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21 March 2012 Volume viii, Issue 5

Language and Its Users

p. 2

Book Review: Sex, Economy,

Freedom, and Community

p. 2

Tucker’s Take

p. 3

Do You Know the English Depart-

ment?

p. 4

Words of the Month

p. 4

Major Spotlight

p. 5

In Case You Missed It…

Andy Kirkpatrick (2012)

In Memory of Dr. Gayle Price

Amy Snyder (2012)

On March 6, 2012, Gardner-Webb University lost to cancer Dr. Gayle Price, a member of our family since

1991. As a professor of English, dean, and associate provost, Dr. Price sought excellence in all things, not on-

ly in her professional life (everything from teaching a her students to write well, to personally overseeing set-

up for a banquet), but as a family woman and friend. Thank you, Dr. Price, for the passion you invested in

Gardner-Webb University and for everything you have taught us. We will miss you, and we thank God for the

time we had with you.

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Book Review: Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community by Wen-

dell Berry

Jane Savage (2011)

Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community is a book of nine essays by Wendell Berry censuring big indus-

try as it has destroyed and continues to destroy local communities and the morals for which they stand. He

writes that, “The triumph of the industrial economy is the fall of community…For when community falls,

so must fall all the things that only community life can engender and protect: the care of the old, the care

of education and children, family life, neighborly work, the handing down of memory, the care of the

earth, respect for nature and the lives of wild creatures.” Writing from a Christian perspective, Berry chas-

tises the Church for its failure to uphold Scriptural truths and encourages them toward a greater recogni-

tion of the destructive forces behind a consumerist mentality. While critics might berate Berry for such

emphatic assertions, even The New York Times Book Review admits it “hopes that somehow our country

and the world will soon come to see the truth that is told here.”

Although Berry is direct, his words are gracefully formed and his points eloquently crafted. Even in under-

standing his possible offense, one senses a careful avoidance in adhering to any party lines save those of

God and common sense. Exercising a thorough knowledge and familiarity with our current zeitgeist, Berry

balances his farmstead reputation, not allowing his being in-the-world-but-not-of-it to challenge his topi-

cal authority. Some readers might find Berry’s ideas abrasive ,or dare I say radical, but his interest is al-

ways on the side of humanity and the communal support we need to thrive. In his final lines, he directs us

back to the goal: “Respect, I think, always implies imagination—the ability to see one another, across in-

evitable differences, as living souls.”

Language and Its Users

Amelia Bolick (2013)

Language. We use it from the time we grumble at our alarm clock early in the morning to our internal mono-

logues during the last five minutes of consciousness before sleep. Our lives are, in so many ways, defined by

our language, yet we struggle to define it. Yes, even we English majors often fail to understand the very foun-

dation of our art. This is why God made linguistics majors.

Brian Cansler, 21, is a linguistics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; he has been a fea-

tured speaker at an international professional linguistics conference and spent last summer working for the

Dogon & Bangime Linguistics Project in Mali. I owe much of my understanding of linguistics to him.

So what exactly is language? The accepted definition of language among the linguistics community is “a sys-

tem of spoken or gestured symbols with arbitrary meanings that have been agreed upon by a community of

individuals.” Written language is excluded, but sign languages are recognized as valid language systems. The

symbols are arbitrary because they have little to do with what they represent; for instance, although the word

“cat” sounds nothing like your furry feline friend, you recognize its established meaning. Furthermore, lan-

(Continued on page 3)

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Tucker’s Take Future Leader Dog Tucker (2012)

A few weekends ago, I was in downtown Chimney Rock with Mom, and we had a bad experience at an ice

cream shop. By bad, I mean that as soon as we walked in the door, the owner became very upset and told us to

leave. Mom tried to show him my ID card, but he didn't care. She says we don't support businesses that don't

support us (which is why she won't eat pizza from Papa's anymore), so we left and went to a coffee shop next

door called Coffee on the Rocks. They were really nice and said that not only was I allowed to come inside,

but that I didn't even have to wear my jacket unless I wanted to! (Mom made me keep it on so I would remem-

ber to behave.)

Mom gets really flustered when people are rude to us.

She can't understand why people are so closed-minded, and I

think she's also afraid of how a real Leader Dog and blind

handler would be treated in that situation. Part of the reason

she and I are giving Leader Dog presentations this semester

for Alpha Chi and Honors is to help inform people about pup-

pies in training. She wants more people to understand that we

dog guides aren't factory made - we're carefully hand craft-

ed during a year and a half of training and every new situation

helps to prepare us to behave well in the future.

guage is infinitely meaningful—capable of communicating complex ideas with clarity and specificity; lin-

guists do not consider animal communications language for this reason. All humans grasp language to some

degree. Scientists believe that language acquisition begins even before birth; children as young as a few weeks

old start to reflect their native language's intonational patterns in their crying.

One of the most intriguing aspects of language is its malleability. The English language alone has undergone

drastic transformation throughout history, to the extent that the English spoken before the 11th century is al-

most entirely unintelligible to English speakers in the 21st century. There are many factors responsible for the

changes that occur in language, including pop culture, technological innovation, art, psychology, sociology,

and politics. The desire to fit in is perhaps the most influential factor in language transformation, causing peo-

ple to assimilate their language to the dominant culture. This trend can be observed on a small scale in a phe-

nomenon known as university leveling. “Most students in a college sound relatively similar to each other while

at school, no matter where in the country they come from,” explains Cansler, “but they switch into a heavier

accent when they call home or visit their parents. It's a subconscious result of the desire to fit in by adopting a

more neutral accent.” In contemporary culture, another influential factor in language transformation is modern

technology, specifically the rise of instant communication and social media. “For the past 20 or 30 years, the

language has been adding new constructions and abbreviations as fast as it can get hold of them. New words

enter the language literally every day to support the changing technology and our changing lifestyles,” says

Cansler. The impact of technology on literacy is of great concern to contemporary English educators, prompt-

ing some teachers, including Gardner-Webb’s own, to incorporate social media into a traditional curriculum.

Those interested in learning more about the effects of technology on language should see Dr. Hartman, Ms.

Nance, or Ms. Buckner for further information.

(Continued from page 2)

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Words of the Week

1. vivificate (verb)— to give life to; to animate; to revive; to vivify.

2. vivacious (adjective )— lively; animated

3. vim (noun)— lively or energetic spirit; enthusiasm; vitality

Do You Know the English Department?

Amy Snyder (2013)

Dr. Cheryl Duffus

Dr. Cheryl Duffus, who is in her fifth year at GWU, received her degree in Caribbean

Literature and 20th Century British Literature at the University of Mississippi. She

teaches composition and world literature, which includes the general survey classes and

such specific foci as Caribbean Literature (her favorite) and Postcolonial Literature. Her

current work focuses on how different readers respond to such texts, “especially ones

with controversial female narrators.” Given the chance to teach a new class, she would

enjoy Indian and Indian Diaspora Literature, as well as African Literature. Continuing

the Caribbean theme, though, her favorite book (if she must pick one) might be Prosper-

o’s Daughter by Elizabeth Nunez, which re-sets Shakespeare’s The Tempest in 1950’s

Trinidad. In her free time, she enjoys yoga.

Dr. Shana Hartman

Dr. Shana Hartman, who can claim five years at GWU in May, usually teaches first-

year writing courses; English Education courses (one of her concentrations of study at

ECU and UNC Charlotte), plus the occasional special topic. Her favorite is Teaching

of Writing. In May, she will present her current research on “how spaces like Twitter

and Ning allow students to use not-fully-formed thoughts to help them understand con-

cepts” with Jennifer Buckner and Abby Nance at the Computers and Writing confer-

ence. Her most recent favorite series is The Hunger Games, but her favorite book over-

all is Their Eyes Were Watching God. A quirky fact? Dr. Hartman has been the same

height since 7th grade as a result of a 9 inch growth spurt between 5th and 7th.

Dr. Shea Stuart

Since Fall 2007, Dr. Shea Stuart has taught Compositions I and II, British and World

Lit Surveys, and such upper level classes as History of the Novel and Science Fiction

and Fantasy (she cannot choose a favorite- “It’s like asking a parent which is the favor-

ite child.”) She obtained her degrees at Troy State University and Auburn University,

with concentrations in 18th century literature, the novel, feminist theory, and cultural

studies. She is currently “exploring the use of Twitter in public discourse,” plus com-

paring the rise of the 18th century novel and evolution of it in the 21st century. Favorite

books are like favorite classes, so Dr. Stuart has many favorites, including Eliza Hay-

wood, Frances Burney, Neil Gaiman, many others, and Jane Austen, who will star in

Dr. Stuart’s special topics class in Fall 2012. She would also like to teach a contemporary authors course on Neil Gaiman

or China Mieville (another favorite). Dr. Stuart is a self-described “snobby Anglophile” and “geek,” who loves technolo-

gy, SciFi, The Big Bang Theory, and Doctor Who.

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Major (Emphasis): General Writing

Expected Graduation: May 2014

Hometown: Barnardsville, NC

Ideal Job: Young adult author

Current English Classes: Shakespeare and Lit Mag

Character: Arwen from The Lord of the Rings. She is

an elf, Aragorn is in love with her, and she can knock

people out. Perfect.

Favorite quote: "Imagination is not only the uniquely

human capacity to envision that which is not, and there-

fore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its ar-

guably most trans-formative and revelatory capacity, it

is the power to that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never

shared." (JK Rowling)

Major: Pre-Professional Writing

Hometown: Vero Beach Florida

Ideal Job: Lawyer, Pastor, Writer, Farmer

Current English Classes: Rhetoric; American Lit.

"American Renaissance;” Caribbean Literature

Character: Captain Jack Sparrow

Book: The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemmingway)

Inaminate Object: a pirate ship

Favorite Quotes: "No shoes, no shirts, no prob-

lems." (Kenny Chesney)

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...

there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than

you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll

always be with you." ( A.A. Milne )

George C. Millar II

Trista Pruitt

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March 20—

Registration began for Summer and

Fall classes (seniors).

March 26-April 1—

Senior Disorientation Week

April 5-9—

Easter Break

April 12—

English Internship Application Dead-

line for Summer/Fall

April 28—

NEEDTOBREATHE concert

April 30—

Deadline for August Graduation Ap-

plication

May 3—

Last Day of Classes

May 7-10—

Final Exams

The English Channel

Editor

Amy Snyder

Contributors

Advisor

Dr. David Parker

Thoughts? Ideas? Concerns? Desire to build your portfolio by writing for The Channel?

Email asnyder@gardner-webb.edu

Chelsea Usher

Amelia Bolick

Hannah Mayfield

Jane Savage

Andy Kirkpatrick

Poem of the Month “St. Patrick’s Day” St. Patrick’s Day! St. Patrick’s Day!

Oh! thou tormenting Irish lay—

I’ve got thee buzzing in my brain,

And cannot turn thee out again.

Oh, mercy! music may be bliss

But not in such a shape as this,

When all I do, and all I say,

Begins and ends in Patricks’s Day.

I take up Burke in hopes to chase

The plaguing phantom from its place;

But all in vain—attention wavers

From classic lore to triplet quavers;

An “Essay” on the great “Sublime”

Sounds strangely set in six-eight time.

Down goes the book, read how I may,

The words will flow to Patrick’s Day.

Eliza Cook (Stanza 2 Omitted)