News and Updates

SGSC hosts Georgia Philological Association annual conference

By: Elaine Stephens
Assistant Professor of English

The annual conference of the Georgia Philological Association (GPA) was held recently on the Waycross Campus of South Georgia State College.  A record 17 presentations were made by college and university faculty members from eight colleges and universities and two states.

Morning presentations included “The Psychology of Social Class in Russell Banks’ ‘Snowbirds’” by Dr. David Buehrer of Valdosta State University; “Freedom as Commodity in Crane’s Maggie and Petry’s The Street” by Dr. Ren Denton of East Georgia State College; “Stale References in The Taming of the Shrew” by Dr. Mary Hjelm of the University of South Carolina; and “D.A.R.E. to be Definitive” by Don Gammill of Georgia State University.

Other presentations included “Celebrating the Exaggerated Lie” by Dr. Valerie Czerny of  East Georgia State College; “When Human Becomes Inhuman: Technological Enhancement, Identity Loss, and Dehumanization in C.L. Moore’s ‘No Woman Born,’ Thomas Pynchon’s V., and William Gibson’s Necromancer” by Dr. Lisa Bro of Middle Georgia State College; “A Monstrous Knowledge: Humanity and the Forbidden in H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘Herbert West-Reanimator’” by Joshua Hill of Middle Georgia State College; and “Tilting at the Windmills of my Mind: Modeling Protocol Analysis and Metacognitive Strategies” by Dr. Darrell Fike of Valdosta State University.

During the conference’s luncheon, Kathleen DeMarco of Georgia Perimeter College presented “The Future of English Studies.”

The afternoon session included “A Garden of Relationships” by Hannah Holmes of  Valdosta State University; “Economics Invading Paradise: Northanger Abbey” by Tiffany Conley of Valdosta State University; “The ‘Two Cultures’ Debate in the Twenty-First Century” by Dr. Brian McAllister of Albany State University; “‘Their Heaven of Small Things Makes His Hell’: The Threat to Genius and Art in Ouida’s Puck and Syrlin” by Dr. Lorraine Dubuisson of Middle Georgia State College; “A Soft Melody and Brutal Lyrics: The Feminist Battlecry of Marie de France” by Rebecca Gaskins of Valdosta State University; and “Diving into the Humanities: Editing a Nineteenth Century Translation in the Twenty-First Century” by Dr. Nathaneal Gilbert of Middle Georgia State College.

The closing session featured “Inductive versus Deductive Reasoning” by Dr. Mark Hovind of East Georgia State College; and “(Re) Claiming the Great Mother: Spiritual Archetypes in Love Medicine and Bless Me, Ultima” by M. Kathy Whitaker of East Georgia State College.

A business meeting followed the presentations, in which Dr. Buehrer was named GPA president for 2014-2015.

According to the GPA’s web site, the organization was founded in 2005 and “exists for the purposes of exploring and exchanging ideas within the field of philological studies.”  The GPA desires “to see the word ‘philology’ interpreted broadly in order to encourage the involvement of academics and laity from across the broad spectrum of the liberal arts.”

Those attending GPA conferences have heard presentations on such subjects as business communication, music, film, history, psychology, mathematics, languages, technology, art, mythology, religion, political theory, pedagogy, literature, popular culture, drama, sociology, linguistics, journalism, architecture, philosophy, biography, and photography. From its beginning, GPA has included among its presenters college faculty, independent scholars, retired educators, professional writers, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

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PHOTO: Elaine Stephens (center), assistant professor of English at South Georgia State College and 2013-2014 President of the Georgia Philological Association, coordinated the recent annual conference of the GPA on SGSC’s Waycross Campus.  Susanne Gibson (left), advising center coordinator, and Stanley Sinkfield, career counselor, assisted in preparations for the conference.  Other assistance was given by (not pictured): Dr. Lisa Howell, professor of mathematics; Sara Selby, professor of English and academic affairs projects specialist; Dr. Molly Smith, professor of biology; and Dr. Dean Thornton, instructor of anatomy and physiology.