Reflector Articles

Dear Inquiry and Comp. II students—

(I've already emailed you this note, but I thought I'd put it on the blog, too. You'll notice that SOME of what I have to say is more intended for Comp. II students than Inquiry students, but I thought I'd leave the note as it was, since so many of you are in both classes. I'll look forward to your responses soon!)

As you know, one of the requirements for both Honors Inquiry and Comp. II is that you write a short article, with the aim of possible publication in our Honors newsletter, The Reflector, about a cultural event in which the Honors Academy is somehow involved. Some of you have already written an article, and in a few cases two articles, but some of you haven’t written anything yet.

There are plenty of opportunities still. Remember: I am asking Inquiry students to write TWO articles, Comp. II students to write ONE article. Those of you in both classes, then, will need to write THREE this semester. I’m thinking, too, of articles in the 400-500 word range.

Here are a few possibilities for articles that still need to be written. If I put a (2) beside the article, I’m thinking that this, if it’s more like an 750-word article, could count for two articles. If you are a Comp. II student and you write an article that’s longer and in the 750-word range, I might be willing to arrange just a bit of extra credit for you.

Some of these topics will be more appropriate for Comp. II students, some more appropriate for Inquiry students, and some could go either way. And some of you might have other good ideas for articles in mind.
We need the following:
*An article on our field trip to see A Raisin in the Sun, which might include a review of the play.
*It would be VERY cool if somebody wanted to interview Jerron Robinson, the Southwest graduate who played Walter Lee Younger. His father is Ellis Robinson, who teaches English in our department. You could find Jerron’s phone number through him. Either a published interview or, maybe, an overview of his experiences at Southwest and as an actor. (2)
*Somebody will want to do an overview article about the Comp. II field trip to Oxford.
*It would be very cool if somebody did an interview/article about Bill Griffith, who is the curator of Rowan Oak (Faulkner’s home). He’s “done” this tour for Southwest students many, many times. (2)
*Somebody needs to do an interview / article about Clarence Christian, the retiring director of the Honors Academy. You would need to arrange that through Irina, the office secretary. (2)
*Inquiry will be visiting Sun Studios on Monday. We’ll need an article about that event.
*Inquiry will also be visiting Stax Studios.
*Inquiry will be visiting Elmwood Cemetery.
*Inquiry will also be visiting the Brooks Museum, where there are two very cool exhibits right now, a Southern quilt exhibit and another called “Contempt for the New.” We’re planning on attending a Thursday night lecture, late in March. An article on “Contempt” lecture and/or exhibit would be great, as would another on the quilts.
*There’s a possibility for a second “Elmwood” article. One of our faculty members, Mary Ann Bodayla, will be conducting the tour. She’s done it often in the past. An interview with her and an article about her interest in Elmwood and graveyards in general would be great.
*What about an overview / review of one or both of the films we’ve seen in Inquiry class? That would work.
*We’ll want an article about our National Poetry Month event, a reading with Greg Brownderville.
*I would think an interview with Brownderville and a more general article about him as a poet would be great, too (2).
*On our Oxford field trip, Comp. II students will be hearing Lee Durkee read. He’s the author of a fine novel called Rides of the Midway. An article about his reading would be great.
*An interview with Durkee would be fabulous, too. That might be worth (2)
*If somebody wanted to read Durkee’s novel and write a review, I would be especially grateful. I’d count THAT as 2, easily, and maybe even throw in a little “extra-extra” credit for a very well-written review.
SO. .. .there are lots of possibilities here. I’d like you to write to me and tell me what project you want to do. Some of these articles will be written in time for our late April Reflector, but others may have to wait until the Fall to be published. But if you let me know RIGHT AWAY which article you want to write, I can make sure that nobody else is working on the same article.
You might have other ideas for articles, too, or I might have overlooked something. Let me know if you DO have an idea about something I haven’t mentioned here.
When you write to me, I’d like you to cc a copy to Faith Palmertree, the Reflector editor. Her address is jpalmertree@students.southwest.tn.edu . I don’t know what date she’s set for the deadline for the April edition, but I assume it’s pretty close to the beginning of April.
I hope you all are having a good Spring Break. And again, the sooner you let me know what article you want to write, the sooner you’ll be “locked.” That will be good, because nobody will be able to steal your idea. .. .
DB