(Re)Roots and (Re)Routes: Transatlantic Connections in Language and Literature

First, let me thank CETL for assisting me in attending the CLA (College Language Association) Conference in Charleston, SC from April 10-12. (http://www.clascholars.org/)

The College Language Association is a professional organization that attracts teachers, scholars, and researchers from all across the United States and Canada. At the convention, scholars gathered together to share ideas and recent theories in the English field. Attending the conference provided me an excellent opportunity to network with peers, participate in workshops, and engage in interactive sessions. As an instructor of core courses at this institution and the director of a computer laboratory that serves the entire campus population, I am constantly looking for innovative ways to mobilize the English language. Educators and presenters at this convention stress the importance of bringing English “back to life” in our college classrooms.

CLA offered a wellspring for conversations centering on intellectual developments and innovative teaching practices. I attended sessions on Toni Morrison's Beloved and how the main character deals with trauma and also a session that looked at masculinity in literature and literacy. The latter session was specifically enlightening because it did not focus on masculinity or masculine themes within literature, but focused on how to look at literature and literacy in general through a masculine lens or through the eyes of prominent minority writers such as Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois.

I hope to attend this conference next year in Maryland and hope to learn even more and hear more from my distinguished colleagues in the field.

Thanx

Darius M Cureton