In the second half of the month, we listened to lectures from Dr. Daniel Kim of Brown University, Dr. Tanya Rodrigue of Wheaton College, Dr. Greg Colón-Semenza of the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Darryl Dickson-Carr of Southern Methodist University. All of them gave information on their own research and tips on the graduate application process. In addition, on June 17 we visited the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research in Cambridge.

On Friday, June 24, we celebrated our fourth annual Graduate Recruitment Fair, where such schools as Tufts University, Stanford University, SUNY Albany, Syracuse University, Washington University in St. Louis, Southern Methodist University and Northeastern University set up tables and spoke individually with each student about their graduate programs. The next day, the students presented their work in a Symposium in front of their classmates and returning alumnae/i from the previous year.

This fall, we plan to make SILCS better than ever, with the help of our new team of alumnae/i coordinators. Now the SILCS office closes once more for the summer, but we will be back again in September, ready to start preparing for SILCS 2012!

Everyone arrived on campus over Memorial Day weekend, where the weather was unseasonably warm for Massachusetts. As in the past, we visited Project Adventure and learned a lot about each other as we worked together on team goals. The day ended with a BBQ on the campus green.

The first week, Drs. Sam and Alex Vasquez (of Dartmouth College and Wheaton College, respectively) came to talk about their dual careers and balancing graduate school and family life. On Monday, June 6, Dr. Gillian Johns (of Oberlin College) came to talk about her own work. The students also visited Brown University’s John Carter Brown Library and Boston University’s English department and Gotlieb Research Center.

This week, we’re looking forward to more lectures and trips, and are trying to stay warm after the heat wave suddenly turned into cold rain. Stay tuned!

On Friday, June 18, the students went on their final campus trip. This trip was to Brown University, where they went on a tour of the campus, including the John Carter Brown Library, the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, the Third World Center, and the English Department, and finally visited the John Hay Library.

This week, the students have been working hard on their papers and presentations while taking a GRE Preparation workshop with Kaplan.

Yesterday Dr. Gregory Colón-Semenza from the University of Connecticut came to speak to the students in the morning. In the afternoon was our graduate recruitment fair, where directors of graduate studies from a number of different institutes came to speak individually with the students. In attendance were:

Dr. Chris Okonkwo from the University of Missouri
Dr. Bret Benjamin and Dr. Pat Chu from the SUNY University at Albany
Dr. Tim Bewes and Dr. Rolland Murray from Brown University
Dr. Ed Larkin from the University of Delaware
Dr. Dovev Levine-Leung from the University of New Hampshire
Dr. Elda Maria Roman from Stanford University
Dr. Nicole Aljoe from Northeastern University
Dr. Badia Ahad from Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Erin Mackie from Syracuse University
and Dr. Darryl Dickson-Carr from Southern Methodist University

This morning, the students presented their research in a final symposium. Tomorrow, everyone will be heading home for some much needed rest. Thanks to everyone involved for making this a fantastic year!

Dr. Valerie Lee was scheduled to speak to the students on Thursday but the airlines had other plans and she wasn’t able to make it. Instead, we will see her next Sunday, June 20.

On Friday, the students visited Boston University, including the English Department and the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, where they visited exhibits such as SOLDIERS FOR EQUALITY: From Phillis Wheatley to the 20th Century. This was our first trip to Boston University. We thank Dr. Anita Patterson and Dr. Laura Korobkin in the English department and Ryan Hendrickson and Sean Noel in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Archive for their hospitality.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early with a trip to Project Adventure in Beverly, MA. This was a first for everyone, staff included. Project Adventure uses a number of outdoor activities to help encourage teamwork and let everyone get to know each other, and gave everyone a day to relax and have fun before their coursework began.

One of the activities included a 50 foot high log suspended between two trees. After donning harnesses, everyone got a chance to climb the trees and walk across the log at the top, then get lowered down by rope. From the top, it looked a lot higher than it had seemed…

Monday morning was the first day of classes, despite the holiday. Dr. Robyn Warhol-Down of The Ohio State University joined SILCS once again as the instructor. On Tuesday, Dr. Dagmawi Woubshet of Cornell University gave a lecture to the students on his research.

This afternoon, the students enjoyed a lovely lunch with Wheaton College President Ronald Crutcher and his wife, Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher. This evening, Dr. Keith Gilyard of Pennsylvania State University will be joining us to discuss his own work, and tomorrow the students will be visiting the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard College. Keep watching this space for more updates!

SILCS Director Paula Krebs, Mecca Sullivan of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Beth McCoy of the State University of New York Geneseo, and Dr. Lena Hill of the University of Iowa attended the Seventh Annual Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education this weekend, where they presented their panel, “Direct Intervention: A Summer Diversity Institute in the Humanities”.

And finally, we would like to welcome our SILCS class of 2010, who will be joining us this June. Congratulations to all of those who were accepted. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

On June 8th, Dr. Sujata Iyengar from the University of Georgia came to talk about her work in English Renaissance Literature. She was followed on Tuesday by Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher from Wheaton College, who talked with the students about their goals for the future.

On Thursday, June 11th, Drs. Lena and Michael Hill from the University of Iowa came to talk to the students about their individual graduate school experiences and their experience of searching for a job together. They accompanied the students on Friday to Yale University to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where Lena showed the students the materials she had worked with as a graduate student there.

That following Monday, June 15th, Dr. Valerie Lee from The Ohio State University spoke about why she became an English professor. On Wednesday, the students went into Boston to watch an exhilarating performance of The Color Purple. They next day, they listened to Dr. Patricia Chu from the SUNY University at Albany.

Friday was a trip to Boston College and Harvard University, and the weekend was spent working on their papers. This week has been GRE prep classes with Kaplan, as well as preparing for their final symposium on Saturday.

Everyone will be heading back home on Sunday, but there are still more events to come: this Friday, a number of graduate programs will be coming to our graduate recruitment fair, and last year’s SILCS graduates will be coming back for a reunion. We’re excited to see everyone again!

Monday was the start of classes. Dr. Robyn Warhol-Down joined SILCS once again as an instructor. The students read Barthes, Foucault, Benjamin, and Fish, and began to do research for their final project. Dr. Herman Beavers from the University of Pennsylvania spoke to the students Monday night about the idea of risk and how it relates to African American Studies. On Wednesday, the students heard Dr. Lisa Lebduska from Wheaton College speak about rhetoric and composition, and on Thursday Dr. Dagmawi Woubshet from Cornell University spoke about his work in comparative literature.

The Brown University English Department and John Carter Brown Library welcomed the students for a visit on Friday. The day was unfortunately rainy, but the rain cleared on Saturday in time for a relaxing trip out on Narragansett Bay with Save the Bay.

There are many more events scheduled for this month so keep watching this space for more updates!