June 2004 News

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Yu-Fang Cho
"Rewriting Exile, Remapping Empire, Re-membering Home: Hualing Nieh’s Mulberry and Peach." Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 5.1 (Fall 2004).

Alain J.-J. Cohen
"Simulacri del cinema culinario." Del gusto e della fame. Teorie dell'alimentazione ["Simulacra of Culinary Cinema." Taste and Hunger]. Ed. B. Antomarini and B. Biscuso. Montag Book Coll. 8. Roma: manifestolibri, 2004.

Arthur Droge
"No One Has Ever Seen God." From Prophecy to Testament. Ed. C. A. Evans. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004. 169-184.

Marcel  Hénaff
"Religious Ethics, Gift Exchange and Capitalism." European Journal of Sociology XLIV.3 ( 2003): 293-324.

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

A conference was organized in the honor of Masao Miyoshi by his friends and former students on April 29-May 1 at New York University. "Imminent Questions: Empire/Globalization, Arts/Culture Industry, Corporate University, and Ecology" was participated in by Rosaura Sánchez, Don Wayne, Paul Bove, Susan Buck-Morse, Eric Cazdyn, Ray Chow, Bruce Cumings, Richard Dienst, Wai Chee Dimock, Harry Harootunian, David Harvey, Fredric Jameson, Kristin Ross, Tetsuo Najita, Kenzaburo Oe, Gayatri Spivac, Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, and others.

Masao Miyoshi gave a Plenary Session speech, "Area Studies as a Force of Resistance," at the "Creative Destruction: Area Knowledge and the New Geographies of Empire" conference at the Graduate Center, Center for Place, Culture & Politics, CUNY, on April 17.

Masao Miyoshi gave the inaugural speech for the Society for International Cultural Comparative Studies, Princeton University, on March 5.

Masao Miyoshi gave the keynote speech and Lansdowne Lecture, "Discipline, Department, and Profession," in the Department of English, the University of Victoria, Canada, on March 12.

Stephen Potts will receive a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Earl Warren College graduating class of 2004 at their commencement ceremony on June 13.

Ellen Quinn, who served as the department's graduate coordinator for many years, has announced that she will be retiring from her current position in the Dimensions of Cultures Program this summer. Quinny writes: "I just can’t depart without saying 'good-bye' to all of my colleagues in Literature as I ride into the sunset (or is that the book stacks!!!), as of July 31, 2004. Happy Reading!"

Jordana Rosenberg has received Postdoctoral Research Fellowships from the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and The UCLA Center for Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Studies. She will be in residence at the Clark Library in Los Angeles during the fall quarter of 2004.

Priya Venkatesan presented a paper entitled "Poststructuralism and Science" at UCLA's Southland Conference on Theorizing Methodologies on May 21, 2004.

Wai-lim Yip was featured in the cover story of the April issue of We Chinese in America, "the first and only authentic Chinese language monthly magazine" serving San Diego County, Los Angeles, and Tijuana. With a circulation of 6,000, We Chinese  focuses on profiles Chinese people in Southern California, and it provides information on current events and topics of special interest to the area's Chinese population. The popular magazine appeals to readers from all regions, including Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, and southeast Asia. Ms. Minnie Ho, a We Chinese staff writer and graduate student at SDSU, wrote the cover story on Professor Yip.

IN APPRECIATION

Judith Halberstam
It is with admiration and affection that we express our appreciation for the years that Judith Halberstam has worked in our department, and we wish her happiness in her new position at USC. In a sense, Judith will be irreplaceable. While we hope to find new colleagues whose research will be concerned with British literature and cultural studies, others who work in gender, sexuality and queer studies, or others still who might take a lead in enlivening the intellectual life of the department through organizing colloquia and visitors series — Judith Halberstam’s exciting range and combination of talents have made her a unique and indispensable presence here.

Judith Halberstam joined the Literature Department in 1991, and at a very rapid pace, distinguished herself through her publications and many professional activities. Her projects have continuously engaged questions of identity, narration, and embodiment by combining traditional literary methods of interpretation with broader sociological, ethnographic, and historical methods for the study of culture. Her first book, Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters (Duke University Press, 1995), examined both the literary history of gothic narrative as well as its reproduction and displacement in gothic film, through a consideration of the figure of the "monster"; with her signature insight into cultural meanings, she considered classic gothic texts like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula in relation to the "gothic" impulse in the contemporary film, Silence of the Lambs. In her second book, Female Masculinity (Duke University Press, 1998), she argued against presuming a stable relationship between masculinity and the male body. A very different definition of masculinity emerges if one examines female masculinity, she suggests; female masculinity comprises those forms of identity and cultural practice whose very performance refers to the constructedness of masculinity itself, its non-natural and unstable relation to the male body. In a book forthcoming from New York University Press, In a Queer Space and Time, she rethinks temporality as the cultural vehicle of the proper "life," which narrated in a traditional fashion, proceeds from youth to adulthood through marriage, reproduction, and family, concluding in maturity, drawing upon queer subcultures for counter-examples.

Judith has been an exemplary colleague, friend, and conscience, for us all, serving on the Executive Committee, on recruitment committees, and as member of doctoral dissertation committees for the department’s most successful graduate students in British literature, feminist theory, and queer studies. We wish Judith Halberstam continuing success at USC, and thank her for all that she has done here at UCSD.

                                                                                                    Lisa Lowe
                                                                                                    Rosemary George

Masao Miyoshi
Masao Miyoshi, Hajime Mori Professor of Literature at UCSD, has announced his intention to retire at the end of this academic year. Professor Miyoshi joined our Department in 1986, after having taught at the Universities of Chicago, Harvard, and UC Berkeley. While at UCSD Professor Miyoshi served as Director of the Program in Japanese Studies (1989-1995) and as Director of the Council on East Asian Studies (1998-2000). Over the years he has organized and presided over a number of important conferences and workshops at UCSD which have led to the publication of influential collections of critical essays for which Professor Miyoshi has functioned as both contributor and editor. His numerous publications, including books and essays on Japan and Japanese Literature, on British Literature, and, in recent years, on issues of globalization, ecology, art, architecture, and the corporatization of U.S. universities, have garnered him world-wide recognition. The defining qualities of his work are: serious inter-disciplinary research; a sharp eye for what lies on the horizon of knowledge in his fields of interest; an ability to produce groundbreaking scholarship in several areas; and a penchant for tweaking orthodoxies old and new.

As a teacher Professor Miyoshi has had a major influence on the field of Japanese studies and, more generally, on literary and cultural studies in the US, Asia, and Europe. Within the UCSD Literature Department, Professor Miyoshi has directed the work of a number of doctoral students who now teach at such institutions as University of Wisconsin-Madison, Duke University, New York University, and the University of Toronto. A recent conference at NYU brought together writers and scholars from several disciplines and from around the world who met to pay tribute to Professor Miyoshi’s accomplishments by presenting papers and engaging in dialogue on topics that have been the focus of Miyoshi’s scholarship over the last decade. A recurring motif of the conference was the prescient iconoclasm of Masao Miyoshi. Indeed, Masao is a true iconoclast who leaves an indelible signature on the history and the future orientation of the UCSD Literature Department. His persistent disregard for conventional and unimaginative ways of thinking about literature, culture, and the university have often been the necessary irritant that prodded his colleagues and graduate students to innovative work of their own. Masao has made our lives richer with his irreverence and his adamant refusal to be compliant. We shall miss his lively presence on a regular basis. His retirement after this year will not, however, deprive us of his teaching, as he will return in Spring 2005 to offer a graduate seminar. Join us in wishing Professor Miyoshi all the best in what promises to be an active retirement of continued research and writing.
                                                                                                Rosaura Sánchez
                                                                                                Don Wayne

Marta Sánchez
Please join us in congratulating our colleague Marta Sánchez, who has accepted a job at Arizona State University, Tempe. Marta Sánchez first came to the UCSD Literature Department in the 1970s to do graduate work. In 1977, after earning her Ph.D., she was hired in our department as an Assistant Professor. Since then she has been teaching in the Spanish section (Latin American Literature and Chicano/a Literature), in the Literatures in English section (Chicano/a Literature and Inter-Ethnic Literature) and in the Literatures of the World section (Latin American and Latino/a Literatures).

A pioneering scholar in the field of Chicano/a Literature, Marta has produced two major books: Contemporary Chicana Poetry: A Critical Approach to an Emerging Literature (UC Press, 1985), the first book-length study of four Chicana poets, provided a groundbreaking interpretive and theoretical frame for the study of Chicana poetry. Shakin' Up Race and Gender: Intercultural Connections in Puerto Rican, African American, and Chicano Narratives of the Civil Rights Era (in press at the University of Texas), is a methodologically bold, complex, and original investigation of minority literatures and their interconnected histories.

As a teacher and university citizen, Marta Sánchez has made too many contributions to enumerate in a short space, teaching and mentoring thousands of students and, most recently, serving as director of our M.A. program and as a member of the board of the Preuss School. Her exemplary dedication and commitment to teaching and to students has characterized her entire career. Though we will miss her greatly and regret her departure, we congratulate Marta on the wonderful opportunities offered to her by ASU. We wish her all the best in this next phase of her significant career.

                                                                                      Rosaura Sánchez
                                                                                      Stephanie Jed

Fred Randel
On July 1, our colleague Fred Randel will retire from UCSD after thirty-six years of teaching. Throughout these years, Fred was a pillar of strength to the English section and to the department as a whole. In a time of changing fashions in literary studies, Fred adhered firmly to his critical principles: respect for authorial intentions, careful placement of ideas in their historical contexts, scrupulous refusal of the comforting biases of ideology, generous consideration of opposing views. His rigorous scholarly ethic was as prominent in his teaching and service as in his research and criticism. We hope and believe that his contributions to teaching and scholarship will continue long after his "retirement."

                                                                                        Stephen Cox

Fred Randel's interests and publication record are admirably diverse, ranging from Lamb to Faulkner, with special emphasis on writers of the Romantic period, not least on Mary Shelley. His conscientious and devoted service to the department will be sorely missed.

                                                                                       Andrew Wright

Fred Randel joined the Department of Literature in 1968, after receiving his Ph.D. in English Literature from Yale University. He published a book on Charles Lamb’s Essayistic Romanticism and is nearing completion of a new book on The Mountains and Caves of English Romanticism. Over the years Fred has published many articles in prestigious venues on authors such as Coleridge, Wordsworth, Faulkner, Byron, Thomas DeQuincey, and Mary Shelley. Fred’s teaching has ranged from Milton to the Victorians, with a special focus on the Romantic period. He has taught at all levels, from required lower-division surveys to graduate seminars. Of particular note is his contribution to the Revelle Humani-ties program, where for many years he introduced students to eighteenth-century literature and culture. Fred has also served the department and the larger campus on committees and in administrative positions too numerous to list here. We thank him for his years of service to our department, and wish him a long and productive retirement.

                                                                                       Todd Kontje

Preuss School Book Drive: Results

The Winter Quarter collection of books for Preuss School Library was a great success, with hundreds of usable books delivered to the Preuss Library in March. To Department Members: Thank you for your generosity! This is the first year Preuss graduates a Senior Class, and nearly all Seniors have won places in excellent universities. Our donated books will help future classes.

Our thanks, and thanks also to Literature Staff for help in organizing.

                                                                                    Marta Sánchez
                                                                                    Donald Wesling
                                                                                    Andrew Wright

JUNE EVENTS

NOT ONLY NOT AT THE GROVE
a reading in celebration of graduating writers

Wednesday, June 2 - 4:30PM
Visual Arts Performance Space

Ten student readers will read for ten minutes each. Faculty and staff
have volunteered special awards to these students. A move is afoot for a
small reception afterwards. These amazing poets, fiction-writers,
nonfiction writers, screenwriters and performers and new genre writers
will galvanize our consciousnesses for 100 minutes.

Come!

For more information, please contact Eileen Myles.

CONFERENCES

Frederick Douglass and Herman Melville:
A Sesquicentennial Celebration

June 22-26, 2005

Held on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of both Douglass's My Bondage and My Freedom and Melville's Benito Cereno, this conference will examine the works, lives, and contexts of these two writers who spanned most of the nineteenth century. The conference will take place in the historic town of New Bedford, Mass., where both young men spent time.

Proposals for papers, panels, or roundtable discussions should be 1-2 pages and sent to Robert S. Levine, English Department, 3101 Susquehanna Hall, University of Maryland, 20742 (rlevine@umd.edu) or to Samuel Otter, English Department, 322 Wheeler Hall #1030, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 94720 (sotter@socrates.berkeley.edu). Proposals should be postmarked or emailed by June 15, 2004.

For details, go to http://whalingmuseum.org/index.html

20^th Century Literature Conference

February 24-25, 2004

Critical papers may be submitted on any topic con-cerning literary works (including film) since 1900. Work by creative writers is also welcome. Submissions may be in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish.

For information, go to http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/cml/xxconf

Deadline for proposals: September 15, 2004

OPPORTUNITIES

Academic Senate Committee on Research Grants

Travel Grants: Academic Senate members may also apply for travel expenses to national and international conferences and symposia. Limits apply, and a maximum of $1,000 will be granted. Applications must be submitted to Nancy Ho-Wu by June 14.

Intercampus Exchange Program Grants: Airfare is provided to Academic Senate members and registered graduate students for travel to other UC campuses for research study, and to faculty invited to UCSD from other UC campuses for consultations that will benefit UCSD faculty. See Nancy Ho-Wu for an application.

For information: http://www-senate.ucsd.edu/cor.htm

Harvard University Society of Fellows
Three-Year Junior Fellowships

Harvard’s Society of Fellows gives exceptional scholars early in their careers an opportunity to pursue studies in any department without formal requirements. Those still pursuing their Ph.D. should have completed routine training and be well along in writing their dissertations. Nominations sent in May or June are most beneficial to the candidates. For details, contact: Ana Minvielle

Deadline: Friday, September 10, 2004

Jacob K. Javits Fellowships Program

The Jacob K. Javits program offers graduate student funding for up to 48 months. FY 2005 applications are expected to be available in August 2004. The application deadline date for FY 2005 is expected to be the first week of October 2004. For program information, go to http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsjavits/index.html

UC Humanities Research Institute, 2005-2006

Conference Grants are designed to foster an intellectual community among University of California scholars from a range of campuses and disciplines. Grants range from $5,000 to $15,000 and require at least 50% matching funds from the applicant's home campus or other sources.

Seminar Grants are intended to be more focused in content and smaller in scale—generally focusing on a research problem within a discipline, though inter-disciplinary discussions on a seminar scale are also appropriate. Grants range from $3,000 to $5,000, and require at least 50% matched funds.

For information and application forms, please see the UCHRI website at http://www.uchri.org

Proposals must be received by October 15, 2004.