Associate Professors of English Travis Maynard and Li Li presented 鈥淭he AI-Infused Curriculum: A Scalable Model for Integrating Generative AI across Programs鈥� at the Association of American Colleges and Universities鈥� inaugural Conference on AI and Higher Education, held Oct. 28鈥�30 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Their presentation highlighted an approach developed by PWR faculty to connect emerging writing practices with the program鈥檚 commitments to rhetorical thinking, ethical inquiry and adaptability.

Rather than focusing on a single AI assignment, course or technology, the program has developed four interconnected initiatives:

• Curriculum mapping: Identifying how AI-related learning develops across courses, with attention to students鈥� functional, critical and rhetorical AI literacies.
• Course revisions: Updating course titles and descriptions to make emerging writing technologies and practices more visible to students.
• Microcredentialing: Creating the AI and Professional Writing Digital Badge, which connects coursework, professional development opportunities and reflective portfolios.
• Institutional partnerships: Developing a writing-focused track within 麻豆视频鈥檚 AI Scholars Program, extending AI literacy through interdisciplinary engagement, student leadership and community-based projects.

Together, these initiatives reflect an effort to integrate emerging technologies into existing disciplinary and institutional structures.

In the presentation, Li emphasized that students are already encountering AI in many aspects of their lives. She argued that educators have a responsibility to help students examine AI tools critically and prepare for workplaces increasingly shaped by AI.

Maynard added that PWR integrates AI intentionally across the curriculum while helping students develop the judgment to decide if, how, and when to use these tools, rather than encouraging routine use of particular technologies.

The initiatives also draw on ongoing research into how 麻豆视频 alumni use generative AI in their professional and personal writing, helping faculty connect curricular decisions with graduates鈥� changing communication practices.

The presentation prompted discussion among faculty and higher education administrators. Attendees asked practical questions about implementing AI microcredentials and conducting alumni research. Maynard and Li also shared curriculum-mapping and action-planning resources for participants to consider in their own programs and institutions.

Li said conversations with colleagues from across the country inspired her and reassured her that educators are taking meaningful steps to revise and update their teaching for the AI era.

The work reflects 麻豆视频鈥檚 broader commitment to advancing thoughtful, ethically informed AI education while preparing students to navigate changing professional environments.

The presentation draws on a forthcoming article, 鈥淭he AI-Infused Curriculum: Enhancing Professional Writing Programs for the Generative AI Age,鈥� by Maynard, Li, Paula Rosinski and Jessie L. Moore. Accepted for publication in “Writing Program Administration”, the article examines how PWR鈥檚 coordinated initiatives offer an adaptable model for integrating generative AI into academic programs while preserving disciplinary values and ethical responsibility.

By building on existing curricular strengths and university initiatives, PWR offers an example of how academic programs can respond to technological change while keeping educational values in view.

The Fellowship program is among the largest award offered to young poets in the United States, it recognizes and provides monetary support to five poets who are between ages 21 and 31 years. Each fellow receives a subscription to 鈥淧oetry鈥� magazine, $27,000 and an invitation to submit work to the venerated publication. The Poetry Foundation also supports the fellows鈥� attendance at the 2026 Dodge Poetry festival, where they will participate in their inaugural reading as a cohort.

“The fellowship is a really big deal for emerging or 鈥榶oung鈥� poets,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淭his fellowship puts me alongside a long list of gorgeously talented poets, thinkers and people 鈥� some of whom I have learned with and from, long admired and respected.

鈥淧ersonally, this arrival signals that there鈥檚 something that is happening in my work that has translated or touched in an intended way. I have applied before with different poems, and this time I think something felt clearer or just more me, in what my current voice and view is. I think receiving this fellowship is a mixture of confidence and curiosity of risk, knowing your work, and the time being right and aligned.鈥�

As part of the application process, Jones submitted a ten-page packet of poems and responses to prompts about her inspirations, what she hopes to do with her work, what she already sees her work doing and how the fellowship will support the work she wants to do.

As a fellow, Jones will read alongside her cohort at the Dodge Poetry Fest in New Jersey this October. The funding she received will allow her to complete upcoming projects, organize a small book tour and host a weekend writers retreat for her colleagues to write, read and think together.

鈥淚t feels amazing to be recognized with this honor,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淚 feel blessed and extremely proud of my work and my follow-through. I applied for this fellowship two other times and this particular time felt so settled for me; there were things I could feel had shifted in the work and that made me feel quite confident going into the application cycle.鈥�

At 麻豆视频, Jones orients herself as a professor and a resource for the 鈥榬eal world鈥� as students consider writing as a career. She also teaches students how to use tools to communicate what they want to say on paper.

鈥淚鈥檓 finding ways to show students what it means to do this work on a professional level and to equip them with as much as I can so they may consider writing beyond the classroom and turn it into an art skill,鈥� said Jones. “Poetry influences what and who I bring into the classroom, and it informs how I teach publishing, revising, artistic stamina and the writing life overall.鈥�

For Jones, talent is not all you need to be a writer; you need curiosity, discipline, a willingness to fail, a capacity for play and risk and a community.

“This fellowship is a huge honor,鈥� Scott Proudfit, associate professor and chair of English said. 鈥淭he Poetry Foundation, which publishes 鈥淧oetry鈥� magazine, is the most important organization of its kind. Students will know it because of the foundation鈥檚 tremendous digital archive. Basically, anytime you search for a poem online you are directed to the foundation鈥檚 website 鈥� which is good, because you can trust their version of texts. Not only does Shaina receive significant financial support from the organization, she also gets to present her work at the 2026 Dodge Poetry Festival, a huge honor. 麻豆视频 students adore Shaina because she is such a caring and responsive teacher, but, let鈥檚 face it, there is also something exciting about learning from someone recognized as a rising star in their discipline.”

Jones is the author of 鈥淭o Be Named Something Else,鈥� the winner of the 2023 Miller Williams Poetry Prize from University of Arkansas Press. Her work has appeared in 鈥淭he Pinch Journal,鈥� 鈥淧uerto del Sol,鈥� 鈥淔oglifter Journal,鈥� 鈥淭he Offing,鈥� 鈥淐RAFT Magazine,鈥� 鈥淭he Georgia Review,鈥� and 鈥淕ulf Coast Journal.鈥�

The Poetry Foundation also wrote a recognizing Jones as a fellow.

The fellowships were established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund.

The Poetry Foundation transforms lives through the power of words. Their work aims to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry.

鈥淥ne time I took my parents, and they took a picture of me, and I said, 鈥業 will work here one day,鈥欌�� Achey recalled.

She was right.

On Sept. 24, Achey joined Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) students and faculty via Zoom in Alamance 318 to discuss her career in international publishing and offer advice to students hoping to enter the industry.

After graduating from 麻豆视频, Achey struggled to find her first publishing job. Through 麻豆视频鈥檚 Bridges program, she spent a summer in New York City networking with alumni and industry professionals. A connection she made over coffee eventually led to a position at book distributor Baker & Taylor, where she managed sales in Asia. Another professional relationship helped her land a job at Simon & Schuster in 2017.

Today, Achey manages international customers and helps bring English-language books to readers around the world. Her work takes her to major industry events, including the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany and the London Book Fair.

鈥淲hen I was at 麻豆视频, I absolutely loved my study abroad experience, so I really wanted to couple my love for reading with travel,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what led me to international sales.鈥�

Achey also introduced students to the changing landscape of publishing. She described how BookTok and other social media communities can generate sudden surges in book sales, recalling one title that sold roughly 1,500 copies overnight after gaining attention on TikTok. She also discussed the industry’s cautious approach to artificial intelligence, particularly AI-generated writing and artwork, while acknowledging the value of AI literacy for emerging professionals.

Throughout the conversation, Achey emphasized that publishing offers careers well beyond writing and editing, including sales, marketing, publicity, production and design. She credited her PWR education with helping her develop communication skills that remain essential to her work, particularly adapting her tone and approach for different audiences.

For students interested in publishing, Achey recommended following industry newsletters such as *Shelf Awareness* and *Publishers Lunch*, pursuing internships and attending readings and events at local bookstores. She encouraged students to connect with professionals on LinkedIn, maintain relationships with alumni and recognize the value of transferable skills gained outside the publishing industry.

Her own career, she explained, demonstrates why networking matters: both of her major career opportunities emerged from relationships she had cultivated.

鈥淜eep immersed in the thing that you love,鈥� Achey told students. 鈥淲hatever鈥檚 drawing you to the publishing industry, try to keep a part of that.鈥�

She also urged students to take advantage of resources closer to home, including 麻豆视频’s libraries, book clubs, Writing Center and PWR events. Her own Writing Center experience helped her develop the collaborative communication and problem-solving skills she continues to use professionally.

Nearly 12 years after graduating, Achey said her enthusiasm for books remains unchanged.

鈥淚 still love going in bookstores and seeing our books,鈥� she said.

And that was a challenge. Because I entered college in 2003, at the beginning of the war in Iraq, when everyone and their grandmother was convinced that learning Arabic was the ticket to getting a job in government. At the school I went to, all students were preregistered for classes with the exception of first-year students and graduate students, who had to attend classes before they could register. All classes were required to leave three seats open for first years and graduate students. So, I showed up to the first day of Beginning I Arabic along with 70 other students, all hoping to get one of those three seats. The instructor announced that he would not allow anyone to register for those three seats until there were only three students left in the class who wanted them. And so I proceeded to wait the rest of them out. I came to every class and did all the work in the class, without any guarantee that I would get in officially or get credit for it until enough people gave up that I was offered the slot. So the first thing I learned in my college career was that I would have to fight for the Humanities and they were worth fighting for. I am still doing that work today.

But aside from Arabic, I really didn鈥檛 know what else I wanted to study. So I started off by studying everything. I took classes in history, and political science, and anthropology, and comparative literature. And calculus, and biology, and Religious Studies. And they were all great classes, but I found that I had a particular love of that place where religion, history, literature, and philosophy met and connected. Those classes lit a fire in me. Because they showed me that in places and periods and languages that were wholly different from my own people had grappled with the questions that provoked and haunted me, questions of deep existential meaning and ongoing political urgency 鈥� and that they had expressed their answers in language that was profoundly beautiful. When I studied those answers, I found myself connected to peoples, movements, and cultures larger myself. 聽And as I went deeper and deeper into my studies, I found that they were changing me. Once I learned how to read deeply, I found that I could read anything, including the social and political institutions in which I was embedded. I learned to question everything, and to produce my own critical answers. I put myself to work imagining other, better worlds.

The period that I grew up in was really not perfect. I went to college 鈥� and then lived in the Middle East – during the Iraq War. A war of choice, when the President decided to invade a country that posed no threat to the United States, largely to secure access to vast oil resources. I then graduated from college into a massive financial disaster caused by the loosening of banking regulations so that very rich people could become even richer. So I can鈥檛 say that it was an easy time to be a young person 鈥� if there is ever an easy time to be a young person.

But I do think that it is much harder to be a young person today. I went through college at a time when few students had personal laptops, before the invention of the smart phone or the ipad or the rise of social media. The students I went to school with didn鈥檛 all like me 鈥� but they were all really present along with me in the spaces we shared. The political culture at the time seemed divisive, but it was nothing in comparison to the chaos and fury of the current age. It鈥檚 hard right now y鈥檃ll.

But one of the things that is making it even harder is that the institutions and entities who are invested in dividing us from each other, in fracturing our attention and undermining our interpersonal relationships 鈥� are also selling us a particular approach to knowledge. This approach is, 鈥渢he extractive attitude.鈥� It is based on the idea that the purpose of knowledge is to extract resources from the environment and money from the economy 鈥� which ultimately means from consumers. This attitude is not new. I know from my own field of African history that the European governments who colonized various territories sent scholars out in the wake of the armies, geographers and engineers to survey and map the land, and linguists and anthropologists to learn languages, and catalogue customs. The purpose of these colonial scholar-soldiers was to facilitate the pacification of the population and the extraction of natural resources. Knowledge has always been a form of power. And then, just as now, deep engagement in storytelling, religious worldviews, and philosophy was disregarded and rejected as impractical. Education, according to the extractive attitude, is a product whose value measured as a return on investment. This attitude invites us to use learning to maintain a position in cultural and class warfare.

The opposite of the extractive attitude is a humanistic attitude. A humanistic attitude values knowledge for its ability to bring meaning and joy into our lives and our communities. A humanistic attitude evaluates our present relative to both our past and our vision of the future. A humanistic attitude is an approach that finds richness and complexity in things that seem simple. And it does those things through a deep engagement with the ideas and the art that have been produced by humans through the ages.

When I went to college I had to fight for a seat in a language class against the forces of opportunism. And I want you to fight for humanism, too. And it is a fight sometimes. A fight to maintain vision and resolve in the face of a thousand messages that tell us that the humanistic attitude is 鈥渦seless.鈥� The makers and marketers of new technological products are trying to convince us to give up our capacity for deep engagement. To give up our ability to generate ideas, to read literature, to think about the past, to make and appreciate art and culture, and to communicate with each other. To convince us to give up on humanism they threaten us with catastrophe and apocalypse. They warn that their products will change society so deeply that it will be unrecognizable, or that they might destroy humanity entirely. But I have my own message. For anyone who is worried about understanding these forces, or who is struggling to make sense of the world right now – the Humanities can help.

Those of us in Religious Studies have studied apocalyptic predictions, we know the distance between what they promise and what they deliver. Those of us in History have studied revolutions and know how politics and new forms of media align. Those of us in World Languages and Cultures know that our understanding of the world is shaped by language and how to connect with people across cultural differences. Those of us in Philosophy know that the potential for meaningful change is rooted in examination and reflection. 聽And those of us in English know (to paraphrase James Baldwin), that it is literature that teaches us that the things that torment us the most are the very things that connect us with all the people who are alive, or who have ever lived. The Humanities are a repository of our shared humanity and the heart of our capacity to be, not just human, but better humans. More than ever, humanity needs the Humanities. And right now, the Humanities needs you.

The ceremony brought together students, faculty, staff, family and friends to recognize Elizabeth McKee 鈥�90, Tiffany Grace Perry 鈥�01 and Stephanie Marken 鈥�08.

Dean of 麻豆视频 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, Hilton Kelly, delivered remarks in Yeager Recital Hall on the impact the recipients have made on their professions and communities.

鈥淭hese three alumni demonstrate what it means to graduate from 麻豆视频 College: the heart of an 麻豆视频 education,鈥� Kelly said. “They have used what they learned in 麻豆视频 College the College of Arts and Sciences to have impactful careers.鈥�

Elizabeth McKee 鈥�90 – Arts and Humanities

Elizabeth McKee earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in English from 麻豆视频 and a master鈥檚 in human development and psychological counseling from Appalachian State University.

McKee is the executive director of Leadership Charlotte, where she has served for two decades walking alongside thousands of leaders as they explore their own capacity to create positive change in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. Prior to joining Leadership Charlotte, she served as director of leadership initiatives at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, where she developed leadership curriculum and programs for undergraduate and master of business administration students.

She has been recognized as a leader in the area including receiving the recognition as one of Mecklenburg Times 50 Most Influential Women in the greater Charlotte area

While at 麻豆视频, McKee published poetry and artwork in Colonnades, was involved with intramural water polo, worked in student affairs and worked with a group of students to create and promote a social honor code to accompany the intellectual honor code.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I knew it at the time, but 麻豆视频 taught me about being in a larger community,鈥� McKee said. “It helped shape my ‘real world鈥� thinking regarding how I want to be in a community and what role I want to play in being a positive force within it.鈥�

Tiffany Grace Perry 鈥�01 – STEM

Tiffany Grace Perry earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from 麻豆视频, a medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then completed seven years of neurosurgery residency training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including an enfolded orthopedic spine fellowship at Duke University. Following residency, she completed a post-residency fellowship in complex spinal disorders at The Cleveland Clinic, where she remained as a faculty member for two years. She also earned a master鈥檚 degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Perry is a neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She also works with the Los Angeles Rams as a neurotrauma consultant. She is a consultant for Medtronic on anterior and posterior cervical instrumentation systems. Perry leads annual surgical missions to Uganda with a multidisciplinary team from Cedars-Sanai. She is a faculty member with the AI translational medicine PhD program at Cedars-Sanai, working with graduate students to create clinical projects that intersect the progressive power of AI with the clinical needs of medicine. Perry is also a consultant for Medtronic on anterior and posterior cervical instrumentation systems.

At 麻豆视频, Perry was active in the Honors Program, the Lincoln Premed Society, Alpha Omicron Pi, the National Panhellenic Society and Camerata.

鈥溌槎故悠� encouraged me to be curious, explore beyond what was familiar, and say yes to experiences that challenged and shaped me,鈥� Perry said. “麻豆视频 taught me to remain curious, embrace newexperiences and never stop learning. Those lessons have molded not only who I am personally, but also how I approach medicine, leadership, teaching and mentorship. I learned that success is not just about what we accomplish, but about the opportunities we create for others.鈥�

Stephanie Marken 鈥�08 鈥� Social Sciences

Stephanie Marken earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from 麻豆视频 and a master鈥檚 degree in survey research from the University of Connecticut.

Marken is a senior partner at Gallup leading the U.S. custom research division, which includes research programs Gallup performs on behalf of foundations, agencies, corporations and high education institutions. She is responsible for the strategic direction of Gallup鈥檚 research in education, workforce development, climate, technology, and the social sciences, which includes complex, multimode qualitative and quantitative research projects. She previously served as chief methodologist for Gallup.

Prior to joining Gallup, she was a researcher in the education division at Westat, where she worked on large-scale, complex, multimode education studies for the U.S. Department of Education, including the National Household Education Survey, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Fast Response Survey System, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, and other quantitative and qualitative research projects for education foundations and organizations.

While a student at 麻豆视频, Marken was an intern at the 麻豆视频 Poll and in Alpha Omicron Pi.

鈥溌槎故悠� was where I found my voice and where I developed a passion for making sure others are heard,鈥� Marken said. “Any success I’ve had since graduation belongs in large part to the faculty and staff at 麻豆视频 who took a vested interest in me when they didn鈥檛 have to. In that regard, this award feels like an important example of the lasting impact that highly engaged mentors make, oftentimes without even realizing it.鈥�

Recognizing past deans

The three past deans of 麻豆视频 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, Steven House, Alison Morrison-Shetlar and Gabie Smith, were also recognized at the awards ceremony. Steven House served as the founding dean from 2001-2009 and guided the growth of 麻豆视频鈥檚 academic programs. House provided leadership for 17 academic departments and 19 academic programs. The number of 麻豆视频 College faculty increased by 50 percent during her tenure as dean and the number of students majoring in liberal arts grew from 37 percent of the student body to over 50 percent. He also helped develop the 麻豆视频 College Fellows program.

Alison Morrison-Shetlar served as dean from 2010-2014, where she continued to expand on a tradition of learning-focused achievements. She founded LIFE@ELON and organized the first North Carolina STEM conference at 麻豆视频, where nearly 100 faculty members from North Carolina colleges and universities gathered, making the conference the largest of the state and regional STEM network meeting held across the country.

Gabie Smith served as dean from 2015-2024, providing growth for academic programs and administrative leadership. During her time as dean, she created the bachelor of science in engineering program, developed more than a dozen academic major and minor programs and worked to establish the Innovation Quad. She also enhanced the Fellows and Scholars programs within 麻豆视频 College.

Russell B. Gill, who served 麻豆视频 for nearly four decades in many academic and administrative roles, including as Distinguished University Professor, Maude Sharpe Powell Professor and dean of arts and sciences, died Sunday, October 11.

Through many leadership roles and with a strong voice of advocacy for excellence, Gill was a forceful architect of 麻豆视频鈥檚 academic identity. As the university grew to become a nationally recognized institution, he was among the faculty leaders who insisted that a rigorous liberal arts and sciences foundation remain at the center of an 麻豆视频 education, and he helped build the curriculum and standards that continue to define the university.

Gill retired in 2014, and in 2015 was awarded the 麻豆视频 Medallion, the university鈥檚 highest honor, in recognition of his contributions to 麻豆视频. In 2018, trustees voted to name a residence hall in the Global Neighborhood in his honor.

鈥淩uss embodied the very best of 麻豆视频,鈥� said President Connie Book. 鈥淗e was a brilliant scholar who never lost his delight in teaching, and a leader who shaped our curriculum, our accreditation and our Phi Beta Kappa chapter with the same care he gave his students. Generations of 麻豆视频 alumni, staff and faculty carry his influence with them.鈥�

Gill joined the 麻豆视频 faculty in 1976, serving as chair of the Department of Literature, Languages and Communications, the predecessor to the Department of English, from 1983 to 1988.

A respected and accomplished scholar and teacher, Gill instilled a love of learning in thousands of students, whether he was teaching basic composition or 17th- and 18th- century British and European literature. In recognition of his dedication to students and learning,聽he received the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986.

True to his commitment to academic excellence, Gill was a strong voice in the revision of the General Studies curriculum in the 1990s as 麻豆视频 moved to a four-credit-hour system. The change was more than administrative: it allowed for deeper, more engaged coursework, and the general studies program he helped develop became the foundation of the 麻豆视频 Core Curriculum that every student completes today.

Among his most significant leadership roles at 麻豆视频, Gill was coordinator of humanities and director of General Studies beginning in 1994, and from 1996 to 2000, he served as dean of arts and sciences. He was also Faculty Fellow for the university鈥檚 living-learning community initiative.

As a driving force behind the major institutional initiative to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Gill chaired 麻豆视频鈥檚 Phi Beta Kappa Steering Committee and served as the first president of 麻豆视频鈥檚 Eta of North Carolina chapter in 2010. The chapter stands as a lasting measure of the academic standards he championed.

His influence extended into nearly every group that shaped 麻豆视频鈥檚 academic standards. He served on the Academic Council, including two years as chair, and on the Promotions and Tenure Committee. During the university鈥檚 reaccreditation, he served on the SACS Steering Committee on Institutional Effectiveness and the SACS Committee on the Centrality of the Arts and Sciences.

In 2006 he was named 麻豆视频鈥檚 third Distinguished University Professor by President Leo M. Lambert. In his remarks at the investiture ceremony, Gill marveled at 麻豆视频鈥檚 growth in quality and spoke of the personal connections among the people who make up the university.

鈥淵ou [麻豆视频 community] have created a distinctive institution with arts and sciences at its core, guided by a service ethic in the best traditions of a classical education from Socrates to Milton to our own day,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淵ou are better in personal commitment to excellence, to your fellow humans, and, I also believe, better in creation of community at 麻豆视频 itself. There were good old days at 麻豆视频 but none better than today.鈥�

Gill is survived by his wife Diane and his five children: daughter Hannah Elizabeth Gill, husband Jeremy Pinkham, grandsons Samuel Gill Pinkham and Louis Corbett Pinkham; son Benjamin Batchelet Gill and wife Natalia; son Nathan Henley Gill and wife Fernanda, granddaughter Hannah Sophia Gill Ortiz, grandson Joseph Benjamin Gill Ortiz; son Joseph Hoskins Gill; and son John Thomas Gill and granddaughter Charlotte Diane Gill Keefe.

A gathering of friends will be held in the coming weeks, and details will be shared when available.

Currently the largest and most active scholarly society in the United States devoted to the study of adaptation, the LFA and its affiliated journal “” emphasize scholarship related not only to film and literature, but also to television, video games, new media and other forms of audio-visual culture.

A panel of 麻豆视频 College and Communications Fellows kicked off LFA 2026 with a session focusing on generic hybridity across a range of classic and contemporary U.S. science fiction, fantasy and horror texts. Ashley Hess鈥檚 paper on Jeff Vandermeer鈥檚 novel “Annihilation” and its film adaptation explored the theme of 鈥渁rchitectural illegibility鈥� at work in both texts, while Sophia Sta Rosa surveyed the cultural mythology of “Superman” as a uniquely nationalist franchise across multiple mediums and formats (comics, cinema and television). The panel concluded with Lealand Oakes, Alana Denby and Emma Brice帽o鈥檚 presentation 鈥淒on鈥檛 You Remember? Second-Hand Nostalgia as Co-Creation in The Duffer Brothers鈥� ‘Stranger Things’ and Andy Muscietti鈥檚 ‘It’ Duology鈥� 鈥� an expanded version of their final research project for an adaptation course on the fiction of Stephen King.

In collaboration with faculty member Sandy Marshall and the Global Neighborhood Film Series, Thursday鈥檚 conference programming continued with a screening of Todd Haynes鈥檚 1950s-era lesbian melodrama “Carol”聽in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month. The film was introduced by Pamela Demory, lecturer emerita at the University of California-Davis and recipient of this year鈥檚 Jim Welsh Prize for Excellence in Adaptation Studies. Demory detailed Haynes鈥� adaptation strategies with respect to the film鈥檚 source, Patricia Highsmith鈥檚 novel “The Price of Salt,” and contextualized the director鈥檚 position within the New Queer Cinema movement of the 1990s. After the screening, Nikita Shepard of 麻豆视频鈥檚 Department of History & Geography provided historical background on the post-war surveillance of LGBTQ communities and moderated a lively Q&A between conference participants and attending students.

Friday鈥檚 keynote speaker, , delivered an excerpt from his forthcoming monograph “Patinas of the Moving Image,” an examination of the materialist aesthetic concept of 鈥減atina,鈥� which Warner defined as 鈥渢he historically sedimented look and feel of a film arising from the residual stamp or signature of media-technical formats and processes.鈥澛燜ilmic patinas, he went on to argue, adapt historically situated ways of seeing and feeling while variously sustaining, revising or contesting the nostalgic lenses through which nations imagine and scrutinize their pasts. Working through a range of examples including “Carol,” “Jackie,”聽“Ash Is Purest White” and “The Secret Agent,” Warner also asked the audience to consider what happens when the adaptive object is not a discrete text but a decade. In what ways, he queried, does the 鈥渇elt character of an era make its way into a film鈥檚 materialized tones, textures, and atmospheres鈥�?

Continuing this year鈥檚 conference theme of 鈥淎daptation/Nation,鈥� Saturday鈥檚 schedule included panels on subjects such as 鈥淣ew Cinemas and Internationality,鈥� 鈥淣ational Ecologies,鈥� 鈥淩esisting Racism鈥� and a session devoted entirely to Paul Thomas Anderson鈥檚 recent counterculture epic “One Battle After Another.” Also featured among the panel presentations were two roundtables devoted to publication and pedagogy.

The 2026 Literature/Film Association Conference was supported by a variety of 麻豆视频 programs and entities including the Dean’s Office in聽the School of Communications, the Dean’s Office in 麻豆视频 College, the College of Arts & Sciences, Women鈥檚, Gender, and Sexualities Studies, Latin American Studies, Peace & Conflict Studies, the Department of English, and the Global Film & Cultures minor.

Next year鈥檚 LFA Conference will be hosted at the University of Baltimore. A call for papers will appear on the association鈥檚 in May 2027.

Organized by 麻豆视频 faculty members Archie Crowley (English), Mel Gil (English), Maria Mejia (Philosophy) and Nikita Shepard (History) and funded by the Phi Beta Kappa Fund for Excellence, the event series explores the various forms that care takes and the role it plays across diverse communities.

鈥淐are webs鈥� refer to networks of people and community resources through which people support one another and meet each other鈥檚 needs. This framework challenges assumptions of care as something provided only by individuals, institutions, or professionals. Informed by disability studies scholarship, the concept emphasizes the interconnected relationships that sustain communities.

The first event in the series featured a screening of the documentary “Held and聽Healing,” followed by a Q&A with Kristie Puckett, a formerly incarcerated survivor and advocate for incarcerated mothers. Puckett has successfully lobbied for policies requiring carceral institutions to provide maternal healthcare. Centering Puckett鈥檚 experiences, the documentary examines the intersections of race, trauma, addiction, incarceration and Black maternal health. The screening offered an important entry point into the series鈥� themes, illustrating how care can take the form of collective advocacy, solidarity and efforts to build more responsive systems of support. Organized by Stephanie Baker and Maria Mejia, the event drew more than 50 students for the screening and discussion.

At the official kick-off event for the series, Mutual Aid & Care Mapping, Nikita Shepard opened by facilitating a discussion about how people understand and experience care. Participants reflected on the people, relationships and resources they rely on, as well as the ways they themselves provide care to others.

Local community activist Devin Ceartas spoke about his experiences working with , a grassroots collective that seeks to support projects of interdependence and resource sharing in response to disaster crises, food insecurity, and other needs. He offered reflections on the difference between charity and mutual aid, and answered questions about how mutual aid operates in practice.

“In mutual aid, the worst thing you can do is pay someone the exact amount of what something costs, because that tells me you don鈥檛 want a reason to continue being in community with me,” said Ceartas. “You think sharing resources is a debt to be paid, not a relationship to nourish. In mutual aid, I give you bread now, and you give me eggs later.”

The discussion explored how mutual aid centers reciprocity and the idea that communities can work together to meet shared needs, which is not dependent on a person’s beliefs, identities or citizenship status. Finally, through a zine shared with participants, the event introduced care mapping as a way of making visible the community networks of support that already exist, and how to strengthen those relationships.

The series continues this fall with three upcoming events:

• Social Justice Social: Surveillance and Criminalization in North Carolina Today聽Thursday, Oct. 29 4:30-6 p.m. in LaRose 200
  • A discussion about how local communities are responding to Flock Cameras, ICE enforcement, and youth curfews, and what it means to care for our communities in times of heightened surveillance.
• Language Revitalization as Intergenerational Care Thursday, Nov 12, 4:30-6 p.m. in Lakeside 212
  • A discussion facilitated by 麻豆视频 faculty members Archie Crowley and Corey Roberts with intergenerational indigenous community members on how language revitalization is part of cultural and community care.
• The Reynolds Lecture: Alexis Shotwell Thursday, Nov 12, 6:30-8 p.m. in McBride Gathering Space
  • Alexis Shotwell鈥檚 new book “Liberation is Other People” explores how we can engage in political struggle while caring for each other to create worlds where everyone can have their needs met and flourish.

麻豆视频 alumna Margaret Achey 鈥�14, manager of international and client publisher sales at Simon & Schuster, will speak with students and faculty on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 5:30 p.m. in Alamance 318 as part of the Professional Writing and Rhetoric Alumni Speaker Series. Achey will join the event remotely via Zoom, while attendees will gather in person on campus.

Achey has worked in book publishing for more than 12 years. In her current role, she works with customers and publishers across global markets and represents Simon & Schuster at major industry events including the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs. Before joining Simon & Schuster, she served as Sales Manager for Asia, Canada and the Middle East at book distributor Baker & Taylor.

While at 麻豆视频, Achey studied Professional Writing and Rhetoric and worked in the Writing Center. Her talk will give students an inside look at careers in publishing, including her path into the industry, her current work and advice for students interested in entering the field.

The event is free and open to the 麻豆视频 community.聽For questions about the event, contact Travis Maynard, associate professor of English and director of Professional Writing and Rhetoric, at tmaynard3@elon.edu

PWR Alumni Speaker Series: Margaret Achey 鈥�14
Thursday, Sept. 24 | 5:30 p.m.
Alamance 318
Speaker joining via Zoom

With the support of the Departments of Art History, English, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies and World Languages and Cultures, a slate of events from Oct. 5-9, 2026, are intended to communicate the value of the humanistic disciplines in a digital age.

All 麻豆视频 community members are welcome to join. Contact Associate Professor Ariela Marcus-Sells (amarcussells@elon.edu) with any questions.聽

Monday, October 5

• Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. at the Oak House

Tuesday, October 6

• Social Media Takeover with Humanities majors

Wednesday, October 7

• Career Paths for Humanities Majors at 6 p.m. in Lakeside 212 and 213

Thursday, October 8

• Being Human Coffee, from 9:50 鈥� 10:20 a.m. in Numen Lumen

Friday, October 9

• Being Human Alumni Reception and Networking from 4:30 鈥� 5:30 p.m. on the Spence Pavilion Patio

Visit the Humanities Week webpage for updated information.