CONWAY, Ark. (March 25, 2019) – In
the February 2019 funding cycle, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation awarded $56,142
in grants for eight student cocurricular projects, one faculty-led campus
project, and two faculty-led study/travel projects in literature and language.
The following student cocurricular and faculty-led projects were approved for
funding:
Student
Cocurricular Projects in Literature and Language
Sara
Adachi
Korean
Language Immersion in Seoul, South Korea
Project
supervisor: Gwen Stockwell, Languages
Sara
Adachi will study Korean for one month this summer through Hanyang University
in Seoul, Korea. In addition to intensive language classes and cultural
immersion, Sara plans to study Hangeul (the official writing system of Korea)
and to examine the linguistic differences between English, Korean, and her
native Japanese.
Michelle
Ashmore
Winter
Tangerine
in New York
Project
supervisor: Tyrone Jaeger, English
In March, Michelle Ashmore will attend a
four-day intensive writing workshop in New York City hosted by Winter
Tangerine, an online literary and arts magazine that focuses primarily on
literature and art produced by people of color. Michelle will use the workshop
period to edit the existing poems in her English-Creative Writing thesis and create new
ones for possible inclusion.
*Blythe
Bull
Cultural
Immersion in Nova Scotia: Tracing the Francophone Roots of the Acadie
Project
supervisor: Andrew Vaught, Murphy Visiting Fellow in Theatre Arts
Blythe
Bull will journey back to the original home of her ancestors, “Les Acadies,” to
explore her Cajun roots through a cultural immersion in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Over spring break, she will attend the region's annual heritage and language
festival as well as visit historic landmarks of Acadie. For the duration of the
trip, Blythe will use conversational French and maintain a journal in both
English and French with guided questions that will inform her final reflection
piece and presentation to peers.
*Ben
Curry, *Meraj Sayyed, and *Matthew Perkins
Discovering
Narrative Medicine
Project
supervisor: Mark Sutherland, Biology
The
field of narrative medicine challenges healthcare professionals to learn the
literary skills of reading, writing, and story-telling in order to be more
receptive to stories of illness. Ben Curry, Meraj Sayyed, and Matthew Perkins
will attend a conference at Columbia Medical School in New York, “Burnout in
Healthcare: The Need for Narrative,” to learn about storytelling, listening,
and empathy in the context of medical care. On campus, they will lead a series
of reading groups that use fiction, poetry, and short essays about the
physician-patient experience to introduce narrative medicine to Hendrix
students.
Kailyn
Fish and Andrea Stitt
Bridging
the Gap Between Ancient and Modern Language and Literature in Greece
Project
supervisor: Rebecca Resinski, Languages
Andrea
Stitt and Kailyn Fish will travel to Athens, Greece, this summer to enroll in a
Modern Greek language course at the Alexandria Institute, focusing on the ways
that modern speech differs from the Ancient Greek that they have learned at
Hendrix. Upon completion of the course, they will travel through Greece, using
their newly-acquired language skills to explore regions depicted in ancient and
modern literature while examining the ways in which reading and writing
influence the travel experience.
*Emma
Gimenez
Italian
Immersion in Bologna
Project
supervisor: Hope Coulter, English
Emma
Gimenez will spend three weeks in Bologna, Italy, this summer to improve her
written, oral, and comprehension skills in Italian and progress from an
intermediate level of language proficiency to an advanced one. Emma is enrolled
in the Arca Italian Language School in the heart of Bologna, a historically
rich and student-friendly city that will provide her with numerous
opportunities to immerse herself in Italian culture and language.
Elaina
Heikes
Kicking
“Boot” in Italy: The English Camp Company
Project
supervisor: Anne Goldberg, Sociology and Anthropology
The
English Camp Company is an organization based in Assisi, Italy, that sponsors
summer camps where Italian and Austrian youth enhance their English language
skills. Elaina Heikes will travel to Italy to be an English Camp Counselor,
creating and teaching interactive English lessons for camps in various Italian
cities. In addition to gaining valuable teaching experience that builds on her
student teaching experiences in the States, Elaina will learn a great deal
about Italian culture through her interactions with Italian campers and
homestays with Italian host families.
*Allison
Monroe
Writing
the Extreme: Exploring Place and Self in Big Bend National Park
Project
supervisor: Tyrone Jaeger, English
To
gather research for the final portfolio for her Creative Nonfiction Writing
tutorial with Dr. Ty Jaeger, Allison Monroe will spend spring break backpacking
through all three ecosystems housed within Big Bend National Park. In this
rugged environment, Allison will gather material for her final tutorial paper
and other future place-based and nature writings.
*Murphy
Scholar in Literature and Language
Faculty-Led
Study-Travel
Antonio
Horne, Theatre Arts & Dance
The
Legend of Georgia McBride: Dramaturgy & Directing
Antonio
Horne is directing The Legend of Georgia McBride this spring at Circuit
Playhouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Penned by gay Latinx playwright Matthew Lopez,
the play fits with Associate Professor Horne’s research agenda to explore
gender identity and sexual orientation through theatre. In the interests of
involving Hendrix students in professional work to expose them to and prepare
them for careers in the theatre, Antonio will engage two student dramaturgs,
Danielle Carney and Avery Kennedy, and one student assistant director, Jonah
White, to assist in preparations for the show. The dramaturgs will do research
and literary analysis on the play and share that information with the director,
designers, and actors prior to production. The assistant director will help the
director throughout the production with numerous script-related tasks.
Andy
Vaught, Murphy Visiting Fellow in Theatre Arts; Antonio
Horne, Theatre Arts & Dance
Hendrix-Murphy
Playwriting Intensive at St. Mary's University
The
Hendrix-Murphy Playwriting Intensive at St. Mary’s University offers six
Hendrix students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the craft, execution,
and history of theatre. Selected scholars will travel to St. Mary's College in
London, England, to participate in a week-long series of workshops, practicum
seminars, guest lectures by produced playwrights, and evening excursions to
London's theatre district. These varied and in-depth learning opportunities
will help scholars as they seek to write, cast, and stage a ten-minute play
performed by a group of professional London actors.
Faculty-Led
Campus Projects
Hope
Coulter and Dorian Stuber, English
Picture
This: Two Evenings of Stories about Art
To
accompany the opening of the Miller Creative Quad and the Windgate Museum of
Art in academic year 2019-20, Hope Coulter and Dorian Stuber will host two
evenings that feature contemporary and classic literary representations of art.
The events will convene students, faculty, and staff to discuss three works of
short fiction over dinner. In the fall, the group will consider two stories
about the visual and musical arts, one by Honoré de Balzac and one by Tatyana
Tolstaya. In the spring, they will discuss Coulter’s new story, “Paintings.”
Having both a literary scholar and the writer on hand to guide the conversation
will bring together the critical and creative sides of literature in a joining
that promises to be both memorable and fun.