"How to Succeed in English Without Teaching" Workshop Highlights

Thank you to everyone who came out for our first ever "How to Succeed" Workshop, featuring Prof. Kathy Leslie!

Here are some highlights for those who were interested but unable to attend (also included are some resources we touched upon at the workshop):

• English Dept. Internship Moodle: This is a great place to begin researching what positions are out there, brushing up on interview etiquette, and so on.
  
• AfterCollege: A blog highly recommended by Prof. Leslie. This particular link takes viewers to everything that was tagged "English Major," but, of course, don't stop reading there! Subscribe to the blog and refer to it for all things post-college. Anyone with an interest in a career really can not afford to miss one bit of the essential information this blog provides.

A final note from Prof. Leslie: If I could leave everyone with the one piece of advice I wish I'd thought to say yesterday, it's research the fields you are interested in.  Check job databases like Monster and like the Career Center, and see what the positions call for. If people aren't even sure what fields they're interested in, then the Pathways feature on the Career Center website is absolutely worth the hour or so put into it, to find out what fields and careers are right for them.

Thanks again to Prof. Leslie for sharing her wisdom and insights with us, and we hope to see you all at our next workshop (How to Write an Abstract) next month!

Click here for a PDF of the handouts from the workshop.

Click here to check out some lovely pictures from the event!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, How To Succeed, Meetings

October Meeting Highlights

Big thanks and hugs to all who attended our October meeting two Wednesdays ago!

This month's updates are as follows:

• Book Sale Success! Although the heat was the worst it has been, tons of people still stopped to check out our wide range of $1 books, and the $5-purchase-mystery-book was a big hit too! We are hoping to hold a second book sale in November. More info to come!
  
• For those interested in submitting to conferences in the near future (including AGSE's very own!), our annual "How to Write an Abstract" Workshop will take place next month. Speaker and date to be announced.
  
• Costume Bowling is in the works! While the specific details are still being worked out, we are planning to have a bowling fundraiser (much like last year) near Halloween, meaning costumes are welcome and extremely encouraged!

Stay tuned for specific dates and times of our upcoming events and fundraisers! (And speaking of fundraisers, we're always looking for new fundraising ideas, so let us know if you have any!)

Also, make sure to save the date for our next monthly meeting: Wednesday, November 5 from 1-2pm in JR 319!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

"How to Succeed in English Without Teaching" Workshop

Calling all English Graduates! Love English but tired of hearing that all you can do with it is teach? Want to know the variety of other jobs one can use an English degree for?

Join us as we listen to our guest speaker Professor Kathy Leslie as she discusses the many options available to people majoring in the beautiful subject of English. Professor Leslie will also share some practical advice and opportunities that many might not be aware of, and there will be a time for Q&A.

This is sure be one of the most informative and invigorating talks this semester, so make sure you mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 8th, 2-3pm in JR 319!

Also, please share this workshop with students or friends who might be interested - all are welcome!

See you all there!

http://goo.gl/6dUAST

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, How To Succeed, Workshop

AGSE Book Sale

It's that time of the school year! Check us out this Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 16 & 17) in the Jerome Breezeway (under Sierra Tower) for our annual $1 book sale!

Every $5 purchase gets you a free mystery gift

Check out our flyer below, and help us spread the word!

Categories: AGSE, Book Sale, CSUN, Fundraiser

September 2014 Meeting Highlights

After a board meeting and our first club meeting of the semester, we have tons of exciting news to offer up to you all!

The first item of big news is regarding our conference. The date of the AGSE annual conference will be March 14, 2015. Our speaker is Viet Nyguen, a professor at USC who specializes in Asian American studies. Prof. Nyguen has a new book of fiction coming out and we are very excited to hear what he has to present. Along these notes, the theme of our conference is going to be "Voyages." We are currently working on a CFP, so be on the lookout for that soon.

Secondly, we will be having a bunch of fundraisers this semester to raise money for our conference and all of the fun things we want to do. Our first fundraiser will be the AGSE $1 Book Sale, which will take place September 16th and 17th in the Jerome Richfield/Sierra Hall Breezeway (specific times to be announced soon). We will need volunteers who want to help us sell. We also welcome any book donations because we are all about finding orphaned books new homes. Concluding the book sale will be a fundraiser at a local restaurant (TBA shortly).

Other fundraisers to look forward to are: a special Halloween themed bowling night, a second book sale later in the semester, and other food-related fun times.

At the meetings we also discussed other possible fundraising ideas and welcome any ideas you may have. Please contact one of the board members with your suggestion or idea!

Lastly, we have two fantastically informative workshops in the works for this semester: How to Write an Abstract (featuring new Rhet/Comp professors and special tips for each emphasis) as well as a What to do with a Degree in English Aside from Teaching workshop brought to us by Kathy Leslie.

As always, if you know someone who is not yet a member, tell him/her to join us! Membership forms are on our board on the 7th Floor of Sierra Tower and all forms and $10 lifetime membership fees can be turned in to Marjie. If you need help convincing them, remember we offer 5 C’s: it looks good on your CV, the opportunity to take part in and build up our scholarly Community, a chance to Commiserate with other grads taking the same classes as you, our annual spring Conference, and to Celebrate all the hard work we put in week after week! We will be making the rounds to classes soon to gather new members and to spread the word about our upcoming events.

Our next monthly meeting will be Wednesday, October 1 from 1-2 in JR 319. Help us get the word out by inviting your friends and new grad students you may have in your classes!

Thanks to all who attended last week's meeting, in person and in spirit!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Welcome back, AGSE-ers!

The 2014-15 AGSE Board would like to welcome everyone back to the 2014 Fall Semester! Stay tuned as the board gets ready to make some big announcements regarding upcoming fundraisers, monthly meeting dates, and the annual spring conference! You won't want to miss what we've got lined up this year!

In the meantime, make sure you join us as a lifetime member - if you aren't already! - and don't forget to like us on Facebook! :)

We hope you all had a fantastic summer, and we look forward to seeing all your beautiful faces this week!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN

Meet the 2014-15 Board!

President: Wafa Azeem

After waiting for 13 years, Wafa is pretty sure she is not going to receive an owl from Hogwarts. So in the meantime, she moonlights as a second year English graduate student. Not wanting to be outdone by Professor McGonagoll, she will be teaching English Composition class for a second year. With an emphasis in Literature, she enjoys spending time in different worlds and looking at her world with different perceptions.

Vice President: Vana Derohanessian

Vana Derohanessian has her bachelor's degree in English literature in 2007 and is currently an English graduate student at CSUN. Vana is interested in the history of children's literature as a reflection of social and cultural values regarding children. Her incessant fascination with Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" may be referred to by some as obsession.

Treasurer: Angeline Olliff

A second-year Teaching Associate at CSUN, Angeline is working to finish her Master's in English this academic year with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition.  She hopes to continue teaching and learning as she expands and complicates her own research in First-Year Composition pedagogy and cognitive development. Don't tell anyone, but the "bean counter" (treasurer) in her is actually the Batman to her Bruce Wayne.  Or maybe the Penguin.  Penguins are cuddly. 

Recording Secretary: Jackie Hymes

Jackie really likes hockey. I mean, she REALLY likes hockey. If you talk to her about hockey, you will probably become her best friend. She is also the mother to two extremely spoiled cats. To not make this sound like the beginning of a personal ad: Jackie is in her fourth and most likely final year of her presidential term-length stay in the Master's program at CSUN. Yet, she has never been president of, well, anything here. Having served as secretary on the Sigma board last year, she hopes to take her obsessive note taking skills and put them to good use once again. She is currently a T.A. and working on the last poetry thesis that will be completed at CSUN. Born directly between the Ides of March and St. Patrick's Day, it makes sense that her thesis involves Greek Mythology, what is left behind, the afterlife, and history. When she is not busy writing poems or reading poetry, she enjoys reading graphic novels, weird fiction, and collecting Timothy McSweeny's Quarterly Concerns.

Press Secretary: Stephanie Lim

Stephanie is a CSUN lifer, going on 10 years strong as a Matador! While she finishes up her very last year (holy cow!) of the English Master's program, she also works as a Teaching Associate for the department. Although she loves her share of literature, her true passion is musical theatre and popular culture. When she's not reading, working, or sleeping, you can probably find her watching a show or at a concert. Or drooling over Luke Bryan. Achluophobic, arachnophobic, acrophobic, and trypanophobic.

Historian: Liz Hernandez

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Liz Hernandez has spent most of her slow-yet-constantly-ebbing youth in search of a man who has a rich and comprehensive library (and earns 10,000 pounds a year). However, as he is nowhere in sight, and perhaps never will be, she has resorted to buying her own books and making her own library, which smells heavenly! She is currently entering her second and final year of the CSUN graduate program and is on the boards of the 18th Century Club, Critical Theory Club, and 4Humanities. The Long 18th century is her absolute favorite with a particular fondness for the Regency Period. If you need to find her she is probably tucked away in a comfy corner of the library sniffing some of her favorite books so they don't feel neglected.

The 2013-2014 Board would like to take a moment to thank our advisor, Dr. Kent Baxter, our members, our supporters, and our awesome grad students for making our tenure as AGSE board members a fantastic experience! From Holly, Susana, and Steve - the best of luck to the new board and to all our English MA students!  

Categories: AGSE, Board Members, CSUN

October Meeting Highlights

Thank you to everyone who could make it to our second meeting of the semester! It was nice to see our lovely members again!

Our fundraisers did delightfully well. During the book sale, we sold 425 books, meaning we made $425! So thank you all you bibliophiles out there! Our bowling night was also a blast! It was nice to see so many friendly faces, bowling the night away! In the 2 hours we were there, we managed to make $332! Yes, you read that correctly! It was such a success, that we’re considering having another bowling night, this time a little later. Who doesn't love Cosmic Bowling, eh?

Thanks for everyone who came to the Personal Statements Workshop! We had a full crowd and we hoped everyone left with a better understanding of their own personal statements!

We also have our Call For Papers finally finalized! We hope to see everyone’s submission!

Things to look forward to: How to Write an Abstract.
Don’t know quite how to apply to our CFP? Never fear, come to our How to Write an Abstract workshop. The time/date/professor are yet to be decided, but when we find out, you all will be the first to know!

That’s it for now! But we hope to see you all at the next meeting!

Warm, special thanks to Kristin Kaz for providing us these scrumptious, pumpkin vegan muffins! <3

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Getting Personal: How to Write a Personal Statement Workshop Highlights

We just wanted to thank everyone who was able to attend; we hope you all learned some valuable tips for writing your personal statements! A special thank you goes out to Dr. Byler and Dr. Haake for sharing their experiences and invaluable wisdom!

For those of you who could not make it to the workshop, here are some of the highlights!

• If the application maps out guidelines, follow them to the letter!
• Generally, personal statements are around 1-2 pages long. 
• Usually, it is a committee of professors looking at the statements. The committees have many packets to read, so make sure you make your story original and have it stand-out. Make sure to have flawless grammar, be pithy, and coherent. 
• Never put any information about yourself that makes you feel extremely embarrassed or makes you feel like you’re exploiting yourself! 
• Usually what goes in a personal statement is your academic and personal identity, how you developed this identity, and how you expect to continue refining it.
         -Select the most important aspect of your accomplishments
         -Use well selected evidence set in context (how you won award, how you came to succeed, etc.)
         -Have a theme/thesis that runs through the statement, keep things tight and coherent.
• Tone: Confident, not cocky. Discuss your skills and accomplishments, own them! You did it! But don’t pretend to having skills and knowledge that you do not. 
• Really discuss what you want to study, how your past studies have prepared you for this future endeavor, and where you would ultimately like to see yourself (in terms of your studies, the award). 
• Be concrete when telling your story! Put relevant details about your life/information. 
• Don’t forget to proofread! Have trusted friends and professors look over your statement for feedback! 

Although personal statements do not make up the whole application, they are extremely important in making good or bad impressions. They are the written version of a face-to-face interview, which is important, especailyl if there is no interview. If a written sample is not required in the packet, your personal statement serves as a sample, so aim to impress! No matter what you’re applying to, we hope that these tips help! Good luck!

Click here to download the full handout provided at the workshop, by Professors Bylar and Haake.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, How to Write a Personal Statement, Workshop

September Meeting Highlights

It’s already that time of year again, AGSE’s first meeting. We would like to welcome our new members and welcome back out returning friends! For those of you who could not join us, here are the highlights of what we discussed!

Upcoming Events:

1. AGSE Booksale (Who doesn’t love selling and buying books? We just love feeding a bibliophile’s addiction!)
   September 17-19^th, 10:30am- 3:30pm @ Jerome Breezeway (in between Jerome Richfield and Sierra Hall!)
2. Bowling Night! (A night to relax and bowl away some of that mid-semester stress.) Brunswick Matador Bowl (Off Balboa and Nordhoff!)
   September 20^th, 7-9pm. Download a flyer/ticket form here!
   Pre-sale tickets: $15 (You can buy tickets from any of the officers! And we’ll be selling tickets at the booksale!)
   Tickets at the Door: $18 Brings friends and family! All are welcome! :D
3. Getting Personal (A personal statement workshop.) September 26^th. 12:30pm-2pm. Just show up! J

Events later on in the semester:

1.  How to Write an Abstract (It’s just like it sounds!) Let us know which professors you would be interested in having conduct the workshop! (Feel free to email ages with your suggestions!).
2. AGSE Conference
   
           March 8^th. Theme: Intersections  Keynote Speaker: Joseph Boone (USC, author of The Homoretics of Orientalism)CFPs should be out sometime during October, so keep an eye out for that. Also, we will be collecting abstracts sometime in December.

Information for you to know:

1. If you haven’t done so, please remember to fill out a membership form! (Lifetime Membership is only $10! What a deal!)
2.  Let us know if you’d like to be added on the AGSE blog as a tutor. (One of the many perks of being a member!)
3.  Don’t forget to buy one of our super-adorable shirts! 

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

First Meeting of the Year & New Member Info!

Get back into the groove of things and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time! Join us on Friday, September 6 from 1-2pm in JR 319 for our first meeting of the school year! We'll be announcing some upcoming fundraisers and events, and we're excited to reconnect with everyone and meet new grad students and members, too! And the best part: free cupcakes (and love) for all! :)

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Want to get involved in the English grad community at CSUN? Not only does it help boost your CV, but joining AGSE gives you the opportunity to meet others in the grad program and helps you stay connected in the academic community at large. Stay in-the-know about all of the wonderful activities, fundraisers, and events we have planned for the grad students this year -- fill out an application form and join AGSE today!

Already a member? Help spread the word and invite your friends to join!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

2013 Student Recognition and Awards Recipients

The annual English Department Student Recognition and Awards Reception took place on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Below is a list of English Department Award recipients. Congratulations to all!

For a visual look at the reception, check out the online album (no Facebook account required!)

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Nina Moon Ahn: the Anamarie Peterson Morley Award, given each spring to a student currently enrolled as an English major at CSUN, who plans to enter the teaching profession at any level.

Chelsy Berry: the Lesley Johnstone Memorial Award, given to an undergraduate CSUN student who is the author of the best written work on some aspect of the natural world or environment.

Freddy Garcia: the Linda Nichols Joseph English Merit Scholarship, awarded each year to up to four undergraduate English majors who have demonstrated excellence in their studies (one of two given in spring 2013)

Eun Hae (Jennifer) Lee: the William L. Wilson Award, given each year to an undergraduate major in English who plans to teach at the secondary level.

Danielle Orozco: the Linda Nichols Joseph English Merit Scholarship, awarded each year to up to four undergraduate English majors who have demonstrated excellence in their studies (one of two given in spring 2013).

Trista Payte: the Professor Mitchell Marcus Prize in English, given each year to the graduate student whose achievements in the study of English are considered by the faculty as the most distinguished.

Sean Pessin: the Mahlon Gaumer Award, given to a CSUN graduate student who is the author of the best critical essay on English or American literature-with an emphasis on the use of language.

Laurisa Reyes: the George Morley/Annamarie Peterson Scholarship Award, given each spring to a student, currently enrolled as an English major at CSUN, who demonstrates the need for financial support to continue his or her studies.

Gina Srmabekian: the Henry Van Slooten award, given to any student in English 258, English 259, English 275, or English 355 who has written an essay (open topic) that best demonstrates "a passion for the English language."

Nicolas Wheaton: The Philip E. Love English 205 Scholarship, given each year to the student whose achievements in the study of Business Communication are considered by the faculty as the most distinguished.

Finally, we'd like to acknowledge Erick Gallegos (BA in Literature and Creative Writing), Dana Cobern Kullman (B.A. in Literature), and Ilyse Kullman (B.A. in Literature and Art), all of whom were chosen as being three of the seven featured graduates featured in this year's graduation festivities as well as in CSUN Today.

Categories: AGSE, Awards Receiption, CSUN

Meet the 2013 - 2014 AGSE Board!

President - Holly Batty

Holly Batty is starting her third year as a grad student in the English Department at CSUN with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition. She is a second-year TA at CSUN and has been the Coordinator for the LA Valley College Writing Center for six years. Holly is interested in Critical Animal Studies and is an advocate for the ethical treatment of animals.

Vice President - Susana Marcelo

Susana Marcelo is a known insomniac, coffee addict, and tsundoku bibliophile who switches unexpectedly to the second person, especially when overworked, which is most days when you’re a grad student, a mother, and have two jobs (among other odd jobs) but you still make time to write prose because that’s your passion (laundry be damned); consequently, sometimes you wonder if your dreams are unattainable, such as reading every book you have, because responsibilities will pile up and you have to make sacrifices—tearing bread with one hand, typing with a sick child on your lap, reading while keeping an eye on dinner—that will make you doubt if it’s all worth it because you always burn the beans. Yet, one look of admiration from your children and you know it will be okay, you just have to make it through one day at a time.

Treasurer - Vana Derohanessian

Vana Derohanessian has her bachelor's degree in English literature in 2007 and is currently an English graduate student at CSUN. Vana is interested in the history of children's literature as a reflection of social and cultural values regarding children. Her incessant fascination with Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" may be referred to by some as obsession.

Recording Secretary - Wafa Azeem

After waiting for 12 years, Wafa is pretty sure she is not going to receive an owl from Hogwarts. So in the meantime, she moonlights as a second year English graduate student. Not wanting to be outdone by Professor McGonagoll, she will be teaching her first English Composition class this year. With an emphasis in Literature, she enjoys spending time in different worlds and looking at her world with different perceptions.

Press Secretary - Stephanie Lim

Stephanie is an English graduate student at CSUN, where she also works as a Teaching Associate and Supplemental Instruction leader. She enjoys new media, pop culture, critical theory -- Marxist, Post-Modern, and Post-Structural ones, to be exact -- and reading American Literature from the Great Depression on. Although her program emphasis is on Literature, her true passion is musical theatre and, yes, she absolutely loves listening to show tunes!

Historian - Steve Florian

Steve Florian is a graduate student at Cal State Northridge, where he is a member of the Associated Graduate Students of English, the Eighteenth Century Literature Club, and will soon be a Teaching Associate, as well. He was raised in Nebraska and Michigan and now lives with his wife in Los Angeles. Ah, the sunshine!

The 2012 - 2013 Board would like to take a moment to thank our advisors, Dr. Ranita Chatterjee and Dr. Kent Baxter, our members, our supporters, and our awesome grad students for making our tenure as AGSE board members a fantastic experience!

From Lorie, Megan, Gina, Melissa, Holly, and Johnny - the best of luck to the new board and to all our English MA students!

Categories: AGSE, Board Members, CSUN

Workshop Recap: Path to the PhD

AGSE hosted Dr. Kent Baxter to share his journey in getting his PhD. This was a great opportunity to learn a little more about our Graduate Advisor as well as gain some valuable knowledge about the PhD process.

Couldn't make it on May 9th? Thanks to your 2013 - 2014 Recording Secretary, Wafa Azeem, here is a recap of the day's talk!  

Dr. Baxter’s story: 
He received his bachelor’s degree from CSUN in 1983, going from a music major, to Psychology, before finally choosing English. It took him 5 ½ years to get his degree.
He applied to UCLA, UCB, and USC for their PhD programs, getting accepted to USC, then deferring a year to travel in Europe instead.
When Dr. Baxter returned, he wasn't allowed to reclaim his spot at USC, but got incredibly lucky and found a place because someone else had dropped.
Through hard work and perseverance, he received his doctorate.


Some things to consider for a PhD:

• Are you interested in independent and focused learning? Do you work well without a lot of “hand
  
  holding?”: You really, really, really have to love the work that you do and the subject that you’re working on. You’re going to face a lot of obstacles and your passion is what will get you through it. (The programs are also really competitive and this creates a lot of anxiety, so again, you really need to love the work.)
• Think about funding: Teaching English Composition or a T.A.-ship can get tuition waived and sometimes may include a stipend.
• If you’re willing to put in the hard work and effort the program requires, you will do quite well, regardless of background. 
• You learn a lot through teaching, so consider the teaching opportunities the school has.
• Academic relationships are essential, so look at how available the faculty is and how involved they are. 
• Check the requirements of the school; do they require you to have fluency in two languages? 

Job Market:

5% RI- Research schools. (Usually the elite schools like Harvard and Yale).
95% in schools like CSUN (Where research emphasis is lighter than the RI schools. Focus more on teaching).

Questions to ask yourself:

Do you really love the work?
Do you like the graduate mode of study?
Can you be somewhat flexible in your approach to the program? (How broad is the program. Are you willing to explore different avenues of the topic?)
Have you researched programs?
Course requirements?
Languages?
How many people actually finish the program?
Availability of professors?

Thank you to everyone who could join us, and to the 2013 - 2014 board members: Wafa Azeem for her notes, and Stephanie Lim, for her pictures.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Path to the PhD, Workshop

Conference Recap: "Innocence and Experience" - March 9, 2013

Our panels this year featured a variety of topics, everything from pedagogy and nature, to Rocky Horror and Peter Pan, we followed our presenters down the rabbit hole to look at innocence and experience from a range of theoretical, critical, and creative perspectives.

Sean Pessin, Vana Derohanessian, and Jaclyn Hymes












Holly Batty, Mary Gifford, and Susana Macelo

Sonia Chumber, Stephanie Harper, and Eric Barnhart

Dr. Haake moderates Trista Payte, Megan Betry, and Jessica Canton

Elizabeth Jurgensen and Jeff West












Yollotl Lopez presents on The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Dr. Chatterjee introduces Laura Beerits, Melissa Palazzo, and Gina Srmabekian










New to this year were two special panels. The first, sponsored by the Northridge Creative Writing Circle (NCWC) featured readings and a Q & A with Creative Writing Alums Theresa Shreffler, Ara Shirinyan, and Joseph Mattson. 

Dr. Irene Clark moderated one of the most poignant and entertaining panels of the day. 

Our five freshmen presenters shared their literary narratives and concluded with a song that brought a standing ovation from the crowd. 

(A huge thank you to Jocelyn Segovia for capturing and sharing Valerie Mok's performance on YouTube! Watch it above)

Dr. James Kincaid's keynote presentation on "'No Cause, No Cause': Plots of Forgiveness" was a look at forgiveness from Dickens to Sandusky. 

(to see the video of Dr. Kincaid's presentation, see our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/agse.csun)

The AGSE 2012-2013 board would like to thank all our fantastic presenters, moderators, members, and volunteers for making "Innocence and Experience" the success that it was. None of this would have been possible without your help and support! 

A special thank you to our graduate advisors, Dr. Ranita Chatterjee and Dr. Kent Baxter, and to our "just darling" keynote speaker Dr. James Kincaid. 

Next Month: 

Our annual "Path to the PhD" Seminar with Dr. Baxter

and Elections!

Categories: AGSE, Conferences, CSUN

"Innocence and Experience" Program and Information

Located at the USU, 2nd Floor

#26 on the map below

(larger map HERE)

Categories: AGSE, Conferences, CSUN