UNK Assessment: English Recitals

ASSESSMENT PLAN (Revised, 1997-98) Students in the advanced creative writing classes present samples of their work in an annual reading. Student work is published annually in the Carillon. Students present research in a conference setting at the annual student literary conference. Students assist in hosting visiting writers. _____________ Students in the advanced creative writing classes present samples of their work in an annual reading. Student work is published annually in the Carillon. Students present research in a conference setting at the annual student literary conference.	1999-2000 ASSESSMENT Student Recitals continue to provide the Department with an excellent means of assessing the success of our program in producing young scholars, researchers, and writers. This year under Kate Benzel’s guidance, the department integrated our own Student Conference on Language and Literature 2000 into the university-wide Student Research Day. Ten sessions showcased the work of thirty students, on topics ranging from the distinctive features of Nebraska’s dialects and the creation of order in Native American fiction to the functions and implications of race in Shakespeare’s Othello. In the evening, twenty-five students presented readings of their own poetry and prose or performed works from the Shakespeare canon. One student, Carla Manchester, also presented a paper entitled “Strength in Unity: Individual Versus Community Interests in Toni Morrison's Jazz” at the National Council for Undergraduate Research conference held at the University of Montana, April 27-29, 2000. Our English honorary, Sigma Tau Delta, remained an important part of our program this year, providing students with opportunities to display their skills in the many sub-fields that constitute the study of English. At this year’s Sigma Tau Delta national conference in Savannah, Georgia, four students presented papers on language and literature and one student read from her own creative work. Students again attended the Associated Writing Program’s annual National Conference in Kansas City. UNK students presented readings of their poetry and prose. In addition to gaining confidence in their own work through their own presentations, they observed lectures and readings by writing professors and other professional authors. UNK professors Charles Fort and Barbara Emrys moderated panels on “Nebraska Writers” and “Mid-Western Voices and (Dis)placement: Nebraska Writers in Exile.”
	1998-99 ASSESSMENT The eighth annual Student Conference on Language and Literature was held on April 16th, 1999, and again was coordinated by Julie Flood. Twenty-nine students presented their work in eight sessions on a wide range of topics. For the first time this year, a number of English students were able to participate in UNK’s first Student Research Day. One student, Emily Killip, was awarded first place in the Arts and Humanities category for her research project entitled “Boys Will Be Boys: An Analysis of the Intricacies of Male Friendships in ‘The Body’ and Fallen Angels.” This year four of our students presented papers on language and literature at the annual Sigma Tau Delta national conference held in St Louis, Missouri. Students also attended and presented their work at the National Conference of the Associated Writing Program. In both cases, the UNK English Department was well represented, showcasing the efforts of some of our best undergraduate and graduate student writers.
	1997-98 ASSESSMENT Thirty-four scholarly papers by undergraduate students were selected to be presented in eight panels ranging from children’s and young adult literature to the works of American women writers at the seventh annual Student Conference on Language and Literature. Seven students also read works of short fiction and poetry. English Education students presented their views in a student teacher panel. The high quality of the work presented and the number of students presenting their work reflects the high level of achievement of our students in their various chosen fields. Two students read papers, one of which was selected as the best in its panel at the annual Sigma Tan Delta international convention in Anaheim, CA. In both fall and spring semesters, poetry reading in the new Emerging Voices series featured 15-20 students reading their work.
	1996-97 ASSESSMENT The sixth annual Student Conference on Language and Literature, chaired by Julie Flood, was held on April 16. The sessions of the conference represented all facets of the English program. Thirty-three undergraduate students presented scholarly papers and seven students presented short fiction and poetry which were chosen competitively by the Student Relations Committee. English Education was represented by a student teacher panel. Audiences included fellow students, faculty, and community members. Each year the quality and number of papers increases, attesting to the high level of writing and critical thinking abilities generated by our literature and writing courses. In 1996-97, the Creative Writing Committee held a variety of student readings. In both years, the Carillon hosted public readings to celebrate a new issue of the literary journal. In 1997 the reading, held in the Thomas Hall atrium, drew fifty students, parents, alumni, and faculty. The English Department also held a creative reading during the 1997 Student Conference of Language and Literature, which similarly saw more than forty students, parents, and faculty in attendance. Each year the department sponsors creative readings by participants and faculty at the summer Fort Kearny Writers Conference. During this week, student writers (30 in 1996 and 20 in 1997) had the opportunity to perform their work, in which the faculty, including guest writers also performed, for the workshop participants and the public. Guest writers in 1997 included Hilda Raz, editor of Prairie Schooner, Brent Spencer, director of writing at Creighton University, Jonis Agee, novelist and professor at the University of Michigan, and Roy Scheele, Poet in Residence at Doane College. Attendance and enthusiasm is up at all of the readings, endorsing the success of the program. Seven new members were initiated into Sigma Tan Delta, the English Honorary. In March, five students, accompanied by faculty sponsor Mike Benzel, attended the national convention in Savannah, GA. Two students read papers and two students read original poetry. Andrea Loy-Perez was unable to attend, but she had her paper read by another student. Loy-Perez's paper was selected as the outstanding paper in the session on 19th Century American Fiction.
	1995-96 ASSESSMENT The fifth annual Student Conference on Language and Literature took place during the spring semester. Students presented scholarly papers and fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, chosen competitively by the Student Relations Committee, to their peers and faculty members. Later in the semester, creative writing classes presented an evening of readings by students and faculty. Albuquerque, New Mexico, was the site for the 1996 Sigma Tau Delta international conference. Several students, accompanied by faculty sponsors, attended and presented papers. In addition, the English honorary published another edition of student writings in the Carillon.
	1994-95 ASSESSMENT The Department held its fourth annual Student Conference on Language and Literature for which the Student Relations Committee refereed student papers and selected the best seventeen papers for participation in various sessions. Participant impressions of quality were forwarded to the Planning Committee for use in curriculum revision. Several students also presented papers at the international Sigma Tau Delta Conference held this year in St. Louis. A paper by Dwaine Speiker, student, was selected as one of the best papers at the convention. Students in advanced creative writing classes also presented samples of their poetry, fiction, and non-fiction at the English Department's annual reading. In addition, Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honorary, again published student work in the Carrillon.
	1993-94 ASSESSMENT The form taken by public recital for our Department is the spring Student Conference on Language and Literature, now in its third year. As before, any participant impressions of quality are forwarded to the planning committee for the next conference as well as to the curriculum committee for possible use in curriculum revision. The last two of these items were in place before the filing of the assessment plan and continue to provide us with valuable opportunities.