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Spring 2019 Project Funding by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language

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.