English

Allegheny College senior Heather Bosau, of Mentor, Ohio, has been awarded a Pennsylvania House Legislative Fellowship for 13 weeks beginning in late January 2017. Allegheny students have been selected for three consecutive years for the highly competitive fellowship program, which puts students in the offices of committee chairmen or other leaders in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Established in 1982 by the Pennsylvania House’s Bipartisan Management Committee, the program gives fellows an intimate look into the daily workings of government, allowing them to attend hearings, committee meetings and the legislative session, as well as conduct research and draft bill analyses. As a final project, each fellow will research and then draft a piece of legislation to present to the House.

“I have heard nothing but good things about this opportunity and the in-depth look it provides to the functioning of the law,” says Bosau, an English major with a self-designed minor in social justice and legal studies. “I hope to gain a better understanding of the processes of our state government as well as a more developed perspective regarding the development and codification of state law.”

After graduation, Bosau intends to attend law school and then begin her career as a public defender. She hopes to shift eventually into policy work and prison reform. The Pennsylvania House fellowship complements Bosau’s career goals — since the start of the program, over 35 percent of participants have found employment in government.

Patrick Jackson, a visiting professor of history and religious studies, advises Allegheny students like Bosau who are applying for competitive awards and fellowships. “This fellowship gives participants unparalleled access to the inner workings of state-level government,” he says. “Fellows get to see the give-and-take, or lack thereof, that either helps government to work or keeps it mired in partisan bickering. There’s great value in seeing how the government actually works.”

Bosau will bring a wide range of internship, research and leadership experience to her fellowship. She has spent the past three semesters interning at the Crawford County Public Defender’s Office. Bosau has also interned at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, New York, conducted summer research through the English and political science departments, served as president of both the Pre-Law Club and the Allegheny College chapter of Amnesty International, and is a fellow with the college’s Center for Political Participation. In addition, she has been awarded the Sara Homer Junior Major Prize from the English department and the Walter Jacobson Essay Prize from the political science department.

“Heather has been preparing to apply for this fellowship for more than a year, carefully picking her courses and pursuing internships that have helped make her an attractive candidate,” Jackson says. “She’s interested in a career in law, and this experience will no doubt inform the way she approaches her future work.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny College senior Heather Bosau, of Mentor, Ohio, has been awarded a Pennsylvania House Legislative Fellowship for 13 weeks beginning in late January 2017. Allegheny students have been selected for three consecutive years for the highly competitive fellowship program, which puts students in the offices of committee chairmen or other leaders in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Established in 1982 by the Pennsylvania House’s Bipartisan Management Committee, the program gives fellows an intimate look into the daily workings of government, allowing them to attend hearings, committee meetings and the legislative session, as well as conduct research and draft bill analyses. As a final project, each fellow will research and then draft a piece of legislation to present to the House.

“I have heard nothing but good things about this opportunity and the in-depth look it provides to the functioning of the law,” says Bosau, an English major with a self-designed minor in social justice and legal studies. “I hope to gain a better understanding of the processes of our state government as well as a more developed perspective regarding the development and codification of state law.”

After graduation, Bosau intends to attend law school and then begin her career as a public defender. She hopes to shift eventually into policy work and prison reform. The Pennsylvania House fellowship complements Bosau’s career goals — since the start of the program, over 35 percent of participants have found employment in government.

Patrick Jackson, a visiting professor of history and religious studies, advises Allegheny students like Bosau who are applying for competitive awards and fellowships. “This fellowship gives participants unparalleled access to the inner workings of state-level government,” he says. “Fellows get to see the give-and-take, or lack thereof, that either helps government to work or keeps it mired in partisan bickering. There’s great value in seeing how the government actually works.”

Bosau will bring a wide range of internship, research and leadership experience to her fellowship. She has spent the past three semesters interning at the Crawford County Public Defender’s Office. Bosau has also interned at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, New York, conducted summer research through the English and political science departments, served as president of both the Pre-Law Club and the Allegheny College chapter of Amnesty International, and is a fellow with the college’s Center for Political Participation. In addition, she has been awarded the Sara Homer Junior Major Prize from the English department and the Walter Jacobson Essay Prize from the political science department.

“Heather has been preparing to apply for this fellowship for more than a year, carefully picking her courses and pursuing internships that have helped make her an attractive candidate,” Jackson says. “She’s interested in a career in law, and this experience will no doubt inform the way she approaches her future work.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Assistant Professor of English John MacNeill Miller delivered two presentations on his research in early November. The first, at the annual meeting of the North American Victorian Studies Association in Phoenix, was entitled “Society Without Humanity: Forms of Ecology in the Victorian Novel.” The second talk, on “Charles Darwin, Thomas Hardy, and the Art of Environmental Storytelling,” was delivered as part of the Karl W. Weiss ’87 Faculty Lecture Series at Allegheny.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Assistant Professor of English John MacNeill Miller delivered two presentations on his research in early November. The first, at the annual meeting of the North American Victorian Studies Association in Phoenix, was entitled “Society Without Humanity: Forms of Ecology in the Victorian Novel.” The second talk, on “Charles Darwin, Thomas Hardy, and the Art of Environmental Storytelling,” was delivered as part of the Karl W. Weiss ’87 Faculty Lecture Series at Allegheny.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Alexis Hart presented a talk titled “Connecting College and Community: Meadville’s Military Matters” at The Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference held at Penn State. Hart also published an “article of the week” on the GLCA Consortium for Teaching and Learning (CTL) blog (https://glcateachlearn.org/2016/10/23/digital-liberal-arts-alexis-hart-allegheny/ .

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Alexis Hart presented a talk titled “Connecting College and Community: Meadville’s Military Matters” at The Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference held at Penn State. Hart also published an “article of the week” on the GLCA Consortium for Teaching and Learning (CTL) blog (https://glcateachlearn.org/2016/10/23/digital-liberal-arts-alexis-hart-allegheny/ .

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Ross Howell Jr.’s life of late has revolved around the history of the Jim Crow South and one woman in particular: Virginia Christian.

In his debut novel, “Forsaken,” Howell tells the story of Christian, a black girl tried and convicted for killing a white widow in 1912 Hampton, Va., and Charlie Mears, the journalist who tries to save her life. It’s a story based on true events — Christian is the only female juvenile executed in Virginia history — and one that had Howell hooked from the start. He spent three years researching and writing.

“That idea of bringing history alive has always fascinated me,” said Howell, who worked as director of communications at Allegheny College from 1979 to 1981 and was responsible for re-launching the Allegheny magazine under its current name.

Howell recently visited campus to speak with creative writing students and sign copies of his book, published this year by NewSouth Books. It was a homecoming of sorts.

Working at Allegheny was “one of the first professional positions I had and it was one of the greatest learning experiences I’ve had,” Howell said.

Howell returned to Allegheny to pass some of that knowledge on to aspiring writers, offering advice on how to navigate the publishing industry (write a query letter that can’t be ignored) and how to start writing (draw inspiration from other authors).

“You’ll find yourself imitating, and that’s part of the process,” Howell told a small group of creative writing students. “As you write more, you’ll find your voice.”

Good writing is about editing, he said.

“It wasn’t until midway in my professional career when I realized the importance of editing,” he said. “Even with things that seem to leap onto your laptop, step back and wait a couple of days and let someone else read it.”

Howell was blunt when speaking about the publishing industry and the difficult path would-be authors face. Researching publishing houses and finding an agent who is willing to fight for a book’s publication is key, he said. And a published book is no guarantee of a financial windfall: “Forsaken” retails for $27.95 per copy; Howell said he receives $1.50 of that.

“There may be a JK Rowling sitting here right now, but more likely there’s someone else sitting here” who should expect to earn much less than the billionaire author of the “Harry Potter” franchise, he said during a workshop with students and other community members.

Howell spoke with fondness about his tenure at Allegheny.

Charged by then-President David Baily Harned with giving new life to the college’s magazine, he lined up student essayists and faculty members who could write about their areas of expertise. One of those students was Chris Allison ’83, Allegheny’s entrepreneur in residence and co-director of the Center for Business and Economics.

Allison, who also serves on the college’s Board of Trustees, considers Howell a friend and mentor and arranged his visit to Allegheny.

“Ross was really a very influential and inspirational person in my life,” said Allison, himself the author of two books, “You’ll Manage: Lessons Learned from a Former CEO” and “Snowflakes and Other Stories.”

“He was one of my heroes growing up. I wanted to be like him. He was so smart and thoughtful and such a great writer. One of the emotions that went through my mind as I read his novel in draft — I was kind of shaking my head and went in to talk to my wife and she said ‘Why are you smiling?’ — was that, as hard as I work, I’m never going to be as good as Ross. I’m going to keep trying, but I don’t think I can get there.”

Howell remembers the pride he felt when the first issue of the revamped magazine was published. The cover featured Allegheny alumnus Ben Burtt, a four-time Academy Award winner for sound editing.

“I felt that it was something of excellence that we all worked hard on,” Howell said.

It’s the same pride he feels as a novelist today when he finds just the right words.

“When I feel like I’ve done my very best on something, that gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride that I don’t get any other way,” he said.

Heather Bosau, a 21-year-old senior and English major, said she appreciated hearing Howell’s insights as she works to finish her senior comprehensive project, a collection of three short stories.

“Having the perspective of someone who has gone through a similar but longer process, that’s valuable,” Bosau said.

Assistant Professor of English Matthew Ferrence said Howell reaffirmed what he is teaching and talking about in the classroom.

“It’s always helpful for students to hear it from another voice,” Ferrence said. “We’re preoccupied with the craft choices, so we don’t talk much about the marketing and business side of writing. It’s nice having someone come in and talk about that next stage of the career.”

Howell, meanwhile, is at work a new novel featuring a familiar name. Fans of Charlie Mears will meet the dogged reporter of “Forsaken” again.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Ross Howell Jr.’s life of late has revolved around the history of the Jim Crow South and one woman in particular: Virginia Christian.

In his debut novel, “Forsaken,” Howell tells the story of Christian, a black girl tried and convicted for killing a white widow in 1912 Hampton, Va., and Charlie Mears, the journalist who tries to save her life. It’s a story based on true events — Christian is the only female juvenile executed in Virginia history — and one that had Howell hooked from the start. He spent three years researching and writing.

“That idea of bringing history alive has always fascinated me,” said Howell, who worked as director of communications at Allegheny College from 1979 to 1981 and was responsible for re-launching the Allegheny magazine under its current name.

Howell recently visited campus to speak with creative writing students and sign copies of his book, published this year by NewSouth Books. It was a homecoming of sorts.

Working at Allegheny was “one of the first professional positions I had and it was one of the greatest learning experiences I’ve had,” Howell said.

Howell returned to Allegheny to pass some of that knowledge on to aspiring writers, offering advice on how to navigate the publishing industry (write a query letter that can’t be ignored) and how to start writing (draw inspiration from other authors).

“You’ll find yourself imitating, and that’s part of the process,” Howell told a small group of creative writing students. “As you write more, you’ll find your voice.”

Good writing is about editing, he said.

“It wasn’t until midway in my professional career when I realized the importance of editing,” he said. “Even with things that seem to leap onto your laptop, step back and wait a couple of days and let someone else read it.”

Howell was blunt when speaking about the publishing industry and the difficult path would-be authors face. Researching publishing houses and finding an agent who is willing to fight for a book’s publication is key, he said. And a published book is no guarantee of a financial windfall: “Forsaken” retails for $27.95 per copy; Howell said he receives $1.50 of that.

“There may be a JK Rowling sitting here right now, but more likely there’s someone else sitting here” who should expect to earn much less than the billionaire author of the “Harry Potter” franchise, he said during a workshop with students and other community members.

Howell spoke with fondness about his tenure at Allegheny.

Charged by then-President David Baily Harned with giving new life to the college’s magazine, he lined up student essayists and faculty members who could write about their areas of expertise. One of those students was Chris Allison ’83, Allegheny’s entrepreneur in residence and co-director of the Center for Business and Economics.

Allison, who also serves on the college’s Board of Trustees, considers Howell a friend and mentor and arranged his visit to Allegheny.

“Ross was really a very influential and inspirational person in my life,” said Allison, himself the author of two books, “You’ll Manage: Lessons Learned from a Former CEO” and “Snowflakes and Other Stories.”

“He was one of my heroes growing up. I wanted to be like him. He was so smart and thoughtful and such a great writer. One of the emotions that went through my mind as I read his novel in draft — I was kind of shaking my head and went in to talk to my wife and she said ‘Why are you smiling?’ — was that, as hard as I work, I’m never going to be as good as Ross. I’m going to keep trying, but I don’t think I can get there.”

Howell remembers the pride he felt when the first issue of the revamped magazine was published. The cover featured Allegheny alumnus Ben Burtt, a four-time Academy Award winner for sound editing.

“I felt that it was something of excellence that we all worked hard on,” Howell said.

It’s the same pride he feels as a novelist today when he finds just the right words.

“When I feel like I’ve done my very best on something, that gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride that I don’t get any other way,” he said.

Heather Bosau, a 21-year-old senior and English major, said she appreciated hearing Howell’s insights as she works to finish her senior comprehensive project, a collection of three short stories.

“Having the perspective of someone who has gone through a similar but longer process, that’s valuable,” Bosau said.

Assistant Professor of English Matthew Ferrence said Howell reaffirmed what he is teaching and talking about in the classroom.

“It’s always helpful for students to hear it from another voice,” Ferrence said. “We’re preoccupied with the craft choices, so we don’t talk much about the marketing and business side of writing. It’s nice having someone come in and talk about that next stage of the career.”

Howell, meanwhile, is at work a new novel featuring a familiar name. Fans of Charlie Mears will meet the dogged reporter of “Forsaken” again.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Alexis Hart’s guest-edited roundtable of veterans’ voice was published in Volume 16 of the journal Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/631055

Source: Academics, Publications & Research