Features, News, & Archives
In addition to our EBook, we have survey results, meeting minutes, and other temporary items such as party announcements to post from time to time. This page is the source for such.

	Revised ACE Structure Approved "Dear Ph.D graduate students, The graduate school has approved the Department's proposal to revise the Advanced Candidacy Exam structure. [. . . .] The revised structure is this: Two lists: (1) special topic, author, genre, etc.; (2) historical period. Two exams (to be taken in this order): (1) publishable paper on the special topic list; (2) oral exam on the historical period list." --Dr. Joe Urgo, Department Chair Full details from Dr. Jay Watson, Graduate Studies Director
	English Dept. Graduate Instructors and Teaching Assistants have Loading/Unloading Parking Carrying huge anthologies and bundles of student portfolios, many of us trudge from the lots south of the athletic complexes to our offices on the north side of campus. To lighten the burden, the EGSB, our Department, and UPD have arranged for GIs and TAs to have 30-minute (more)
	Graduate Work Loads Closer to Peer Institutions’ Beginning with the Fall semester of 2001, English Graduate Instructors will teach a 2/1 load of composition, with service work in the lighter semester. English Graduate Teaching Assistants will have a 1/1 load . . . . (more)
	Our faculty survey, detailing committee loads.

EBook: Features of the English Department at Ole Miss

Outside of the classroom, the department offers a number of ways for graduate students to work with one another, to exchange ideas, and to gain significant professional experience.

1. The Yalobusha Review is an annual journal of fiction, poetry, and essays edited by graduate students from the department. The journal publishes the winners of the Ella Somerville creative writing awards and solicits other contributions from the university community and beyond. An annual reading commemorates the publication of the Review. Past issues have included the work of local writers Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, and Cynthia Shearer as well as that of many graduate students. Anyone interested in working on the Review should speak with Dan Williams. Submission information can be found in the EGSB newsletter and posted across campus and Oxford during the Spring semester.

2. Annotations, the department newsletter, is published biannually and distributed to the university community, graduates, and friends of the department. As such, it provides a picture of the department keyed to outsiders rather than serving as a source of information within the department itself. It nevertheless provides graduate students with the opportunity to research, write, and publish articles about the department and its activities. Research Assistants usually perform the bulk of the editorial duties.

3. The Jefferson City Broadside Society is a department-sponsored public poetry project. "Selected poems will be distributed and displayed throughout Oxford and The University of Mississippi. Help us celebrate public poetry!" Submit up to three poems to Blair Hobbs, English Department, Bishop Hall, University MS 38677. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission and type each poem.

4. The Mississippi Writers Page (http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/index.html) is an on-line source of biographical, critical, and bibliographical information about writers who have written in or about Mississippi. If you would like to contribute to the page, check out the site and contact graduate student John Padgett, the site's originator and coordinator, at egjbp@olemiss.edu .

5. Journal x. Each semester, one graduate student is tapped to help with this new biannual journal of literary and cultural studies edited by professors Ivo Kamps and Jay Watson. Graduate students handle circulation and may be asked to proofread or perform other minor editorial tasks; for this contribution, they are listed on the masthead as business managers or editorial assistants.

Conferences and Lectures:

1. Southern Writers, Southern Writing was organized in 1994 by graduate students in the departments of English and Southern Studies as a forum for the exchange of ideas about Southern literature and culture. Held the weekend prior to the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference (see below), the conference has attracted graduate students from across the region and nation. In addition to the academic proceedings, conference highlights have included readings at Square Books, tours of Oxford and the region (including Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak), and other social activities. Graduate students are urged to participate in the conference, whether as presenters, organizers, or volunteers.  Email: swsw@olemiss.edu; web pages and published catalogue of presentations: http://www.olemiss.edu/conf/swsw/.

The Renaissance Conference This section needs to be written; please send your information to the EBook editor if you have any.

2. Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha Conference. 1995 saw the first UM graduate student presenter at this prestigious, long-established, annual conference. Readers and teachers of Faulkner from around the globe come to Oxford for this week-long series of lectures and panel discussions by literary scholars and creative writers. UM graduate students may attend the lectures for free, and many participate as conference staff.

3. The James Edwin Savage Lecture in the Renaissance. Established in 1972 to honor Professor Savage, long-time member of the faculty and department chair, this public lecture series has brought such luminaries in Renaissance studies as Louis Montrose, Gary Taylor, and Jean Howard to the University of Mississippi. The Department as a whole generally turns out for this event which is now linked to the annual Renaissance Conference.

4. The John and Renee Grisham Visiting Writers Series brings famous American writers to campus for public readings and, often, meetings with faculty and graduate students. Past lecturers include Madison Smartt Bell, Charles Simic, Robert Hass, and Jane Hirshfield. The Grishams have also funded a Visiting Southern Writer in Residence who gives several readings during his or her tenure as visiting professor of creative writing. This program has brought to campus T.R. Pearson, Marc Richard, Mary Hood, Tim Gautreaux, and Randall Kenan.

Organizations:

1. English Graduate Student Body. In the Spring of 1996, graduate students in the English Department formed an officially-recognized student organization, the English Graduate Student Body (EGSB), in order to address the academic and social issues affecting us as scholars and members of the Ole Miss community. This organization makes a number of leadership and service positions available to graduate student in English. The students who are part of the EGSB leadership gain honor and respect from this service, and have an integral role in the evolution of our department and even the University. See "Contacts" in the EGSB web site for a list of current officers to contact, if you would like to know more, or write egsb@olemiss.edu.