Master of Liberal Arts at LSU-Shreveport

Are you (or someone you know) a student at a Louisiana college, university, or trade school?
Would you like to learn more about preservation and network with other professionals?

Then complete your application for a conference scholarship here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4OEp0lD7wtDCVyQof1zZz-GffYA5qUazAtXrPPZENBG2cZQ/viewform

Not only is Sarah Mazur an award winning librarian. She's also an MLA alumna and winner of the 2019-2020 MLA Thesis Award!

Congrats to our own Sarah Mazur!

A fun read to start the Fall semester.

A Few Words About That Ten-Million-Dollar Serial Comma On the case of the Maine milk-truck drivers who, for want of a comma, won an appeal against their employer, Oakhurst Dairy.

Attention students: Apply today for the 2021 Louisiana Preservation Conference Student Scholarship! Scholarship includes full registration, awards ceremony, optional tour, and overnight accommodations.

Student Scholarship Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4OEp0lD7wtDCVyQof1zZz-GffYA5qUazAtXrPPZENBG2cZQ/viewform
Full Conference Schedule: http://www.lthp.org/annual-preservation-conference/
Memberships Available for Students ($15/year): http://www.lthp.org/give/membership/

Fun reading for Spring Break ;-)

FAQs About the New MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition How should I structure my article’s title? The only acceptable structure for an article title is “Kind of Clever and Dated Pop Culture Reference: J...

This is not the way to preserve and promote the Liberal Arts ☹️

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/chaucer-to-be-scrapped-as-british-university-decolonises-curriculum-20210121-p56vrn.html

Chaucer to be scrapped as British university 'decolonises' curriculum Foundational texts like The Canterbury Tales and the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf would no longer be taught under proposals to stop teaching medieval literature.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200109-is-this-the-most-powerful-word-in-the-english-language

Is this the most powerful word in the English language? The most commonly-used word in English might only have three letters – but it packs a punch.

Congratulations to Rachel Hoffnung on the successful defense of her thesis, Changing the Face of Arthuriana: Women’s Arthurian Tradition in Twentieth-Century America. Rachel's research focuses on gender constructs in Arthurian novels from the 1970s. A copy will soon be available on ProQuest copy; in the interim, here is the abstract:

This thesis is a limited analysis of late twentieth-century American adaptations of the Arthurian legend. In it I examine three novels published by American authors in the 1970s and 1980s: David Drake’s The Dragon Lord (1979), Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Idylls of the Queen (1982), and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon (1982). This thesis aims to provide greater scholastic attention to American women’s literary contributions to the Arthurian tradition and to examine the varying representations and characterizations of prominent Arthurian women. Findings from this study suggest that twentieth-century female Arthurianists break from the conventions of their male contemporaries. They reimagine prominent themes from the legend— particularly regarding power dynamics, magic, sexuality, and marriage—to provide significant social commentary for the modern age in which they live. Their adaptations exemplify the legend’s malleability in communicating a culture’s modern values and ethics, as well as its efficacy in examining the largely underrepresented voices within the Arthurian community.

One of our MLA graduates, Daniel Gordy is currently employed at Northwestern State University. He serves as faculty for multiple departments, including both Criminal Justice, History, and Social Sciences and English, Foreign Language, and Cultural Studies.
We had the opportunity to ask him some questions and learn about his experiences in the MLA program. 😊

What has your career been since the MLA program?
After graduating from the MLA program, I started working at Bossier Parish Community College, teaching freshman-level composition courses and working with students in the writing lab. During this time, I also worked with BPCC’s College Transition Program, helping prepare future students for their HiSET examination. During my time at NSU, I have done consulting work in Criminal Justice. Additionally, I have presented at multiple institutional, regional, and national conferences. My current area of research focuses on recidivism as it relates to ACT 280 of 2017.

What are some highlights of the program?
Definitely the faculty. They encouraged me in my diverse areas of research, even if it was labeled “seditious.” I remember presenting on the interaction of the Fibonacci Sequence and Poetry in one of Dr. Liebert’s courses. While I received mixed reviews from my fellow students, Dr. Liebert was encouraging. This examination of the intersection between seemingly disparate concepts became a passion during my studies. Dr. White showed us Pop-Culture and the Renaissance. Dr. Dubose gave us nursery rhymes and vampires. Each faculty member, in some way, modeled pedagogy that informs my own course design and class discourse.

How has the program helped you?
There are many graduate programs that offer static, cookie-cutter experiences. However, there are few programs that allow you the freedom to truly design your own interdisciplinary degree. The faculty in the MLA program listened and responded to my needs as a student to help develop the best possible graduate experience. The flexibility of the MLA program allowed me to study Criminal Justice and English simultaneously. With experience in these areas, I can spend my academic career interrogating the intersection between them.

Isn't that exciting? 😄
Let us know if you are enjoying our graduate spotlight series and please send us a message or leave a comment if you are interested in the program!

LSU-S emerges as fastest growing higher education institution in state - BIZ - Northwest Louisiana Shreveport, LA – Louisiana State University in Shreveport is now the fastest growing higher education institution in Louisiana in the last five years. The university boasts the largest freshman class in five years and the largest number of retained students in five years. Despite the COVID- ...

Happy Monday!
Our first graduate we are highlighting is Katie Bickham. She has authored two books of poetry, The Belle Mar (Pleiades 2015) and Mouths Open to Name Her (LSU 2019), a number of publications and is the recipient of numerous prizes.

Here are some questions we asked her:
1. What is your current position?
I am currently an assistant professor of English at Bossier Parish Community College, though I'm set to "retire" in December to pursue my writing career full time. I've also taught at LSUS and Centenary College.

2. What was your first job after the MLA program?
After I finished the MLA program, I was immediately hired by BPCC. While teaching there, I went to Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine to get my MFA in creative writing through a low-residency program in which I went to residencies in the summer and winter. During the MFA, my poetry won the Missouri Review Editor's Prize which was my first real poetry publication and the first real money I'd ever made from it (a $5000 prize). My thesis project from Stonecoast became my first collection of poetry, The Belle Mar. The book was published in cooperation between LSU Press and Pleiades Press and won the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize for poetry.

I began working and researching for my next book, a project revolving around birth and women's bodies. As I compiled those poems, they won several individual prizes - The New Millennium Poetry Prize, Rattle's Reader's Choice Award, the Radar Poetry Prize, and a shortlist for the Sonia Sanchez prize. When the book was finished, I pitched it to LSU Press who took it immediately as part of the Barataria Poetry Series, a line of poetry books selected by former Louisiana Poet Laureate Ava Leavell Haymon. The book is called Mouths Open to Name Her and is available, along with The Belle Mar, at all major booksellers.

3. What are some highlights of the program?
The MLA was valuable to me in my joint career as a teacher and writer in many ways. I was permitted to build my own thesis project - a collection of poetry with accompanying research - which was a rare opportunity outside a specialized creative writing degree program. Because of my somewhat specialized interest in poetry, Dr. Elisabeth Liebert agreed to design an independent study with me focused solely on formal poetry, which even now makes up a significant portion of the work I have published.

The core courses gave me a certain scope of the world I hadn't had before and informed my work greatly. The flexibility of each of those courses allowed me to focus on poetry within the parameters of the course, so there was never a sense that I was taking a course I didn't want or need.

4. How has the MLA helped you?
The most practical benefit of the MLA was that it allowed me to teach at a college level. I was hired immediately upon my graduation so I always had a solid way to support myself as I pursued my next degree and my writing career. While I do have two master's degrees, the MLA was the one that made me comfortable in front of a classroom and the broad base of study means that I'm able to teach a wide range of literature and writing courses comfortably.

The MLA also gave me a general knowledge of the humanities and of academic writing that many of my colleagues in the MFA at Stonecoast didn't necessarily have. This gave me a real edge and added a tangible sense of sophistication not only to my academic writing but also to my poetry.

If you are interested in Katie's works, you may visit her website at http://www.katiebickham.net/

We will continue to highlight our graduates so keep checking our page and let us know if you have any questions about the program. 😊

If you are interested in the MLA program and curious about what our graduates are doing, stay tuned! 😊
We will be doing a graduate spotlight where we highlight the achievements and experiences of our graduates.
And comment below if you have any questions you would like to ask them. 👇

Hadrian’s Wall dig reveals oldest Christian graffiti on chalice Lead piece etched with religious iconography found in remains of 5th-century church

Master of Liberal Arts at LSU-Shreveport updated their website address.

Congratulations to Dr Reibsome! This is a truly significant achievement!

Revealing the reality of war. LSUS professor receives NEH grant to study what people think about war compared to veterans’ experiences SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – For the first time in Louisiana a certain type of research project is being funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Education Program Awa…

We want to hear from you.

Attention Students! The LSUS Virtual Computer Lab is now available.For Information and Instructions, visit:
https://helpdesk.lsus.edu/support/solutions/articles/2000041856-virtual-computer-lab-information

Wi-Fi Available to Students, Faculty and Staff in Fine Arts Parking Lot. To help prevent the transmission and spread of the COVID-19, LSUS is taking precautions to protect students, faculty, staff, and the community. In order to assist those needing wireless internet access, we have set up a Wi-Fi network that can be accessed from vehicles parked in the Fine Arts Buildings Parking Lot, which has been temporarily re-named Student Faculty Wi-Fi Parking Lot (see red arrow on the map below).

https://lithub.com/on-the-lost-lyric-poetry-of-amelia-earhart/

On the Lost Lyric Poetry of Amelia Earhart Marriage is a privacy with many secrets. The union of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart to her business manager and author-adventurer George Palmer Putnam in 1931 had many carefully constructed privaci…

In 2019, more Americans went to the library than to the movies. Yes, really. The US film industry may have generated revenues somewhere in the region of $40 billion last year, but it seems Hollywood still has plenty of work to do if it wants to compete with that most hallow…

Call for papers with monetary awards!
https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/4768710/overdyke-student-awards-north-louisiana-history?fbclid=IwAR11bbCeOjALp1N_7Pzw8lfRozMflPunZSemDPWXXDuCa2J-VIEfuVTbh_c

Overdyke Student Awards in North Louisiana History | H-Announce | H-Net Announcement published by Kathleen Smith on Monday, September 23, 2019 Type: PrizeDate: March 23, 2020Location: Louisiana, United StatesSubject Fields: Humanities, Local History, Political History / Studies, Public HistoryOverdyke Student Awards in North Louisiana HistoryPlace, date, and time fo...

The challenge, of course, is to get people to read this who don't already understand its premise.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190401-why-worthless-humanities-degrees-may-set-you-up-for-life

Why ‘worthless’ humanities degrees may set you up for life Why bother with degrees like History or English? Here’s why the liberal arts could leave you better prepared for employment than you think.

How many of us in N. La. knew about the reenactment? For that matter, how many of us knew about the revolt? https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/10/us/gallery/slave-rebellion-reenactment/index.html

Photos: Reenacting the largest slave revolt in US history Hundreds of reenactors marched along the Mississippi River this weekend in a reenactment of the 1811 German Coast slave uprising, the largest revolt of enslaved people in the history of the United States.

Never feel that there is something wrong with you if you are struggling. It's not just graduate school. It's life. We all need to remember that it's OKAY to ask for help.

Why We Need to Talk More About Mental Health in Graduate School Getting the mental-health care that I so desperately needed was the best thing I ever did for myself as a doctoral student.

More so than Louisiana? Do tell!
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/north-carolina-linguistics?utm_medium=atlas-page&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR2z_DY4hi0SPy83Jegpywh-QzhnCHdiAcaSADnRu8gL2d1Zv5pvi4qR8iM

Why North Carolina Is the Most Linguistically Diverse State And why it night not be so diverse for much longer.

Study proves that pen-and-paper beats laptop for note-taking!

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191122-when-the-best-way-to-take-notes-is-by-hand

When the best way to take notes is by hand Most students take a laptop with them to lectures. But are there times when they might be better off taking a pad and pen?

https://www.facebook.com/446705095866607/posts/620520921818356/

Bishop Blue Foundation receives $50,000 grant The Bishop Blue Foundation was one of 44 organizations selected by the National Park Service to preserve and highlight stories related to the African American struggle for equality in the

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hapax-legomenon-hapaxes?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page

How Do You Decode a Hapax? (Also, What’s a Hapax?) It's a word that only appears once in a work, author's oeuvre, or an entire language's written record.

Attention Students, Faculty, Staff and Community members:

The College of Business at LSUS is proud to partner with CASA of Northwest Louisiana to serve as a sponsor for their annual Holiday Party.

The annual CASA Holiday Party is a time of celebration and gifts for the children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect and are in the foster care system. Through partnerships and the support of generous donors, like you, CASA is able to ensure the children will have gifts for the holiday season.

To make a donation of a new, unwrapped toy or gift card, please bring your donation to one of the following locations between November 20, 2019 and December 6, 2019:

Business/Education Building – BE101 (Debra Jones)
Business/Education Building – BE 301B (Tracie Johnson)

For more information, email [email protected]

CONGRATULATIONS to MLA's Rachel Hoffnung, winner of the 2019 3-Minute Thesis Competition! Rachel also won the Fan-Favorite Award! MLA's Laura Raines was 1st Runner-Up. MLA students comprised 4 of the 7 entries this year. Way to go, ladies! (Photos: Chris Floyd)

T for They ⎮ 🏳️‍🌈

In September 2019, Merriam-Webster Dictionary added the singular “they” as a nonbinary pronoun. The official definition of this usage is “used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” This was a world-changing win for the LGBTQ+ community and one of our favorite language moments of the year.

Call for papers.
https://www.facebook.com/958200047552458/posts/2652476318124814/

Request for 2020 Conference Session Proposals – Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation Request for 2020 Conference Session Proposals Will Prince–News–November 19, 2019 The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation is now accepting session proposals for the 2020 Statewide Preservation Conference. The Conference will take place on Thursday April 16 and Friday April 17 with breakout ...

For those interested in local history and architecture, here's a great opportunity to visit some of Highland's beautiful old homes! http://restorehighland.org/highland-holiday-home-tour/

Highland Holiday Home Tour – Highland Restoration Association Step inside beautiful Highland homes filled with the warmth of the holidays and grace of bygone eras 5-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow at 11am, 3rd floor, Noel Memorial Library. Enjoy a talented speaker who has a passion for his topic, purchase a copy of his book for only $10, and get it autographed. Besides, we'll have cookies! 😁 See you there!

Make plans to join us!