AATSEEL is pleased to announce the following special events for the 2011 AATSEEL Conference. This page will be updated regularly with additional information on these, and other special events at the 2011 Conference.

Master Class

The 19th Century Russian Novel

Led by Williams Mills Todd III, Harvard University
Abstract coming soon

Workshops

Tolstoy in the Classroom

Led by Irina Paperno, University of California, Berkeley
Abstract coming soon

Translation Workshop

Led by Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore College
Abstract coming soon

Editing Video for Language Purposes

Led by Richard Robin, George Washington University
Abstract: In this workshop, participants will, as a group, shoot a one minute foreign language video and edit it for upload to a public site such as YouTube. Skills to be covered include: (1) assuring good sound and lighting; (2) language oriented subjects; (2) basic editing practices; (3) including material from the Internet; (4) optional captioning; (5) upload to Internet sites. In this workshop, we will be using Premiere Elements on the demo computer. But nearly all consumer video editing programs are similar. This is a group participation demonstration. Participants are welcome to bring laptops and cameras, but that equipment is not required for the actual workshop.

Between Learner and Text: Mapping out a Pedagogy of Reading at the Intermediate Level

Led by William Comer, University of Kansas
Abstract: What can a teacher do with reading in the intermediate classroom with learners who have already completed a basic language course, but who have a restricted vocabulary and a limited ability to process the target language syntax typical of organized written communication? How central a place should reading occupy in the curriculum at this level? What claim on classroom time should reading instruction make? What texts are “readable” at this level? What reading strategies do learners use in working through texts? What kinds of tasks and scaffolding can help learners process a text? What kinds of activities can push learners to incorporate aspects of the text’s language into their developing language system? What kind of activities can create an engaged classroom discussion following the reading of a text?

The presenter will argue for the centrality of reading to the curriculum and will layout materials for teaching reading with a range of texts (adapted, authentic, informational, artistic). The examples will mostly be drawn from Russian texts, but the approach can be used with any language.

Special Russian Poetry Events

Submissions are invited for the 2011 annual AATSEEL Russian poetry events. To stimulate conversation between poets, the academic community, and other attendees, events will include several poetry readings, followed by discussion that will be led by a commentator. Past panels have included themes such as "Russian Poets in America," "Poets of Several Cultures" and "Contemporary Poetry and the Visual Arts." There is limited space in the schedule, but the selection committee would like to showcase a wide variety of authors. Poets who would like to read their work are invited to submit three representative poems to Olga Livshin at afol@uaa.alaska.edu by August 15, 2010.

Departmental Chairs Meeting

5:00-7:00 pm, Friday January 7, 2011
Sponsored by Thomas Seifrid and Susan McReynolds

This meeting will enable chairs to share information and strategies on a wide variety of topics. Questions to be addressed may include, but are not limited to:

How can chairs best advocate for students and faculty within our home institutions? What is the guiding role, if any, of chairs in the larger curricular revisions of the college or university, and how can Slavic departments—traditionally small, or merged with other national languages—make themselves most effectively felt?
What forms of collaboration with other disciplines have proven fruitful? What forms have not? What, if any, are the qualifications we should look for in each party? How might such collaboration be fairly credited and assessed?
How can chairs have an impact on the conditions of adjunct faculty?

Please contact the sponsors with suggestions for further topics. We look forward to seeing you in Pasadena.

Last updated 08/22/2010.

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