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Student News

Seeking Students for a School of Liberal Arts Themed Event: “Psyche & Soma in the Age of Cyberculture”

Hi all! Each year the MercyU School of Liberal Arts (SLA) launches a theme and then encourages faculty and students to create events based on the theme. The SLA theme this year is “bodies.” Faculty in the grad program are hoping to gather students together for a themed-event called “Psyche and Soma in the Age of Cyberculture.” Just what would the event actually involve? And when would it happen? We don’t yet know! But it would somehow have something to do with the question and mystery of the mind, the self, one’s psychical quidditas (psyche) in relation to one’s physical body (soma) in this age of cyberculture, meaning the age of the internet, phones, computers, AI, virtual reality, augmented reality, MMORPGS and other co-op shared gaming and virtual environments, social media, etc.

We’re first just looking to see who from our grad program would be interested in joining together to do something on the theme. Then, from there we’d confer and determine just what that something might be. The most standard thing would be some sort of a panel event, where a series of presenters would share something (perhaps a scholarly paper, perhaps a creative-writing piece, perhaps something of the studio-arts or digital arts, perhaps something musical, perhaps something cinematic, perhaps something like dance, etc.) each somehow related to the question, issue, mystery of “Psyche and Soma in the Age of Cyberculture.” But perhaps there’s some other sort of event that we might imagine.

If any student in the grad program is curious about or interested in this, please write to cloots@mercy.edu by October 25. Reaching out does not bespeak a commitment, so if you’re at all intrigued, just reach out. Let’s just get in view who all might be interested in banding together for this event. Once we have that in view, we’ll take it from there and figure out what we each might do, and when, and in what modality.

Annual Grad Student Symposium

2025 Grad English Symposium; Live Online Saturday April 26, Noon Eastern

On Saturday April 26 the MA program will be hosting its annual “Writing Image Text” or “W.I.T.” Graduate English Symposium. The event will be held on Zoom. We will begin at noon, eastern time. The length of the event will depend on how many of our grad students will present, but usually it runs for a few hours.

This call for papers (CFP) is limited to current students in the program. Active students who want to attend but not present, as well as alumni, prospective students, faculty, family, guests, etc., are all very welcome and encouraged to attend as audience members. The deadline for responding to this CFP and declaring as a presenter is the end of Saturday, April 5.

The symposium is a casual mini-conference at which active MA English students present scholarly or creative work. A paper or project that you’ve created for any of your MA courses would do just fine. Full instructions and guidance for presenting will be shared with presenters after April 5. The symposium is also a community event at which you might see/meet fellow grad students, program professors, alumni, and others in the MA community.

Graduate students and professional scholars often attend and read at local, regional, national, and international conferences, so this symposium provides a friendly small-scale introduction to the conference experience. And for anyone who reads a paper, it becomes a line-item that you can list under the scholarship section on your CV (click here to read more about the CV).

Anyone planning to attend this year’s WIT symposium, as presenter or audience member, please indicate as much by sending an email to cloots@mercy.edu no later than the end of Saturday, April 5. And please use the subject line “WIT Symposium 2025” for your email. Zoom info will be sent out after April 5 to everyone who RSVPs.

You can read about some of our previous symposiums on the blog here, as well as here, here, here, and here. On behalf of the MA faculty: we hope to see you all there! Please contact cloots@mercy.edu if you have any questions about any of this.

Red Hyacinth Journal

Creative Writers & Artists Take Note! Submit your work to Red Hyacinth

The Mercy University literary/arts journal Red Hyacinth is now accepting submissions of creative writing, photography, and images of other original studio arts for it’s 2025 edition. For full submission guidelines and instructions, please click here. The deadline to submit is December 5, 2024. This is a great opportunity for graduate English students to get your creative work considered for publication, and potentially to see it in print in a perfect-bound hard-copy journal.

Annual Director's Welcome

Welcome to the Fall Semester and the 2024-25 Academic Year

On behalf of all of the Mercy University MA in English Literature faculty: welcome, everyone in our graduate English community, to the 2024-25 academic year. Here in New York the summer is just starting to hint at the autumn ahead: the morning air cools; the deep and uniform forest green of the leaves begins to gesture to the yellow, red, and brown ahead; twilight comes a bit earlier, and each day earlier yet. In different regions, nature has different ways of signaling the changing season. Whatever region you’re in, and whatever are the tells of autumn, ever since we were young we know one thing that all of these signs mean: it’s time to get back to class, get back to our studies, get back to school. We few, we happy few, who still no matter how near or far we are from our younger days can return to our studies and explorations when the summer rolls into autumn–we get to begin again. And so today, Wednesday September 4th, the first day of our fall semester and of our new annual academic cycle, we begin again!

Before we all head off into our new adventures and explorations through the literatures, histories, and cultures from across all of human time and all around the globe, I want to share with our grad students information about resources and support which are available to you all.

THE UPDATED STUDENT HANDBOOK, AND NETIQUETTE GUIDE

Now and then we revise and update the Graduate Student Handbook. The latest version, updated summer 2024, is available by clicking here. Note that among the additions to the latest version is a netiquette guide (page 8). We ask all of our grad students to review the updated handbook, as it contains answers to and information about many of the questions and situations grad students face.

STUDENT ID

Grad students, whether on campus or online, can and should secure student ID cards. A student ID can get you discounts at various stores, and can usually get you access to any university library in your area. Students at the Dobbs Ferry campus can stop in and get your ID card in Person at the Admissions office in Main Hall. Students at a distance can secure an ID card through the mail by following these instructions:

Using your @mercy.edu email account, send a photo of your face along with your full first name, last name, and ID number (your eight-digit CWID number) to pact@mercy.edu.

 Full photo guidelines are:

  • Submit a color photo of just your face taken in last 6 months
  • Have someone else take your photo – no selfies
  • Submit a high-resolution photo that is not blurry, grainy, or pixilated
  • Use a clear and unedited image of your face; do not use filters such as those commonly used on social media
  • Face the camera directly with full face in view
  • Have a neutral facial expression or a natural smile, with both eyes open
  • Use a white or off-white background

Explain in your email that you are a distance-learning graduate student in the MA English Lit program at Mercy U, and that you would like a student ID card.

GENERAL STUDENT RESOURCES & SUPPORT

Each active graduate student has what’s called a PACT advisor, which is basically your staff advisor and the point-person for assisting you with issues that arise or general questions you might have. The primary PACT advisor for every graduate English student is currently Lydia Yearwood (lyearwood@mercy.edu). Also know that as the Program Director I am the faculty advisor to every graduate English student, so you can always contact me at cloots@mercy.edu with questions about the program or your classes.

Student Support Services is the general office/portal where you can find info about many of the things that students normally need info about. Note that practically all of Mercy University’s support services have some online variation, and so are available for our distance learning students.

The University’s Office of Accessibility is the place to contact if you need to discuss or register any accommodations.

We also have an office of Counseling Services for those in need.

The Center for Academic Excellence and Innovation (CAEI) provides tutoring (including online tutoring) and other such assistance for those who want some help with their writing and researching. Occasionally a professor might recommend or require that you seek additional help with your writing, and the CAEI is the place you can get it, whether on campus or online.

Mercy has extensive online library resources. JSTOR Language & Literature, MLA International Bibliography, and Academic Search Premier are the main databases in the field of literary research, though there are many other databases available online through the library. Additionally, Mercy has digitized versions of many scholarly books. To search the ebook selection use the advanced search option for the library catalog and under “format” select “EBook.” Then search away and check-out/download any useful books you find. For general research help and an overview of basic research methods, you might find useful this online guide that librarian Miranda Montez created specifically for the MA English program. And don’t hesitate to make use of interlibrary loan to secure any materials (such as academic journal articles, etc.) that you need but which Mercy might not have on hand. Librarians can secure materials using interlibrary loan and send scanned PDFs to students at a distance, within fair use and copyright allowance.

For those approaching their last semester, you must pay attention to your required comprehensive exam, to the instructions for how to enroll in the final 599 course, and to the instructions for how to apply for degree conferral. Also note that the format for the 599 thesis paper involves some in-house style requirements, which are explained here.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ENGL 599 MASTER’S THESIS ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

The program’s “student learning outcomes” are the big-picture things we hope you are developing throughout your time the program, and all of your courses in one way or another are geared around developing one, some, or all of those outcomes. We have a rubric keyed to those outcomes that we use when reviewing your final 599 thesis papers. You can see that rubric by clicking here. Even though we don’t apply the rubric systematically to papers written for courses prior to the 599 tutorial, it’s a good idea to look at it since more or less the things listed on the rubric are the things we’re considering when reviewing all of your papers for most courses in the program. The rubric and the outcomes, and our 599 assessment practices, as well as the sharing of this information with students, are all requirements of our university’s accreditation.

GRADUATE STUDENT SYMPOSIUM 2025

It’s not too early to be thinking about attending and/or, hopefully, presenting at the spring 2025 Graduate Student Symposium. More information about this will be shared in early spring here on the blog, but anyone interested or with questions should contact cloots@mercy.edu now for more information.

ONWARD INTO THE SEMESTER

Onward we go! If anyone has any questions about anything in this post, please let me know at cloots@mercy.edu. Once again, welcome, everyone, to the 2024-25 academic year here in the Mercy University MA in English Lit program. Here’s to the fall, here’s to your studies and explorations, and here’s to the academic year ahead. Thanks, all. -CL

Course Information, Course Schedules

Quick poll to help determine the fifth and final course for the spring schedule

The spring 2024 schedule is mostly set. Unless things change the schedule will become visible in Connect on 10/18, priority registration for veterans will begin on 10/25, and general registration will begin on 11/1. The four courses which will be scheduled for sure are:

  • ENGL 508 History of Drama
  • ENGL 515 Hispanic & Latino Lit
  • ENGL 524 From Reason to Imagination
  • ENGL 546 Working Women in the USA

Then the fifth course will be one of the following: The American Renaissance, or Search for Identity in American Lit, or Hemingway / Modern Cryptography. Click here to read descriptions for those courses.

We invite students in the program who will be taking courses in the spring to vote below to indicate your preference (please only vote if you will be taking courses in the spring, and please only vote once, so that we have an accurate measure of genuine interest):

Career Advice, Red Hyacinth Journal, Student News

Red Hyacinth Literary Journal: Grad-Student Editors Needed!

About Red Hyacinth:

Red Hyacinth Journal is an annually published, perfect-bound literary magazine that showcases the writing and art of Mercy University students and alum. The journal’s first issue was produced in 2018 through the generosity of the family of the late Professor Valerie Lewis, a former instructor in the English program, and named for her favorite flower. Over the past several years, Red Hyacinth has featured the diverse creative work of hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students from across many majors at MercyU. Student editors from the Departments of Literature & Language, and of Communication and the Arts, collaborate on the editorial decisions, design, and concept. The journal’s student editors receive hands-on experience in the editorial and production processes as they select the creative work (poetry, drama, nonfiction, fiction, and art) in a blind-review process, prepare the magazine for press, and communicate with the college community regarding its release. The journal’s website can be found at: https://redhyacinthjournal.wordpress.com/

As we plan for a 7th annual issue (2024), we are looking to assemble an all-volunteer staff of Editors. Many literary magazines are produced by not-for-profit entities such as colleges and art collectives and rely on a volunteer staff. While the positions are not paid, the Editors’ names appear in the Masthead of the journal and editorial service can be listed on one’s resume and referenced in job interviews. Serving as an editor provides graduate and undergraduate students with invaluable hands-on experience in editing, publishing, and arts administration, and allows students to make an important contribution to the Mercy community, one that will endure for years to come.

We are looking for reliable, dedicated volunteers to fill the following positions for the 2023-24 academic year. The positions will start in November 2023 and run until May 2024. All positions will operate remotely, and applicants must have access to a computer and reliable Internet and have the ability to meet at least once a week, on a weekday, Eastern Standard Time, to collaborate with the team. Some daytime availability (morning or afternoon) is required. Editors will need to submit their availability for meetings with their application. Editors cannot publish their own creative writing in the issue they are serving on.

If interested, please send your resume and a brief letter starting your interest and qualifications, the position you desire, as well as the your availability (days/times) Eastern Standard Time to the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Kristen Keckler, kkeckler1@mercy.edu no later than Oct 16, 2023.

Because the work is spread out over several months, the time commitment is manageable. Editors will be provided back issues of the journal so that they can review various versions of the finished product.

Managing Editor (Priority position)

The Managing Editor position functions as the top editorial position on the staff and manages the day-to-day operations of the journal for one cycle/issue, with the opportunity for renewal for another issue cycle, if the candidate so desires. The Managing Editor will collaborate with the Content and Design Editors to ensure that the team stays on task and that deadlines are met at key junctures in the production schedule. The position requires strong organizational skills and ability to create and maintain spreadsheets using Google.

Responsibilities include:

  • Manage the email and Google drive for the journal
  • Communicate with students/alum who submit to the journal
  • Create Google spreadsheets to track submissions and ensure a blind submission process
  • Schedule and co-lead (with the Faculty Advisor) editorial meetings
  • Communicate with the journal’s Faculty advisor about progress  
  • Coordinate and lead the proofreading process
  • Make minor changes to journal’s website

Content Editors

Content Editors will review submissions in various genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, etc.) and determine the artistic merit/potential of each piece and its suitability for the issue of the journal. There are a limited number of Content Editor positions.

Content Editors’ responsibilities include:

  • Read/review submissions and mark notes on the spreadsheet
  • Attend Zoom meetings to discuss the submissions and decide on which content is most suitable for the issue
  • Collaborate on the order and “arc” of the journal’s creative work, deciding on, for example, which pieces have connections that can be highlighted through juxtaposition
  • Assist with light editing/proofreading
  • Assist with outreach to potential contributors about the journal
Course Schedules

Registration Info and Updates

Registration opens today, 3/20. Below are a few registration notes. This list will be updated as necessary during the registration window:

  • UPDATE: 506 History of Poetic Forms is now active on the summer schedule. The summer ENGL 506 History of Poetic Forms course is not appearing on the schedule. That is an error and will be fixed today, asap, so expect 506 to appear on the schedule soon.
  • ENGL 500 is permit locked per the information shared in this earlier post. In order to receive a permit to register for the 500 course, you must (1) be on track to complete your MA degree prior to fall 2024, and (2) receive a permit from the program director by contacting cloots@mercy.edu.
  • ENGL 599 Master’s Thesis doesn’t appear on the schedule, since the way you register for the tutorial is unique. Consult this post for instructions and guidance for getting into a 599. After reading that post, contact cloots@mercy.edu with any further questions.
  • Summer registration has been brisk right from the start (one class is already full with registration having been opened for just two hours). The 506 course will appear soon to provide more options. Depending on demand, we might schedule another course. The way students can signal whether or not another course is needed is by getting on the waitlist for full courses. If those waitlists climb to the point where we can see that a lot of students are waiting for seats, then another course will appear. If those waitlists don’t fill, then that signals to us that the existing schedule is adequate and has absorbed the expected amount of summer students.