By Louisa Brady
This academic year, there are approximately fifteen working groups within NYU’s English Department. They focus on topics ranging from medieval literature to Marx to digital media in subject matter. I reached out to conveners of two of these groups this semester to learn more about the groups and the kind of work they do.
Farm to Text
https://wp.nyu.edu/sustainability-farmtotext/
Founded in Fall 2015, Farm to Text aims to explore the relationship between literature, agriculture, and community by engaging current debates on food and agriculture through a literary lens. The group organizes a monthly reading group and has hosted a number of events. The group’s founders and co-coordinators, John Linstrom and Kim Adams, told us more about their group, what they’ve been reading this semester, and what their goals are.
How long have you been with the group, and in what capacity have you been involved during your time at NYU?
John: Kim and I co-founded the group in Fall 2015, and we have both served as co-coordinator since that time. This involves scheduling meetings, planning events, coordinating text selection, and finding good food and whiskey.
How often do you meet and what does a typical meeting look like?
Kim: We run a monthly reading group, that typically meets in the evening, with five to ten people in attendance. We choose a text in advance, send it out by email and post it on our website, and then gather to discuss it in one of the department rooms. We always have food and drink, and I think we pride ourselves on our hospitality, on keeping the traditions relating conversation and consumption, and bearing in mind the actual relations between the food we are eating and the agricultural system we are discussing. We also have held larger events, and we usually discuss material related to those events in the reading group setting beforehand.
How many members are in the group?
Kim: We have a mailing list of 40 members, but some are more and some are less active. Attendance at events varies.
What are you working on this semester specifically?
Kim: This semester we have read selections from Raymond Williams’s The Country and the City, short stories by Charles Chesnutt, and Farmscape, a play by Iowa Poet Mary Swander. We also hosted Mary Swander for a reading and collaborated with two outside groups, Change Food and AgArts, to put on two of her plays here at NYU.
Is the group putting on any events/lectures/etc. soon, or have you done so recently?
John: We recently hosted Mary Swander, the Poet Laureate of Iowa, who in November came to campus for the NYC premieres of two of her farm plays, Vang (about recent immigrant farmers in Iowa) and Map of My Kingdom (about the drama of intergenerational farmland transfer), and to give a reading in the English Department. Last year we hosted Fred Kirschenmann, a national leader in the sustainable agriculture movement.
What do you think people in the English department should know about the group?
John: The English Department should know that we are a bunch of people with diverse interests related to the land and the mediation of the land. We have developed an email list of members in the English Department, the Food Studies Department, and other universities, as well as members from outside of academia. (Our reading group has been visited by an urban farmer, a freelance journalist, and a retired geneticist turned bovine historian, among others.) Our readings have spanned authors including Wendell Berry, bell hooks, Charles Chesnutt, Raymond Williams, and many more. We are driven by curiosity and also by a sense of material urgency. We are hoping to go on field trips in the near future. We also always have whiskey, and we typically have good beer.
MA Futures
http://englishchannel.nyu.edu/working-groups/ma-futures/
The MA Futures group is meant to be a resource for master’s students who will graduate with an M.A. in English. The group organizes presentations with representatives from various fields, who provide information and resources for the students. Morgan Chmielewski, one of the group’s leaders for this year, discussed the group’s goals and its upcoming meetings for the spring semester, a busy and important time for many graduate students.
How often does the MA Futures group meet and what does a typical meeting look like?
Morgan: We often meet once a month, but we will hold an increased amount of meetings in the spring since that is the time students are concerned about planning for their lives after the M.A. Each meeting explores a different career option for graduates with master’s degrees. We have a representative from the field join us. They present typically for half of the meeting (half an hour) followed by a question-and-answer period. We offer pizza and drinks in a casual round table-style meeting.
How many members are in the group?
Morgan: Our group does not have a set number of members. Each meeting explores a different career opportunity for master’s students. All graduate students are welcome to join any meeting topic they find interesting. We typically have between 6-12 students join each meeting. Certain paths, like law, tend to draw more students compared to more niche careers.
What are you working on this semester specifically?
Morgan: This semester we held a meeting with an NYU academic advisor. Next semester we will have meetings on the following:
- A general meeting with a representative from NYU’s Wasserman center to discuss the resources they provide, which includes career fairs, individual career advising and job panels. The representative will share stories of general career successes they see from GSAS graduates and what steps to take to obtain the careers that inspire us.
- Teaching at the high school and undergraduate levels
- Legal careers. A recent English MA graduate who is now in NYU Law will share her experience. We will also be joined by NYU Law’s admissions advisor.
- Publishing careers
- Jobs in the not-for-profit sector
How long have you been with the group, and in what capacity have you been involved during your time at NYU?
Morgan: Taylor Culbert, Sam Humy, and I took over this group from Tanya Schmitt this year. Tanya founded this group last year with the blessing of Juliet Fleming. Its importance for master’s students and its popularity with the students made it an easy group to take over.
Is the group putting on any events/lectures/etc. soon, or have you done so recently?
Morgan: Our next meeting will be with a representative from the Wasserman Center three weeks into the spring. We think this will be a great springboard for all master’s students either looking for post-graduate or summer plans.
Finally, what do you think people in the English department should know about the group?
Morgan: Our gatherings are more or less informal, but they can be a great starting point for your future after or outside of the MA. If thinking about the future beyond your master’s seems daunting and overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, our meetings are perfect for you! You can get your individualized questions answered and be introduced to previously unknown career opportunities. We work so hard for our degrees, and knowing their value outside of the higher education space is key to finding fulfilling careers.
A full list of the English Department’s working groups and descriptions can be found here: http://englishchannel.hosting.nyu.edu/working-groups/