- maenglish@lists.qc.cuny.edu - QC Mailman 3 Archives

[EnglishMA] Spring 2025 Beginning of Semester Message
by William Orchard 23 Jan '25

23 Jan '25

Dear Graduate Students, Spring 2025 officially begins this Saturday, January 25. Because the semester begins on a Saturday, tomorrow (Friday, January 24) is the last day that you can drop and still get a full refund. Please read carefully through these important beginning-of-the-semester announcements. Wishing you a wonderful spring semester! Best, Bill QC English MA Program Spring 2024 Announcements CALENDAR The Spring 2025 semester begins on Saturday, January 25. You can find the QC academic calendar with important dates and deadlines at https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-calendars/. The last day to DROP classes for a 100% tuition refund is Friday, January 24. The last day to ADD classes is Friday, January 31. Other important dates to keep in mind: * There are no classes on Wednesday, January 29; Wednesday, February 12; and Monday, February 17. * Classes follow a Monday schedule on Thursday, February 18. * Classes follow a Wednesday schedule on Thursday, March 6. * There are no classes during Spring Recess, Saturday, April 12 to Sunday, April 20. * The last day of classes is Wednesday, May 15, and the spring semester officially ends on May 22. * The last day to drop classes and receive a grade of W is April 1. SPRING 2025 ADVISING If you have any questions or need help, please email MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>. You can also contact us individually at: Prof. Bill Orchard, Director of Graduate Studies (English MA) Email: william.orchard(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:william.orchard@qc.cuny.edu> Prof. Cliff Mak, Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Email: cmak(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:cmak@qc.cuny.edu> Email is the easiest and fastest way to reach us, but if you would like to request a virtual appointment, please email us with your availability and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please be sure to check your QC email regularly (or set up forwarding to your primary email), as the College and your professors may be communicating with you that way. For routine inquiries (e.g., for faculty contact info), please consult the English Department website at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ CHECK (AND DOUBLE-CHECK) YOUR SCHEDULE Before the semester begins, please take a moment to log-in to your CUNYfirst account and check that you’re registered for your courses. If for some reason your registration has been canceled by the Bursar, or if you’re registered for the wrong courses, it’s much easier to sort out any issues if they’re caught before the semester begins. The following courses are offered entirely online: English 643, 733, and 781-02. The instructors should contact you by Friday with information about how to attend the first class. If, by the first day of the spring semester, you haven’t yet heard from your professors about how to join and access their classes online, you can email them to ask for this information. Faculty contact info can be found on the department website at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/people/#office-hours. ADDING A COURSE / REQUESTING AN OVERTALLY If you’re looking to add a spring course, there are open seats in ENGL 636 (Literary Theory for Graduate Study), 701 (Graduate Methodologies), 719 (Chaucer), 729 (Modern Literature) and 781-01 (American HIV/AIDS Narratives). Course descriptions are available on the English Department website. The course descriptions are also attached to this message. Please confirm current availability by checking the Schedule of Classes on CUNYfirst. If you wish to overtally into a class that is already closed, please contact us to be placed on a waiting list. Opportunities to enroll in some of the closed sections may become possible in the next two days. SUMMER REGISTRATION Summer registration will happen later this year than usual. It will likely begin in March, and we’ll send out notices when you are able to register. We know that we will offer two classes in the four-week session: American Women Playwrights (with Rhoda Sirlin) and Medieval Epic (with Edward Currie). In the second week session, we’ll offer Latinx Childhood (with William Orchard) and 20th Century American Poetry: Modernism to Postmodernism (with James Ritchie). LIBRARY The library’s main website went down over the break. They are working on repairing it, but, if you need to use the library’s tool in the meantime, you can use the follow the following links, which still work:  One Search<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  Databases A-Z<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…> (Also, chat with a librarian available on right side).  Guides<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  E-Reserves for Students<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  Ask a Librarian - Chat<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  Ask a Librarian - Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  Interlibrary Loan ILLiad<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>  Borrowing & Circulation - Email<mailto:QC_ask_circ@qc.cuny.edu>  Library Hours<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/hb4e4idab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001n4QoAPh…>

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[EnglishMA] Reminder: Thesis Sign-Up Forms Due January 6
by William Orchard 02 Jan '25

02 Jan '25

Hello All, I hope that your new year has started well. I’m writing to remind you that, if you are planning to complete your culminating thesis essay in the Spring 2025 semester, the sign-up forms are due on Monday, January 6, 2025. To sign up for the thesis, you need: * A completed sign-up form (attached) * A thesis proposal (about 500 words) * Approval from your thesis adviser * Confirmation from your second reader that they will be participating in your thesis Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY

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[EnglishMA] End of the Semester Announcements
by William Orchard 10 Dec '24

10 Dec '24

Hello All, I hope that your semester is ending well. I’m writing with a few announcements: SPRING REGISTRATION Please remember to register for Spring classes as soon as you can. Shortly after the semester concludes, the Dean make determinations about canceling classes with low enrollments. If you intend to take a class, it would be good to enroll in it soon. I’ve attached the Spring course descriptions to this message. Right now, everything is open except for ENGL 643 (Young Adult Literature) and ENGL 781-02 (Horror, the Gothic, and the Weird). If you are interested in those classes, contact me to be placed on the department’s wait list. SPRING THESIS WRITERS If you intend to write your culminating thesis in the Spring semester and have not attended a Thesis Information Session, please contact us. To register for that class, you will need to submit a proposal form that requires the approval of a thesis adviser. Because faculty are not as available once the semester starts, you should try to get in contact with your potential adviser before the term ends. The deadline for Spring 2025 thesis proposal forms is January 6, 2025. INCOMPLETES The Office of Graduate Studies is beginning to enforce the existing rules about Incompletes. If you take an incomplete, please remember that you should be passing the class at the time you request the incomplete. You have two semesters to complete an incomplete. Thus, a Fall 2024 incomplete can be finished as late as Fall 2025. If you don’t complete it in that time, you’ll be asked to retake the class. Accelerated students who are still undergraduates should avoid taking incompletes because they can affect your graduation. If you are an accelerated student in this situation, contact Bill to go over your options. SUMMER 2025 REGISTRATION The College is changing its summer schedule. There will be a 4-week session and a 7-(instead of 6) week session. The first one runs through June, as in previous years. The second runs right up until the start of classes. Registration for these begins in March. We know, though, that in the 4-week session we will have a class on Medieval Epic and on American Women Playwrights. In the seven-week session, we’ll have classes on Latinx Childhood and on Modern & Postmodern Poetry. Further information on these will be sent out at the start of the next semester. CCNY PUBLISHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM The staff at City College have asked us to share information about their Publishing Certificate Program. I’ve attached their flyer to this message. This is a separate program for undergrads and grad students interested in careers in publishing. The courses can’t be used to satisfy MA requirements, but you can register for some of their courses as an MA student. See their attached flyer for details. MA CONFERENCE Over the winter break, we’ll have a meeting or two about the MA Student Conference, which is scheduled for March 10, 2025. If you are interested in being on the planning committee, which comes up with the theme, selects the papers, and organizes the program, please send me an email at William.Orchard(a)qc.cuny.edu. Conference planning is item that you can add to your CV or resume as you move forward in your career. It’s also a chance to get to know other students and faculty in the department. If you have any questions as the semester ends, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, I hope that your final work goes well and wish a wonderful winter break! Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY

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[EnglishMA] Reminder: Thesis Information Session Tonight
by William Orchard 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

Hello all, This is just a reminder that we’ll be holding a thesis information session for those who are planning to write their theses in Spring 2025 at 6 pm today. If you want to attend, email me and I’ll respond with the Zoom link. Best, Bill

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[EnglishMA] Thesis Info Session, MFA Open House, and Wait Lists
by William Orchard 14 Nov '24

14 Nov '24

Dear All, I hope your semester is going well. On Thursday, November 21, at 6 pm, we’ll hold a Thesis Information Session for those who are planning to complete their theses in Spring 2025. We’ll go over the thesis proposal, locating an adviser and second reader, registering for the thesis course, and give an overview of how the thesis class will work in the Spring. If you plan to attend, please email me and I’ll reply with a Zoom link for the meeting. On Wednesday, November 20, the MFA Program in Creative Writing will hold a virtual open house. Several recent MA students have continued their educations in the MFA program in recent years. The program is focused on developing you as a professional writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry. The Queens College MFA program<https://electricliterature.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63307d521ef0e3…> attracts students dedicated to crossing boundaries in genre, craft, and language. Classes are small, mostly in the evening, and students work closely with faculty mentors. Join an exciting creative community with affordable public university tuition in an urban environment with a verdant 80-acre campus. To find out more, please join the virtual open house on Wednesday, November 20, from 6 – 7 PM EST. Register HERE<https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sfu2trzovGNeX8IPOsdi5nHanI-CPfA…>. The flyer for this meeting is pasted below. Finally, some of our classes for the Spring—643 (YA Literature) and 781 (The Gothic, The Weird, and Horror)—are currently closed. However, we do have wait lists for the classes. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please email me or Cliff and we can put you on it. We usually are able to accommodate most students on the wait lists each semester. If you haven’t registered yet, please do as soon as you can. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY [cid:image001.jpg@01DB3680.68DF2590]

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[EnglishMA] Spring 2025 Pre-Registration for English MA Courses
by William Orchard 31 Oct '24

31 Oct '24

Dear MA Students, Next week, from October 31 to November 1, pre-registration for Spring 2025 occurs. Below, I’ve pasted information about pre-registration, which I have also included as a pdf file attached to this message. Descriptions for our Spring 2025 course offerings are also attached to this message. Accelerated BA/MA students who will still be undergrads in the Spring 2025 should set up short advising appointments with us before registering. If a class that you are interested in closed, please contact me to be put on the class wait list. We are usually able to accommodate students on the wait lists before the semester starts. The Summer 2025 course schedule is running late, but we will send that to you once that registrar has assigned codes for our classes. We do know that, in the first short session, we’ll offer two classes—Medieval Epic and American Women Playwrights. In the second session, we’ll offer Latinx Childhood and a class on 20th Century American Poetry. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>. Best, Bill Preregistration for English MA Courses Spring 2025 Preregistration for Spring 2025 English MA courses will take place Thursday, October 31, 2024, through Friday, November 1, 2024. (Please note the shortened time period of it this semester). Matriculated MA, MAT, and MS Ed students in good academic standing (i.e., minimum average 3.0 GPA and no outstanding INCs) are eligible for and strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to sign up early for classes. Accelerated students who will still be undergraduates in Spring 2025 and are in good academic standing are also eligible to preregister for English MA courses. To register for graduate classes in the Spring 2025, accelerated students should schedule an appointment with one of the directors of graduate studies. The appointment can be in-person or over Zoom. Please carefully read the following preregistration instructions and FAQs, including a breakdown of program requirements for MA, MAT, MS Ed, and Accelerated students. Spring 2025 course descriptions are attached separately. Note: the majority of our graduate English courses in Spring 2025 will be meeting in person, with a few fully online courses (ENGL 643, 733, and 781- 02). If you have any questions or need advising, please email the current Directors of Graduate Studies in English—Bill Orchard (william.orchard(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:william.orchard@qc.cuny.edu>) and Clifford Mak (cmak(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:cmak@qc.cuny.edu>). Instructions for Preregistration via Email During the Spring 2025 preregistration period of October 31 to November 1 only, please email MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu> with the following info: 1. Your full name 2. Your program (MA, MAT, MS Ed, or Accelerated) 3. Your 8-digit CUNY ID# 4. The courses you’d like to register for, with their 4- or 5-digit class codes (e.g., ENGL 636, code 25703) Students may preregister for up to 3 spring courses. Preregistration requests will be processed within 24 hours and in the order they are received. You will receive a confirmation email once you’ve been registered, asking you to log onto CUNYfirst and double-check your schedule. Preregistration FAQs Who is eligible to preregister for English MA classes? All matriculated MA, MAT, and MS Ed students are eligible to preregister for courses as long as they have an active CUNYfirst account and are in good academic standing. If your GPA has fallen below 3.0 or if you’re carrying incompletes on your record from a previous semester, you should seek advising with one of the Directors of Graduate Studies, Bill Orchard or Cliff Mak, before trying to preregister. Accelerated English BA/MA students who will still be undergraduates in Spring 2025 can also pre-register but must schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with one of the directors of graduate studies. Accelerated students who are planning to graduate with their BAs in Fall 2024 semester will not yet be able to register for fall graduate courses. Only once their BA graduation has been approved and their status in the English MA program has officially been activated on CUNYfirst can they then register for their Spring 2025 MA courses. This will likely occur in late November. Please contact the Directors of Graduate Studies with any questions or for advising. If you have any holds on your CUNYfirst account for any reason, however unwarranted, CUNYfirst will not allow you to be registered for classes. Please check your account before the start of the preregistration period and make sure that any holds have been resolved. Non-matriculated/non-degree students are not eligible to preregister and must wait to register themselves during their registration appointment period on CUNYfirst. Can I take a course with the same number twice for credit? Some courses may be repeated for credit as long as the specific course topics and texts are substantially different. This term, the classes that can be repeated for credit are: 719 and 729. ENGL 781 (Special Seminars) may also be repeated for credit, as long as the specific course topics and texts are substantially different. ENGL 636, 643, 701, and 733 cannot be repeated for credit. What are my English course requirements? For MA students (30 credits): · ENGL 701 · ENGL 636 · 7 open electives (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) · ENGL 791 (thesis essay) For Accelerated BA/MA students (up to 9 credits): · ENGL 701 · 2 electives (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) For MAT students (9 credits): • 1 pre-1900 elective · 1 open elective (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding the creative writing workshops and craft classes, ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) · ENGL 781 For MS Ed students (15 credits): · ENGL 702 or ENGL 703 · 2 pre-1900 electives · 1 open elective (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding the creative writing workshops and craft classes, ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) · ENGL 781 What if the class that I want is full when I pre-register? You can request to be placed on a wait list. Wait listed students will be able to register for the class when a space becomes available. In past semesters, we have been able to accommodate almost all students who are on wait lists. To be placed on a wait list, contact Bill or Hillary (not the instructor). For MAT and MS Ed students, what courses fulfill the pre-1900 requirement? In Spring 2025, English 719 and 781-02 satisfy the pre-1900 requirement. Can I preregister for ENGL 791, the thesis course, or ENGL 795, the independent study course? English 791 and English 795 require additional advising and paperwork, so these are not courses for which you can preregister. The Directors of Graduate Studies will announce more information about how to sign up for these courses after the preregistration period has ended. Can I pre-register for summer courses? The summer schedule is currently being finalized. Once that is available, we will email you the course descriptions so that you can register on CUNYfirst.

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[EnglishMA] October MA Program Message
by William Orchard 02 Oct '24

02 Oct '24

Dear MA Students, I hope your first month of the academic year has gone well. I’m writing with an October message about some events, opportunities, and announcements, and to give you a preview of the Spring 2025 and Summer 2025 course offerings. MA STUDENT CONFERENCE In October, we’ll start planning of our MA student conference, which will take place in March 2025. We’re excited that our conference day will end with a reading and talk with the award-winning novelist Edwidge Danticat,<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwidge_Danticat> who has recently published a book of essays titles We’re Alone<https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/were-alone>. If you are interested in being in this year’s conference committee—which involves coming up with the theme, reviewing submissions, and helping organizing the day’s program—please fill out this form<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3r4Z2OyYS7-WjgMtQxdpypirkbOois-m…> to indicate your interest. We’ll try to set up a first meeting sometime this month. TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES Occasionally, our writing program has opportunities for master’s students to teach first-year writing at Queens. These opportunities usually require an availability to teach in the morning hours. If you are interested in such an opportunity, please complete this form<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXzUyF9na1eG1zBG0savGDWCciXrfvHim…>. We’ll add your name to a list of students that we will consider if any opportunities arise. GRADUATION If you are planning to graduate in the fall semester, please apply for graduation on CUNYfirst before October 31. Failure to do so will delay your graduation until the next semester and cost a few hundred dollars in penalties. SPRING AND SUMMER COURSES AND REGISTRATION Pre-registration will happen sometime in October. We’ll receive word on the precise dates in the coming week or two, but, for now, I want to give you a preview of the classes that we will be offering in Spring 2025 semester: DAY 4:40 to 6:30 6:40 to 8:30 Monday 719/ The Canterbury Tales with Glenn Burger 701/ Grad Methodologies with Omari Weekes Tuesday 643/ Young Adult Literature with Carrie Hintz (ONLINE) 729/ Studies in Modern Literature with Cliff Mak Wednesday 636/ History of Literary Criticism with William Orchard 781/ HIV/ AIDS Narratives with Megan Paslawski Thursday 733/ Asian American Graphic Narratives with Caroline Hong (ONLINE) 781/ Gothic, Horror, and the Weird: Short Form Fiction with Sian Silyn Roberts (ONLINE) In the summer, we will offer two classes in the four-week June session: 719/ Medieval Epic with Edward Currie (online asynchronous) and 781/ American Women Playwrights with Rhoda Sirlin (online synchronous). In the second summer session that runs from the first week of July to mid-August, we will offer: 732/ Latinx Childhood with William Orchard (online synchronous) and 781/ 20th Century American Poetry: Modernism to Postmodernism with James Richie (online synchronous). EVENTS The college has a new reading series called Writers at Queens that brings creative writers to campus to read from their work and talk with students. The first event, a reading by visiting professor Ayala Johnson, happened on Monday. The next event brings comic artist Ivan Velez, Jr. to campus to talk about his work and to provide some instruction on how to make comics. This event will take place on October 23. Velez will visit through the day, and his evening talk at 6:30 pm in Klapper 672 is specially designed for master’s students in art, creative writing, and literature. [A poster for a comic workshop Description automatically generated] ZOOM CAFÉ Thanks to those of you who came out to the opening Zoom Café. We hope to have another two before the semester is over. These will likely be hosted by a student and faculty member who will choose the topics for general discussion (although the discussion could wander from that). If you’re interested in being a “host” for one of these events or if there are topics that you want to hear covered in them, please let me know. The opening event ended up being about vampires and thesis topics. Any topic is fair game! We’ll follow up about registration once the registrar shares the pre-registration dates for next term. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Cliff or me. Best, Bill

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[EnglishMA] Reminder: Virtual Welcome Reception/ First Zoom Cafe Tonight at 6 pm
by William Orchard 29 Aug '24

29 Aug '24

Hello all, I hope the start of your semesters is going well. I’m writing to remind you that the MA program’s Virtual Welcome Reception (and first Zoom Café) will happen this evening from 6 pm to 7 pm. This is an informal event to give you a chance to see and hear from others in the department. A few of the faculty who are teaching this term or currently advising theses will be in attendance. Feel free to stop by anytime in the hour. We hope to see you! The link for tonight’s welcoming is: Topic: Zoom Cafe Time: Aug 29, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81003761298?pwd=W1wl2QrQ4PF4RRx2RnIhCYGzHbsxWR.1 Meeting ID: 810 0376 1298 Passcode: 463200 If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY

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[EnglishMA] Fall 2024 Beginning-of-the-Semester Announcements
by William Orchard 26 Aug '24

26 Aug '24

Dear Graduate Students, Welcome back! The Fall 2024 semester officially begins this Wednesday, August 28. Please read carefully through these important beginning-of-the-semester announcements. In addition to the usual announcements about the academic calendar and course registration, please note the information about Brightspace (the new Blackboard) and Queens College’s new policy on cameras in online classes. We’re also hosting a virtual reception—which we’re calling a Zoom Café—on Thursday, August 29 from 6 to 7. We hope that you’ll be able to stop by to meet some of the students and faculty in the program. As I mentioned in my summer email, our new assistant director of graduate studies is Professor Cliff Mak. We’re happy to have him as part of our program. His contact information is listed below. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Wishing you a wonderful fall semester! Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY QC English MA Program Fall 2024 Announcements Academic Calendar The Fall 2024 semester officially begins on Wednesday, August 28. You can find the CUNY Academic Calendar with important dates and deadlines at https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-calendars/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cuny.edu_academics…>. You can find the QC-specific calendar at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/communications/calendar-page/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qc.cuny.edu_commun…>. Important dates to keep in mind: * The last day to drop classes for a 100% tuition refund is Tuesday, August 27. The last day to add classes is Tuesday, September 3. * There are no classes scheduled on Monday, September 2 (Labor Day); Wednesday and Thursday, October 2 and 3 (Rosh Hoshannah); Monday, October 14 (Indigenous People’s Day/Italian Heritage Day); and Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving). * Tuesday, October 15 follows a Monday schedule. * Wednesday, November 27 follows a Friday schedule. * For students planning to graduate Fall 2024, the deadline to file for graduation via your CUNYfirst Student Center is November 1. * The last day of classes is Saturday, December 14, and the last day to drop a course with a W grade is Wednesday, November 6. The Fall 2024 semester officially ends on Saturday, December 21. Fall 2024 Advising For important info about our program and its policies and procedures, please consult the most recent English MA Handbook. We will be available for advising both virtually via email and Zoom, as well as in-person. If you have any questions, need advising, or want to make an appointment, please email us. Prof. William Orchard, Director of Graduate Studies (English MA) Email: william.orchard(a)qc.cuny.edu Faculty Office: Klapper Hall 604 Fall 2024 office hours: Tuesdays from 5 to 6 (online) and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 (in person) Prof. Cliff Mak, Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Email: cmak(a)qc.cuny.edu Office: Klapper Hall 323 You can also contact us by emailing MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>. For general inquiries not specific to the MA program (e.g., for faculty contact info), please consult the English Department website at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__qcenglish.commons.gc.c…> or contact the English Department Office (english(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:english@qc.cuny.edu>, 718-997-4600). Please be sure to check your QC email regularly (and also add any other primary email addresses to your CUNYfirst account), as the College and your professors may be communicating with you that way. Check (and Double-Check) Your Schedule Before the semester begins, please take a moment to log-in to your CUNYfirst and check that you’re registered for your courses. If for some reason your registration has been canceled by the Bursar, or if you’re registered for the wrong courses, it’s much easier to sort out any issues before the semester begins. English MA courses will continue to be taught in-person, hybrid, or fully online. When you check your schedule, please also double-check the instruction modes for your courses. If you’re taking an in-person course, please confirm your classroom location the day of your first meeting, as classrooms can sometimes be changed at the last minute. If you’re taking a hybrid or fully online course, your professor should communicate how/where to join their class. If you don’t hear from them by the first day of the semester, please email them directly to request this info. Faculty contact info and office hours can be found at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/people/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__qcenglish.commons.gc.c…>. Adding a Course / Requesting an Overtally If you are looking to add a fall course, there are open seats still available in ENGL 636, 639, 701, 703, and both sections of 781. Please review the attached course descriptions and confirm current availability by searching the Class Schedule on CUNYfirst<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__globalsearch.cuny.edu_…>. To add into these classes, please contact us at MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>. If you wish to add a course that has been closed, please contact us and we will place you on the wait list. Currently, we have no one on the wait lists for any course and should be able to accommodate a few students seeking to add closed sections. Right now, the two closed sections are 640 (Comics & Graphic Narratives) and 726 (Early American Literature). 639 (Studies in Poetry/ Documentary Poetics), 703 (Composition Theory and Literacy Studies) and 781-01 (Black Queer Studies) are very close to full. QC Hub The QC Hub is a centralized office with staff from the Registrar, the Bursar, Financial Aid, etc., and is the easiest way to get any financial or registration problems resolved and your bureaucratic questions answered. You can make a virtual appointment with them via the QC Navigate app (https://qc-cuny.navigate.eab.com/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__qc-2Dcuny.navigate.eab…>, using your CUNY Login<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cuny.edu_cuny-2Dlo…>) or email them at QCHub(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:QCHub@qc.cuny.edu>. For more info and their hours, see https://www.qc.cuny.edu/qchub/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qc.cuny.edu_qchub_…>. Please note that, unfortunately, the QC Hub is understaffed and can get overwhelmed. If you contact the QC Hub and don’t get a response within a week or two, please let us know so we can help follow up. Information Technology Services (ITS) For help with online account or tech issues, contact ITS (https://www.qc.cuny.edu/its/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qc.cuny.edu_its_&d…>). You can try live chat support<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__chat.qc.cuny.edu_UserF…> (Mon–Thu 9am–10pm; Fri 9am–5pm), call them at 718-997-4444 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm), email support(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:support@qc.cuny.edu>, or submit a ticket online<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__support.qc.cuny.edu_su…>. You can also check their knowledge base for potential solutions to common issues<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__support.qc.cuny.edu_su…>. QCard The QCard is your official QC student ID, and you will need it to gain access to and throughout campus. If you don’t already have a QCard, you can find info on how to obtain one at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/its/qcard/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qc.cuny.edu_its_qc…>. Rosenthal Library You will need to tap in with your QCard to access the Rosenthal Library building. There are study areas located throughout the library, including Zoom Rooms and Group Study Rooms<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__library.qc.cuny.edu_se…> on levels 4 and 5. Visit their website (https://library.qc.cuny.edu/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__library.qc.cuny.edu_&d…>) for their hours and for help with your research (https://library.qc.cuny.edu/services/research/ask-us/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__library.qc.cuny.edu_se…>). Our librarian, Prof. Leila Walker<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__library.qc.cuny.edu_pr…>, can also help you with any research-related questions; you can email her at leila.walker(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:leila.walker@qc.cuny.edu>. Counseling Services Being a grad student can be really stressful. For free and confidential mental health services, check out QC’s Counseling Services (https://www.qc.cuny.edu/cs/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qc.cuny.edu_cs_&d=…>). You can call them at 718-997-5420 or email CounselingServices(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:CounselingServices@qc.cuny.edu> to make an appointment. Learn more about CUNY mental health services at https://www.cuny.edu/current-students/student-affairs/student-services/coun…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cuny.edu_current-2…>. And if you ever find yourself in crisis, you can also connect 24/7 with a trained crisis counselor by texting CUNY to 741741. Brightspace Remember that the college is rolling out a new learning management system this fall. Brightspace (brightspace.cuny.edu) replaces Blackboard. All online classes will be using Brightspace, and some of the in-person classes may use it as well. Since it’s a new system for everyone, please be patient with the inevitable glitches and hiccups we encounter as we grow accustomed to it. New Online Class Policy In the Spring, Queens College changed its camera policy for online classes. During the quarantine, turning one’s camera on was elective since all classes went online and we recognized that not everyone had a situation that allowed for their room to be visible during class meetings. Four years later, though, we have an ample array of in-person and online offerings, and those who elect to enroll in online class should be prepared to have their cameras on during class sessions. This is especially the case in graduate MA classes, which involve much greater participation by everyone present. If, in the course of the semester, you are not able to turn on your camera one day, make sure to communicate with the instructor and find other ways to actively participate during the class meeting. Thesis Writers If you are completing your MA thesis this semester, you have been enrolled in the 791 class (if you submitted a proposal and haven’t been enrolled, contact Bill immediately). During the semester, Cliff and I will hold workshops focusing on different aspects from the thesis: one focusing on the advising relationship and applying for graduation, one on tips about academic writing, and one on the thesis defense and submitting the final version of the paper for approval. At each of these workshops, you’ll have an opportunity to also share a page of two of writing with others, which will provide a chance to get feedback and to see how your peers are approaching thesis writing. These sessions are scheduled for September 12, October 17, and November 14. If you plan to write your thesis in the Spring 2025 semester, we’ll have an information session for that on Thursday, November 21. Zoom Café/ Virtual Welcoming Reception We are going to try to host a couple of virtual events this semester that provide students and faculty an opportunity to interact in a less formal setting. In previous years, we’d host an in-person reception, but, in order to accommodate the busy lives of everyone, we’re going to have these sessions online. We’re calling these “Zoom Cafés” and hope that they provide an occasion for students to get to know each other and faculty members better. The first such session will happen on Thursday, August 29 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. The Zoom link for this first Zoom Café is: Topic: Zoom Cafe Time: Aug 29, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81003761298?pwd=W1wl2QrQ4PF4RRx2RnIhCYGzHbsxWR.1 Meeting ID: 810 0376 1298 Passcode: 463200 Feel free to stop by for the full hour or to drop by for just a few minutes. Our new assistant director of the program, Cliff Mak, will be there, and we’re hoping some of the faculty teaching classes this term will also stop by.

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[EnglishMA] Reminder: Thesis Sign-Up Forms Due Tomorrow
by William Orchard 01 Aug '24

01 Aug '24

Just a quick reminder to those who plan to write their thesis essays in the Fall 2024 semester: sign-up forms to be registered for the thesis class are due tomorrow. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY

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