It
is with great pleasure that I finally bring you the 2003
OGSCL Winter Newsletter.
On
the cover, in addition to the university and department
logos, I reintroduce the original OGSCL logo, the trio of
icons that I selected when I designed the website 'way back
in the 90's. In those first meetings, Jonathan Sadow, Jana
Braziel, Michael Degener, Jennifer Rogers, myself, and
others envisioned and formed an organization that has,
because of the quality of subsequent participants, exceeded
our best expectations. The colors in the logo were
based on the school colors and the set represents the signs
of our affliliation. The website presence was my project,
and I am very proud that the original data structure has
suited our growth so appropriately. I suppose that it
is also appropriate that I have had the honor of editing the
first newsletter created exclusively as an 'e-newsletter'.
Our
department is a wonderful place. I can't think of
anywhere else that I can go and find such a diversity of
cultures. I feel blessed when I remember that all in
one evening I can talk to Lan about how capitalism is
changing China, get a description of the dominant flora and
fauna, and native dishes of Bulgaria from Nikolina, be made
aware of the special status of Cambodian Americans from BK,
enjoy the British humor of Craig, and discover the best
places to stay in France from Corinne. I have met and
enjoyed the company of gareduate students like Yehudit
from Israel, and Hussein from Arabia. This is only a small
sampling of the ways in which my own consciousness has been
expanded by exposure to our microcosm of the world.
Here, we find the human quotient-- what is left when all
national, racial, and cultural differences are subsumed
under one united banner, the Department of Comparative
Literature at the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst. Would that the world could find a scene so
sweet!
In
this edition, I wanted to find a way to represent,
celebrate, and share our individuality. In this issue you'll
find a thoughtful, eloquent message from our department
Chair, William
"Bill" Moebius, two beautiful and moving poems
by Esther Cuesta.,
travel writing especially for us by Corinne
Oster and Dale Hudson, and recent alumnae, Jennifer
Rogers, and memoirs by Bunkong
Tuon and me.
Lilian Fietosa's new
baby and our department's interest in children's literature
has led to the results of a little chat on lullabies.
One of our undergraduates Daniel
Ruetenik has provided us with a view of the Junior Year
Seminar from a participant's point of view, and he has given
us notice that the deadline for mOthertongue
is upon us. We have also listed the Comparative
Literature majors, kept track of some of our notable
achievements and provided updates on alumni.
Finally, we have a couple of creative pieces of writing
about experiences as TA's from Bunkong
Tuon and Nikolina Dobreva and
me.
Welcome
to the OGSCL Winter 2003 Newsletter! Enjoy!
Letha
Deck
