Lee, Angie Thomas, and more.

The event is sponsored by ��ý Western’s Department of Education, Department of Communication, the MWSU Library and the Prairie Lands Writing Project.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Cadden, professor of English and director of childhood studies, at 816-271-4576.

Permission for reading Families, Families, Families by Suzanne and Max Lang as part of this event has been granted by Random House.

��ý is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. ��ý Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.

News-Press NOW: Western students, faculty celebrate Chinese New Year

kheier — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 20:47:43 +0000

When a mythical beast came down from the top of a hill during the annual spring festival in China, he would devour livestock and villagers until an old man was able to drive the monster away using fire, firecrackers and the color red.

At least, that’s what the legends say.

The story serves as a basis for some of the Chinese New Year’s decorations and celebratory items, and ��ý Western was able to bring that culture to campus Tuesday afternoon.

Rice crackers and dumplings were served while paper signs symbolizing prosperity and good luck adorned the windows.

��ý Western hosts Chinese New Year celebration

kheier — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 21:20:20 +0000

Feb. 4, 2020—��ý will host a Chinese New Year celebration from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the Hoff Conference Rooms, Blum 218-219. The celebration is free and open to the public.

The celebration provides an introduction to Chinese culture, including food like dumplings and other snacks. It will also include poetry, music, games and gifts.

The celebration is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, the Department of English and Modern Language and the Global Center.

��ý is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. ��ý Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

��ý Western hosts Diwali celebration Oct. 24

kheier — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:09:06 +0000

Oct. 18, 2019—The Indian Student Association at ��ý will host its fifth annual celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights, at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 in the Hoff Conference Rooms, Blum Student Union rooms 218-219. The celebration is free and open to the public.

Diwali is celebrated by people of all cultures in India, and symbolizes the victory of good over evil. The ��ý Western celebration will feature authentic Indian food, dance performances, fireworks and floating lights.

The event is cosponsored by ��ý Western’s International Center, Student Government Association, the Graduate School, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department of English and Modern Languages and the Department of Biology.

Challenged and Banned Books Reading Sept. 26

kheier — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:04:08 +0000

Sept. 24, 2019—��ý will hold its 23^rd annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 in the Hoff Conference Room, Blum Student Union room 218. The event in recognition of the American Library Association’s National Banned Books Week is free and open to the public.

��ý Western students and faculty will be joined by community members to read selections from books that have been either banned or challenged in U.S. schools in recent years. Refreshments will be served following the reading.

The event is sponsored by the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of Education, the ��ý Western Library and the Prairie Lands Writing Project.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Cadden, professor of English, at 816-271-4576 or cadden@missouriwestern.edu.

News-Press NOW: Professor hopes trip will expand students’ horizons

kheier — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 13:50:37 +0000

By Daniel Cobb News-Press NOW, Jul 4, 2019

Trips overseas, regardless of the destination, make memories to last a lifetime, said Eduardo Castilla Ortiz, an assistant professor of Spanish at ��ý.

It’s an idea he’s been instilling in his students over the summer before their trip to Spain beginning Friday, July 5.

With a few days of intensive classes in preparation for the journey — which included learning history, slang and cultural mannerisms — behind them, students involved in the course also must present overseas, make frequent journal entries and have a written and oral final with Ortiz.

“I take them to cities that they would most likely hear (the language), such as Madrid, the capital, Seville, Granada and Barcelona. Though it may seem stereotypical, they demonstrate the richness and variety of the culture of Spain,” Ortiz said.

Read more and see the video version of this story at .

��ý Western faculty and staff honored

kheier — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 21:03:41 +0000

Aril 26, 2019—��ý faculty and staff were honored during the 2019 Faculty & Staff Awards and Retirement Reception April 26.

Award winners include:

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to Students

Susan Deering, University Police Department

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to Colleagues

Sherrilyn Schottel, Physical Plant

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to University

Robin Kelly, Department of Education

��ý Western Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence

Dr. Brett Luthans, Craig School of Business and Technology

Dana McDaniel, School of Nursing and Health Professions

Dawn Terrick, Department of English and Modern Languages

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James V. Mehl Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship

Dr. Marianne Kunkel, Department of English and Modern Languages

Dr. Amit Verma, Craig School of Business and Technology

Outstanding Academic Advisory Award

Dr. Jason Baker, Department of Biology

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James J. Scanlon Award for Staff Service to Community

Chad Edwards, Athletics

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James J. Scanlon Award for Faculty Service to Community

Jana Frye, Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies and Social Work

Student Employee Supervisor of the Year Award

Dr. Susan Bashinski, Department of Education

In addition, 18 employees were honored for their retirement during the 2018-2019 academic year, and 72 employees were recognized for years of service in five-year increments ranging from five years to 40.

Poet Kwame Dawes to give reading at ��ý Western March 6

kheier — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 16:32:44 +0000

Feb. 25, 2019—Poet, editor, and Emmy winner Kwame Dawes will give a public reading of his work at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, in the Potter Hall Theater on the campus of ��ý. “Verse & Twirl: An Evening with Kwame Dawes and MWSU Dancers” is free and open to the public. ��ý Western dance students, led by Marla Heeler, will perform several choreographed adaptations of Dawes’ poems before and after his reading. Dawes will sign copies of his books during a reception following the event.

Kwame Dawes has authored 35 books of poetry, fiction, criticism, and essays, including, most recently, Bivouac (Akashic Books, 2019) and City of Bones: A Testament (Northwestern, 2017). Speak from Here to There (Peepal Tree Press), co-written with Australian poet John Kinsella, appeared in 2016. He is Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner and Chancellor’s Professor of English at the University of Nebraska. He is also a faculty member in the Pacific MFA Program. He is Director of the African Poetry Book Fund and Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. Dawes is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2009, Dawes won an Emmy for LiveHopeLove.com, an interactive site based on Kwame Dawes’s Pulitzer Center project, HOPE: Living and loving with AIDS in Jamaica.

Copies of the Spring 2019 issue of The Mochila Review, ��ý Western’s national undergraduate literary journal, will also be available at the event. The issue features an interview with Dawes, who served as guest judge for Mochila’s annual contest for undergraduate writers. From more than 100 applicants, Dawes selected as the contest winner Jennifer Woolard’s poem “Whalebone,” which will appear in The Mochila Review’s Spring 2019 issue.

“We’re honored to have an author of Dawes’ caliber come to our campus,” said Dr. Marianne Kunkel, editor of The Mochila Review. “This event is an incredible opportunity for our students to stand face-to-face with a successful author and editor, and I’m thrilled that we can partner with MWSU’s School of Fine Arts to showcase our student dancers as well.”

Dawes’ appearance is made possible through a grant from the MWSU Arts Society, as well as support from ��ý Western’s English and Modern Languages department, the St. Joseph Public Library, and Rolling Hills Public Library.

To learn more about Dawes, visit . For more information about The Mochila Review, visit .

Banned Books Reading Sept. 27

kheier — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 16:07:39 +0000

��ý will host its 22^nd annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books in recognition of the American Library Association’s National Banned Books Week from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27 in the Hoff Conference Room, Blum Student Union room 218. The reading is free and open to the public.

��ý Western students and faculty will be joined by members of the St. Joseph community to read from books that have been either banned or challenged in U.S. schools in recent years. Refreshments will be served following the reading.

The event is sponsored by ��ý Western’s Department of English and Modern Languages, Department of Education, Library, and the Prairie Lands Writing Project.

For more information, contact Dr. Mike Cadden, professor of English, at 816-271-4576 or cadden@missouriwestern.edu.

MWSU honors retirees, award winners

kheier — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 17:53:41 +0000

From left: Award recipients Kip Wilson, Judy Chambers, Kathy Kelly, Fumi Matsumoto Cheever, Shelle Browning, Teresa Crist, Julie Jedlicka, Heather Kendall and Nathanael May. Not pictured: Edwin Taylor.

��ý honored ten award winners at its annual Faculty and Staff Awards and Retirement Reception on Friday, April 27. The University also honored 19 retiring employees.

Award recipients were:

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to Students

Fumi Matsumoto Cheever, International Student Services, International Student Services

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to Colleagues

Judy Chambers, Registrar’s Office

��ý Western Foundation Award for Staff Service to University

Shelle Browning, Physical Plant

��ý Western Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence

Dr. Edwin Taylor III, Department of Economics, Political Science and Sociology

Heather Kendall, School of Nursing and Health Professions

Dr. Nathanael May, Department of Music

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James V. Mehl Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship

Dr. Julie Jedlicka, Department of Biology

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James J. Scanlon Award for Staff Service to Community

Kathy Kelly, Steven L. Craig School of Business

��ý Western Foundation Dr. James J. Scanlon Award for Faculty Service to Community

Kip Wilson, Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies and Social Work

Student Employee Supervisor of the Year Award

Teresa Crist, Student Affairs

The following employees were honored for their retirement during the current academic year:

Belinda Ball, Western Institute; Robert Bidding, University Police Department; Dr. Carolyn Brose, School of Nursing and Health Professions; Dr. Susan Carter, Department of Music; Dr. Martha Claflin, Department of Education; Michael Clark, University Police Department; Dr. John Courington, Department of Economics, Political Science and Sociology; Dr. Jeanie Crain, Department of English and Modern Languages; Dr. Jeanne Daffron, Academic Affairs; Dr. John Ellis, Department of Education; Rodema Gnuschke, Library; Dr. Christopher Godfrey, Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics; Dr. Michael Lane, Steven L. Craig School of Business; Dr. Timothy Miller, Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics; Susan Montee, Steven L. Craig School of Business; Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Professional Studies; Jon Recob, Physical Plant; Dr. Michael Smith, Department of Education; Dr. Daniel Trifan, Department of History, Philosophy and Geography

English and Modern Languages – News

2020 ����ý Western Reading of Banned Books held virtually