Community Outreach
See also: Conferences, Workshops & Special Events | Faculty Outreach | Ongoing Programs
Conferences, Workshops & Sepcial Events
In addition to these ongoing programs, the Department of English also sponsors one-time conferences, workshops, and other special events, all of which are open to the public.
In 1990, 1992, and 1995, for example, the Creative Writing Program received NEA Audience Development Grants to host 3-5 day residencies by distinguished writers, who visited public schools and other community sites as well as giving readings on campus. Visiting writers in 1990-91 included Toni Cade Bambara, Stephen Becker, Joy Harjo, and George Ella Lyon. In 1992-93, writers included William Stafford, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Jeff Daniel Marion, Al Young, and Linda Hogan. In 1995-96, Gloria Naylor, George Garrett, Gioia Timpanelli, Colette Inez, and Miguel Algarin visited UTK and East Tennessee. Over 3,500 people in the East Tennessee area were served by the visits of these writers; approximately half of those served were public school children.
With the help of the Hodges Fund, the Department brings to campus a wide variety scholars, critics, and writers--at least ten each year--and sponsors and/or hosts a variety of meetings and conferences. Recently, for example, the Department hosted the Southeastern Renaissance Conference (1997), cosponsored and helped to organize a national conference on "The Future of the Harlem Renaissance" (1997), hosted the annual meeting of Southeastern Studies in the Eighteenth Century (1998), and cosponsored a symposium on Art in the Public Sphere (2001). The public is always invited to attend the lectures, workshops, and conversations associated with these events.
The Department also gives financial assistance from the Hodges Fund to other departments that bring eminent scholars and writers to campus.