Dear All, I hope your summer is going well. We’re about a month away from the start of our semester, and I am writing with a few announcements, reminders, and opportunities. REMINDER: Fall Thesis Proposal Deadline: August 2 The most urgent reminder is for those who plan to write their thesis essays in the fall. The thesis proposal form, which requires approval from your thesis adviser and second reader, is due to me by August 2. If you haven’t been in contact with me about this yet or if you missed the information session in the spring, please get in touch with me so that we can go over the steps to get registered. Thanks to those of you who have already submitted your forms. They’ll be processed after the deadline. REMINDER: Course Registration If you haven’t already registered for fall classes, please do so soon. If the class that you want is closed, please contact me to be placed on the wait list for the course. Right now, all courses are open, except for English 640 (Comics and Graphic Narratives). ANNOUNCEMENT: New Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Professor Miller will be on a well-earned sabbatical next year. She has been a remarkable assistant director, providing crucial guidance to students in the program and helping to shepherd the program through an often-challenging quarantine and post-pandemic period. We will definitely miss her! We’re happy to welcome Professor Cliff Mak as the new Assistant Director if Graduate Studies. He teaches classes on Modernism and on Adaptation. Professor Mak will start in this role in the fall semester. ANNOUNCEMENT: Fall Schedule Updates English 701 (Intro to Grad Methodologies) was originally scheduled for Tuesday at 4:40 pm with Professor Drury. It is now scheduled for Wednesdays at 4:40 pm to 6: 30 pm with Professor Kevin Ferguson. The class remains fully online synchronous. Additionally, we now have a full a description for English 719 (Medieval Women Writers) with Professor Michael Sargent: In this course we will explore a number of remarkable pieces written by women that are often unread. Hrotsvit of Gandersheim in Germany wrote moral comedies in Latin in the tenth century, modeling her work on the social comedies of late classical Rome. Marie de France wrote Lais, verse narrative romances in French, probably for the court of King Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine––and fables, and a version of the Purgatory of St. Patrick. Heloise produced half of the Latin philosophical correspondence better known by reference to her lover, Peter Abelard. Hildegard of Bingen wrote the blockbuster book of theological visions, Scivias––“Know the Ways of the Lord”, and illustrated the original manuscript, and composed music, and wrote a medical treatise and a morality play. Mechtild of Magdeburg, Birgitta of Sweden and Catherine of Siena (maybe you’ve heard of that one) were famous across Europe for their prophetic visions. Marguerite Porete was burned as a heretic for teaching of a mystical union of God in which she claimed to have ceased to exist as a separate being. The Italo-French writer Christine de Pizan, a professional writer, answered male-authored books of the faults of women with The Book of the City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies. And in England, Julian of Norwich wrote two versions of a theologically sophisticated set of visions, and Margery Kempe wrote the first autobiography in the English language (well, all right: she dictated it). Take and read! SAVE THE DATE: Fall 2024 Zoom Café / August 27 at 6 pm This year, we’ll hold monthly “Zoom Cafés”: informal sessions over Zoom where students can come together to socialize with each other and with faculty. We’ll have a short “program” for each meeting, but really these are just opportunities to get to know some of the folks in the program a little better. We hope you will join us for our first such session on August 27, the day before the fall semester officially starts. I’ll write closer to the date with the Zoom link for this event. OPPORTUNITY: College Ambassador Program at the Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum<https://www.themorgan.org/> is now accepting applications for current students to participate in their College Ambassador program. As an ambassador, students will promote the Morgan not only as a museum and library, but also as a place for research, education and entertainment. Students will promote and spread awareness of the Morgan on their respective campuses and social media platforms. This is a paid opportunity with a stipend available, and the duration is from September 2024 to May 2025. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to: communication of programming/event opportunities with relevant department heads at each university, the completion of surveys related to programming, attendance at scheduled museum events, brainstorming ideas to increase attendance among college students and various social media requirements. In addition, there are two on-site requirements for each college ambassador: promotion and presence at College Night in the fall semester at the Morgan Library & Museum, and one assigned College Sunday or Free Friday event for students at your institution that is tailored to a special topic of interest to take place once over the course of the academic year. This opportunity is open to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at Columbia University/Barnard, New York University, Fordham University, The Fashion Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, Pace University, Sarah Lawrence, CUNY Graduate School, Baruch, Brooklyn College, City College, Guttman, Grad Center, Hunter College, Lehman College, Macaulay Honors College, and Queens College with interest in a relevant area of study or background. To apply: submit by August 23rd your LinkedIn profile (or current resume), a letter of interest and links to your social media presence to media@themorgan.org<mailto:media@themorgan.org>. Best, Bill