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ALICIA KENT
University
of Michigan-Flint
Department
of
326
French Hall,
(810)
762-3285
EDUCATION
PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison. Department
of
Specialty:
Twentieth century American and British literature, multicultural literatures.
Minor:
Multicultural theory (anthropology, sociology, comparative literature and
post-colonial studies).
Dissertation: Migrant
Modernities: Historical and Generic Movement in Fiction by African Americans
and Native Americans in the Early Twentieth Century
Dissertation
Director: Susan Stanford Friedman, Virginia Woolf Professor of
Committee: Professors Nellie McKay, Jeffrey Steele, Neil
Whitehead (Anthropology)
MA University
of Wisconsin-Madison. Department of
AB
Double
Major in
CURRENT
AND PAST POSITIONS
Assistant Professor. Department of
Visiting Assistant Professor. Department of Ethnic Studies.
TEACHING
AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
American
literature; multicultural literatures, especially African American, Native
American and Jewish American literatures; early twentieth century literature,
including Modernism; Women’s Studies, women’s writing, feminist literary
criticism, representations of gender; Ethnic Studies, race and ethnicity;
diaspora and migration; border and transcultural studies; online learning; composition
(all levels)
HONORS
AND AWARDS
Faculty
Development International Travel Grant
$1,057
for travel to Modernist Studies Association 6,
Lucinda
Stone Junior Women Faculty Award. University
of Michigan-Flint. 2004-2005.
Sole
recipient of this University award for teaching, research, service. The award carries a course release of one
course for two semester and $1500 stipend.
Online
Course Development Grant. Office of Extended Learning. University of
Michigan-Flint. Summer 2002.
Ethnic
Cultural Arts Program Grant.
$1,425
for programming in multicultural artistic areas. Visit of poet Roberta Hill Whiteman to
campus.
University
Fellowship.
American Association of University
Women Dissertation Fellowship Alternate. 1998-99.
Excellence in Teaching Award.
Department of
Steenbock Summer Dissertation
Fellowship.
Sarah E. Wright Graduate Paper Award
for “Traveling Across the Border Between Fiction and Anthropology: Mourning
Dove’s Cogewea and the Negotiation of
Genre.” American Women Writers of Color Conference.
PUBLICATIONS
“Mourning Dove’s Cogewea: Writing Her Way into
Modernity.” MELUS: Multi-Ethnic
Literature of the United States 24.3 (Fall 1999): 39-66.
Reprinted
in Native American Writing: Critical Assessments, edited by A.
Robert Lee. Helm Informations Ltd. Forthcoming 2005.
“Native
American Feminist Criticism in the Contact Zone.” Northwest Review 35.3 (September 1997): 10-114.
PAPERS
AND MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW
Migrant
Modernities: Fiction by African, Native and Jewish Americans, 1880-1940. Book
manuscript under review by Louisiana State University Press. 279 pp.
“’Not a bad imitation’:
Crosscultural Connections in Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition.” Article under review by African American Review. 27 pp.
“’You can’t run away nowadays’:
Redefining Modernity in D’Arcy McNickle’s The Surrounded.” Article under review by Studies in American Indian Literatures.
22 pp.
BOOK
REVIEWS
Book Review of Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters (ed. Carla Kaplan) and Double-Take: A Revisionary Harlem
Renaissance Anthology (ed. Venetria Patton and Maureen Honey). Resources for American Literary Study.
Forthcoming.
Book Review of Children of the
Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education. Robert
Bensen, ed.
PAPERS
PRESENTED
“‘The old burden dragged me back by
the hair’: Anzia Yezierska’s Antimodern New York in The Bread Givers.” Modernist Studies Association 6.
Also
a seminar participant in "Modernist Philosemitism and Antisemitism: Challenging
the Terms of Otherness,” paper entitled, “Desemitization in Abraham Cahan’s The Rise of David Levinsky.”
“Rescuing Anthropology: D’Arcy
McNickle’s Alternative to Anthropology in the Modernist Era.” Association for
the Study of American Indian Literatures (ASAIL) panel at the American
Literature Association Annual Conference.
“What’s Modernity Got to Do with It?
Early Twentieth Century Fiction by Multicultural Women Writers.” Women’s
History Month Brown Bag Research Series. Women’s
“Finding
“Two Competing Uses for
Anthropological Discourse in the Study of Early Twentieth Century Multicultural
Fiction.” Modernist Studies Association 4.
“From ‘I’m from a small town in
“’No Way Home’: Anzia Yezierska’s Bread
Givers.” 20th Century Literature Conference,
“Narrativizing the Anthropological
Gaze in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Society for
the Study of Narrative Literature Conference.
“Rescuing Anthropology: Cultural
Hybridity in D’Arcy McNickle’s The
Surrounded.” MELUS 2000 conference.
“’Not
a bad imitation’: Minstrelsy, Mixed
Races and Murder in Charles Chesnutt’s The
Marrow of Tradition.” American Literature Association Conference.
“‘Her great journey to the horizons
in search of people’: The Traveling Woman in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” MELUS
1999 conference.
“Traveling Across the Border Between
Fiction and Anthropology: Mourning Dove’s Cogewea
and the Negotiation of Genre.” American Women Writers of Color Conference.
“Native American Feminist Criticism
in the Contact Zone.” Native American Literature Conference.
“Redefining the Anthropological
Gaze: Mourning Dove’s Cogewea and the
Changing Winds of Modernity.” International Colloquium on American Modernism.
“Mourning Dove’s Cogewea: Writing Her Way into
Modernity.” MELUS Ninth Annual Conference.
TEACHING
& ADVISING EXPERIENCE
Courses taught at University of
Michigan-Flint:
Directed
Co-Chair, Board of
Study for
New course developed
at University of Michigan-Flint:
Courses
taught elsewhere:
Ethnic Studies 300, “Creating Community,
Creating Connections: Multicultural Women’s Literature.”
Ethnic
Studies 101, “Introduction to Ethnic Studies.”
Ethnic
Studies 301, “Ethnicity in the
Women’s Studies 101, “The Meanings of Woman in Western Culture.” University of Wisconsin-Madison. Spring 1999.
Senior Honors Project Co-Advisor.
Sarah Walter.
Teaching Assistant, University of
Wisconsin-Madison. 1994-1998.
Women’s
Studies 101, “The Meanings of Woman in Western Culture.” Professor Dale Bauer.
Fall 1998.
One-on-one writing
instruction to undergraduate and graduate students and at the
ACADEMIC
SERVICE AT UM-FLINT
Moderator.
“Working in Solidarity: Women, Human Rights and Peace.” International Women’s
Day. Women’s
Writing
Seminar. Educational
Opportunities Initiative. University of Michigan-Flint. February 16, 2005.
Search
Committee for the Director of Office of Extended Learning.
“Balancing
Research and Teaching.” Panel Participant for the Workshop for New
Faculty.
“What
to Expect in
Member
of the Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professor Selection Committee.
University of Michigan-Flint. Summer 2004.
“Marketing
Your
“Anatomy
of an Online Course: How to Fit Your
Educational Philosophy into Online Teaching.” Presentation
given for the Office of Extended Learning Development Day Workshop. University of Michigan-Flint.
“Writing
for College.” Presentation for Bridges to Success Program.
Educational Opportunities Initiative. University of Michigan-Flint.
University
Student Concerns Committee. Elected position. University of Michigan-Flint.
2003-2006.
Developed
a University website to enable students to send the committee their concerns
anonymously. http://www.umflint.edu/studentconcerns/
Curriculum
Committee. College of Arts and Sciences.
Helped develop, write and propose a new model
for the CAS General Education Program. Presented to the CAS Faculty in May
2004.
“
“So,
You’re an
“Writing
Skills.” Workshop for the Student
Leadership Conference. Bridges to
Success Program. Educational Opportunities Initiative. University of Michigan-Flint.
MLK
Day 2003 Panel Discussion and Diversity Open House. University of Michigan-Flint.
Organized
and facilitated a panel discussion coordinated a resource table at the
Diversity Open House for “A Day On, Not a Day Off.”
Facilitator
and Creator of the Politics and Pedagogy of Race in the Classroom,
“Tips
on Essay Exams.” Presentation for Bridges
to Success Program. Educational Opportunities Initiative. University of Michigan-Flint.
“Secrets
Your Professor Never Told You.” Presentation for Bridges to Success Program. Educational Opportunities Initiative. University
of Michigan-Flint.
Online
Learning Open House Presentation of AFA/ENG 215 and Weekly Activities.
New
Faculty Orientation Roundtable Presenter on “Who Are Our Students.” University
of Michigan-Flint.
Technology
Workshop Panel Presenter on Using Class ListServs.
Department Service
Search
Committee for Faculty Position in
Faculty
Advisor. Sigma Tau Delta
Assessment
Committee.
Search
Committee for Faculty Position in Composition/Rhetoric.
Successful
hire of a tenure-track faculty member and freshman composition administrator.
Ad-Hoc
Committee on Online Teaching.
Developed
policies for all online courses offered by the Department.
Worked with the Office of Extended
Learning to incorporate the required
Literature
Committee.
Search Committee for Lecturer in Composition.
Academic Service Elsewhere
Departmental
representative for the Social Science Curriculum Committee. College of Arts and
Sciences.
Departmental
representative for the Family Campaign 2001.
Member of the Cultural Studies in
Global Context Steering Committee, Sesquicentennial Strategic Hires. University
of Wisconsin-Madison. Spring 1999. (Appointed)
This committee was
charged with locating three cluster hires in national searches for job
candidates at both the junior and senior levels across seven academic
departments.
Member
of the Curriculum Committee. Standing committee in the Department of Women’s
Studies. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1998-99. (Appointed)
Member of the Steering Committee for
the Border Studies Group, an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students
engaged in cross-disciplinary research and programming. 1998-99. (Appointed)
Student organizer for
Border Studies. Spring 1997-August 1999.
Member
of the Teaching / Teaching Assistant Review Committee. Standing committee in
the Department of
Mentor for the Writing Fellows
Program, a
Presenter for
Mentor for new teaching assistants
(1995-1997) and new graduate students (1996-1998). Department of
Peer Observation Program: Initiated a pilot project of peer observation
for teaching assistants that was later adopted by
Guest lectures for Afro-American
Studies 222 (Black Women Writers), Afro-American Studies 267 (Introduction to
Literature: Eighteenth Century to the Harlem Renaissance),
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICE
Reviewer for SAIL (Journal for Studies in American Indian Literatures). Winter
2004-present.
Article Review. SAIL (Journal for Studies in American Indian Literatures). February
2004.
Article Review. Tulsa Journal of Women’s Studies. December 2003.
Article Review. SAIL (Journal for Studies in American Indian Literatures). November
2002.
“From
Maytag Repairman to Popular
“Citing Electronic Sources: MLA and
APA Styles.”
COMMUNITY
SERVICE
Service
learning presentation for middle school teachers. Lapeer County Middle School
Service Learning Summer Institute.
“Early Twentieth Century
Multicultural Women Writers.” Lecture delivered to the Flint Chapter of the
American Association of University Women.
Writing Tutor.
Presentation and discussion on Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zeta Beta
Zeta (Zeta Phi Beta) Sorority.
“Early Jewish American Women Writers.”
Talk delivered at “Food for Thought,” Jewish Community Services of Flint,
“Early Jewish American Women
Writers.” Talk delivered to the Jewish Women’s Forum of Toledo, OH.
Instructor and Committee Member in
the Community Writing Assistance Program, a volunteer pilot project offering
free writing instruction to community members at the Wilmar Community Center
and then at the Madison Public Library, Madison, WI. Summer 1997, Fall 1997,
Spring 1998. Summer 1998.
PROFESSIONAL
MEMBERSHIPS
The
Modern Language Association.
American
Literature Association.
The Society for the Study of the
Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the
The Association for the Study of
American Indian Literatures.
The Association for the Study of
Jewish American Literature.
Modernist Studies Association.
PROFESSIONAL
WRITING AND EDITING
Technical
Writer. Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (SPAR).
University Relations Specialist.
University News and Information Service. Covered the Chancellor’s Office,
administration, Board of Regents, Faculty Senate, social sciences, and minority
issues for Chancellors Donna E. Shalala and David Ward. Staff writer for Wisconsin Week, Home Address. Public relations work with local and national media.
University of Wisconsin-Madison. August 1991 to August 1993.
Staff Reporter. The Press-Tribune. Covered education issues and the city of
Writer. Pacific News Service. Wrote
articles for a non-profit, international wire service. Focused on women’s and
youth issues. June 1990 to October 1990.
FOREIGN
LANGUAGES
French:
Spanish: Reading knowledge.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Susan
Stanford Friedman, Virginia Woolf Professor of
Nellie McKay, Professor of
Dale Bauer, Professor of
Neil Whitehead, Associate Professor
of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Brad Hughes, Director of the UW
Michael Martin, Professor and Chair
of Ethnic Studies,
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