Eight St. Joseph’s College English majors presented at New Critics IX, the ninth annual undergraduate research conference at SUNY Oneonta, on Saturday, April 14.
The New Critics Undergraduate Conference accepts papers from all over the country on the topics of literature and composition, with only 30 students invited to this year’s conference.
“SJC’s English department competes with the best of the best,” Judith Phagan, D.A., associate professor and chair of the English department at St. Joseph’s College, said. “Conferences like these (including SJC’s undergraduate research symposium) are critical for professional development — and they’re also fun. Four of these candidates are going into adolescence education, while the other four plan on entering the professoriate.”
Gabriela Lucivero, a freshman selected over senior applicants, was ecstatic to find so many people as passionate about literature as she is, all gathered together.
“My experience at the conference was spectacular,” Lucivero said. “I never imagined I would get to meet so many friendly folks who were so interested in my work! It was astounding to read my paper out loud to an audience, then engage with them directly in a question-and-answer session; it was like getting instantaneous feedback from people with all entirely different perspectives and opinions.
“I never thought I would find a group of people who feel the same way as I do about the wonders of literature, and yet I feel like I have finally found my people,” she added.
Andrew Schlosser, a senior expecting to graduate this December, “had quite a bit of anxiety,” but found the conference very enjoyable.
“I hope one day to be a professor, and it’s good practice to present papers like this in front of an unknown audience,” he said. “Also, as a professor you are expected to present in these conferences on a more regular basis, so New Critics is a really good way to get your feet wet for the future.”
Seven of the eight students will also present at SJC’s 2018 Student Research Symposium.
SJC Students’ Papers
• Catalina Benavides: “Anse Bundren’s Intentions in ‘As I Lay Dying.’” *
• Courtney Cowie: “Work, Pain, and Creativity in the Wakefield ‘Second Shepherds’ Play’ and the ‘York Crucifixion.’” (Cowie also served as the chair for the panel on “As I Lay Dying.”) *
• Amanda Hill: “Suicide or Rebirth? ‘The Awakening.’” *
• Gabriela Lucivero: “Beating the Vertigo of Vorticism with Poetry.” *
• Alexandria Metz: “’As I Lay Dying’: A Journey through Tragedy.” *
• Brianna Parisi: “Cash’s Construction of ‘As I Lay Dying.’”
• Andrew Schlosser: “The Gospels According to Bundren.” *
• Catherine Vish: “The Wasteland and‘Howl.’” *
*These students will also present Saturday, May 5, at SJC’s 2018 Student Research Symposium.
