Congratulations to Graduate Teachers! Congratulations to GTAC, the union representing all graduate teachers!  On August 26, members of the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition unanimously voted in favor of a new contract which has raised our salaries and improved other working conditions.  On September 19, the Kansas Board of Regents approved the contract by consent.  Salary increases will be retroactive to August 18. GTAC thanks the many present and past SAGE members for their union membership.  Both SAGE and GTAC urge all GTAs to become dues-paying GTAC members.  The union has greater strength in numbers, and to continue its work most effectively, we require even more participation by a diversity of graduate teachers.  Department liaisons in English are also needed.  Contact gtac@kugtac.org to offer your help or ask questions. We are glad to explain some of the benefits won in our newest contract.  The University will provide a 10% increase to the GTA merit salary pool for the fiscal year of 2003 and the subsequent two fiscal years.  Salary increases will continue to be based on merit.  Based on a 50% appointment, base minimum salaries have been established for the three academic years beginning academic year 2002-2003 as $8,000.00, $9,000.00, and $10,000.00 respectively.  As a matter of implementation, the increases will be made effective August 18, 2002, retroactively as salary underpayments. In addition, a copy of the ratified memorandum will be distributed to GTAs and faculty, and thereafter all newly appointed GTAs would receive a printed copy.  The GTAs may disseminate information at a table in a public area during the annual new GTA orientation as long as their activities do not impede registration activities. Another benefit won by the new contract is that the University will provide the Union with a copy of new policies and changes to existing policies from the Provost's Office that affect benefits, appointments, and wages.  Furthermore, documented hardship conditions, such as medical reasons, can be offered for departmentally supported requests to waive the six hours enrollment requirement for retaining a GTA appointment.  Yet another benefit of the agreement is that the University and the Union will jointly request that the Kansas State Health Care Commission allow the University to provide an employer contribution to the GTA health insurance comparable to the standard subsidy allowed for single coverage for other part-time State employees.  The University currently pays an employer contribution of 50% of the higher age tier for both the limited and comprehensive programs.  If authorized, that amount would increase to approximately 75%. The above benefits are added to those won in the first contract, which was ratified in September 1997.  Although only the first contract ever won for GTAs at KU, it included significant benefits:  a limit on number of hours GTAs have to work (not more than twenty hours weekly for 50% GTAs); university contribution to GTA health care plan; three-credit hour fee waiver; codified grievance policy; and the guaranteed tuition waiver. Without our union, and without vigorous activism throughout every semester, KU GTAs would not be enjoying these benefits today.  All KU graduate teachers should join the union.  If each new contract for GTAs continues to bring such improvements, just think of how great a place to work the University of Kansas will be in the years to come! By GTAC member Amy Cummins

Fall 2002 Inside this issue: GTAC News New Student Profile SAGE Officers Dear Dr. Upcoming Classes Website Info Interest Groups Poetry

A Cool Bunch During orientation, the new graduate students told us a little bit about themselves.  They have a wide variety of interests, so it may seem off that they have come together at this university to work towards common goals.  Yet it's true!  KU attracts the best of the best, and we are proud to have these students in our midst.  I was particularly glad to get the questionnaires that they filled out, because I'm rarely on campus to talk with the newbies.  (Yes, I've been sucked into the vortex of comprehensive finals.)  But after reading their answers, I found that I'm missing out on a great class.  All in all, they are an earnest bunch, but some will have you in stitches... Take Joe Sommers, for instance, whose poetry is featured in this issue.  When asked which literary character he could be, he chose Homer Simpson.  Imagine Homer hunting around in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby...on a Sunday afternoon! Sam Parkes would like to drive a train, in between studying feminist criticism or watching movies on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Laura Mark might be your next landlord.  And she would be very involved in her tenants' lives.  So watch your back! Let's not forget the fighter pilots in the group.  Stacy Stephens, who emulates Austen's Emma (after all, she won the handsome Knightley), and Mindi McMann, who feels a certain connection with Shakespeare's charming Beatrice, would both like to ply fighter jets.  Go figure! Tiffany Ng would like to study Modernism in American Literature, but her secret desire is to be an obstetrician. Tim Thurman enjoys Silas and Maddy's ice cream on the weekends.  Who wouldn't?! Lacy Johnson-Maples likes the movie Vanilla Sky, and she would like to be a psychologist or therapist. Kelly Socovnie is curious like Owen Meany, and like several others in the group, really enjoyed the movie Road to Perdition.  Go out and rent it! David Huffman wants to be a professional genius, but only if he gets to go to Disneyland with his wife. Katie Shaw has a special interest in photography.  She combines this with her interest in life stories and modern novels. Sarah Kern likes the movie, The Shipping News, and take a moment to listen to her should she stop you in the halls.  She is Cassandra from the Rape of the Lock--the voice of reason! Kelly Antholz would like to be an international tour guide, but her idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon is watching college football on a cool rainy day with chili stewing on the stove.  Go Jayhawks! Jason Koepp has a thing for gadgets, so next time you see him with a martini in his hand, assume it's shaken and not stirred.  Could it be that he also enjoys spaghettios and milk? Brian Harris thought about becoming an architect, and he'd like to live Norman's life, from A River Runs Through It.  Beautiful flick, beautiful book! Ellen Fangman 2002/2003 SAGE Officers Co-Presidents: Lisa St. Ledger & Crystal Gorham Secretary: Tiffany Walter Treasurer: Shawn Thomson SAGE Advice Editor: Kristin Bovaird-Abbo Web Master: Kristin Bovaird-Abbo Advisory Committee: Matthew Candelaria Graduate Committee: Becky Miller, Tiffany Ng, & Mary Wharff FSE Committee: Emily Donnelli, Greg Brister, & Matt Hollrah Graduate Assembly Representative: Joe Sommers GTA and Lecturers Committee: Brooke Finan & Beth Lagaron Lecturers and Readers Committee: Kirby Fields & Mike Stigman

Dear Dr. (Ph.D. not M.D.) Dear Dr., I just looked through the course listings for next semester, and none of the offered courses are anywhere near my area of interest—what’s a poor graduate student to do? Sincerely, Isolated Dear Isolated, Especially with the current budget crisis, our English department can never fully satisfy anyone with their course listings. And of course, it always seems as if the courses that you’ve been dying to take always are offered once you’ve completed all of your course work. Or, you’ve reached the point where you need 700+ level courses, and anything interesting is at the 500-600 level. Yet keep in mind that the requirements for the Master’s degree are designed to allow you to experience a wide range of topics in the field of English. And while you do need to gain a thorough knowledge of selected areas of literature for the Ph.D., sometimes taking a course in an unfamiliar area may prove to be very enlightening. You may be surprised at the number of times you will find similarities or references to your particular area of interest in the most unlikely places—and these unearthed treasures may very well turn into conference papers or even thesis topics. Another option is to take courses outside of the English department. While such classes will not count towards specific degree requirements, they will enhance your own knowledge of a certain area. Now might be a good time to take some classes to brush up on your foreign language! Be sure to discuss this course of action with the Coordinator of Graduate Studies, however, so that you may be sure that taking a class outside of the department will be of value to you. Independent study can also be very valuable. Unfortunately, you will miss out on valuable class discussion and interaction with your fellow graduate students, which I have found to be a wealth of information and new ideas. Yet independent study also gives you an opportunity to work closely with a professor in your area of interest, which can be equally beneficial. Good luck next semester! Dr.

Upcoming Classes – “Gender & Desire in Medieval Literature” Medieval gender studies...hmm...that means a course on chivalric knights who overcome horrific odds to save damsels in distress, right? Every thrust of his magical sword leaves behind corpses cleaved in twain? Where the infatuated handsome knight can only gaze at his beloved in a stupor and recite sickening love poetry? And of course, the damsel in distress is the most beautiful woman in the world, and lives only to be rescued so that she may live happily ever after? Nothing could be further from the truth in Mary Catherine Davidson’s “Gender & Desire in Medieval Literature” course, which will be offered this spring from 1:00-2:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Prepare yourself for the unexpected—cross-dressing knights and erotic saints—anything is possible! This course will explore how medieval conceptions of sexual difference shaped categories of gender in early English literary texts such as Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, as well as how film-makers re-formulate medieval gender based on the cultural expectations of their audiences (so the recent film A Knight’s Tale may have some academic value after all!). So come “get medieval” on the cultural construction of gender—and you may find that you have more in common with the knights of yore than you previously thought! Kristin Bovaird-Abbo We Have a Web Site?!?? Indeed we do! The official SAGE web site may be found at http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~sage/. Current content includes minutes from past meetings, issues of SAGE Advice, current and previous officers, and advertisements for upcoming events. However, more content is on its way! “SAGE Wisdom” will provide a forum for graduate students of English to discuss a variety of topics relating to the field of English scholarship and instruction. “Resources” will include useful links and the “Library” area will catalogue materials (books, VHS, and DVDs) purchased by SAGE in order to provide additional resources for its members. Yet we need YOUR help in order to fulfill the potential of the SAGE web site. What would you like to see on our web site? Would you like to learn more about your fellow graduate students? Tell us what your literary interests are. Do you have pictures from past SAGE events that you would like to have posted online? Do you need advice on teaching, or perhaps tips on attending literary conferences? Or even better, would you like to submit advice? What works for you in the classroom? The sky’s the limit with today’s Internet technology; if I don’t know how to do something in regards to web design, I can usually figure it out fairly quickly, so let me know what you want to see online, and I will get it there. Please send any suggestions to me at kbovaird@ku.edu. Should you experience any difficulty viewing the web, please let me know. The web site is currently designed to be best viewed with Internet Explorer, but there are still a few bugs to be worked out. Kristin Bovaird-Abbo Interest Groups: Science Fiction Interest Group Contact:  Matthew Candelaria at matthias@ukans.edu Ariel, a student-faculty interest group centering on Renaissance studies Contact:  Richard Hardin at rhardin@ku.edu Feminist Discussion Group Contact:  Crystal Gorham at cgorham@ku.edu 2Cs (Composition & Conversations)* Contact:  Emily Donnelli at donnelli@ku.edu *Meets regularly at a local eatery to discuss composition theory, rhetoric, and the teaching of writing.  Discussion topics have included using literature to teach writing, the state of the profession, the development of English graduate programs at KU, and responding to student writing.  2Cs participants often heap each other develop proposals for the national 4C's conference.

Poetry...   By Joe Sommers   The American Tragedy A DRAMA IN SEVEN PARTS Exposition When I see those faces on the TV screens, on the televised news, I finally understand, exactly, what it was Emerson was talking about... Opening titles The soil screams.  The great thighs, Held high, aloft in stirrups, violated, And my body chills numb As a million million voices cry out from the Earth, Awakened, yet largely ignored. But my spine hums, and I hear the ripple In the tears of children. And this is the grief Replayed over and over, ad nauseam, ad infinitum, for the vox populi. God help us all. Act II 'It was a sound that coulda deafened Roland's trumpet. It split the moon and lit the sky.' 'Sound Roland's Trumpet,' someone said! 'But no one was listening to make reply.' 'I thought it was nothing, just another publicity stunt, Or a gimmick, perchance, MTV selling rye to kids.' 'Damned if it didn't look like Armageddon to me - Hollywood - It's their fault; blame someone - Blame showbiz!' 'I thought it was The time, The place, The event, In Mannahatta Proper - the risen and the unforgiven!' 'Personally,' said the toweled man, 'why Americans think This only happens to them is beyond my comprehension. 'The Chicken Noodle Network showed us dying everyday, But no one cared. No one listened then. 'But they listen now.' And the cement, glass and all hope came collapsing in. The Rising Action 'They've recovered a body!'

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