March 26, 2004 Highlights
Charlotte
Thralls Honored for Full Professorship
 Utah
State University's administration honored professor Charlotte
Thralls March 17 at the University Residence in the presence
of family, friends and colleagues as part of the Inaugural Professor
lecture series.
Thralls, who has been a part of Utah State's English department
for three years, was recently promoted to full professor.
"There wasn't even the slightest undercurrent of question
when we hired Charie," said English department head Jeffrey
Smitten during his introduction of Thralls. "Charie does
a lot of things, and she does them all perfectly."
After introductions from Provost Stan Albrecht and Smitten,
Thralls shared history and insight from her career, including
various approaches she has used in writing.
"Writing used to be viewed as a mere conduit," Thralls
said, with grammar and "good sentences" as a way of
describing effective writing. "Now people are thinking
in far more complex ways about writing and the practical texts
people produce in workplaces, professions and the disciplines."
Thralls explained several methods and theories about writing
but focused on the most influential writing approach in her
career, cultural studies, which examines texts as an important
resource for shaping knowledge and identity. A major idea behind
cultural study is the concept of articulation, which Thralls
defined as a contingent connection. The idea behind articulation,
she said, is that the objects and practices around us do not
come with their meanings and effects built in. "A stone
can be a boundary marker or a sculpture," Thralls said,
and added that articulation in a way of explaining how understandings
of cultural practices and discourses occur.
Thralls illustrated this concept with a case study she conducted
on Mary Kay Cosmetics, showing how the corporate identity was
formed. She also discussed the historical conditions that allowed
the Mary Kay corporate identity to emerge the way it did and
the process whereby women recruited to the company might find
the corporate discourse effective.
"The upshot of my work is to show that the meanings and
effects of a text, or cultural practice, or corporate discourse,
like that of Mary Kay, cannot be attributed to intrinsic properties
and are not guaranteed in advance," Thralls said. "Instead,
meanings and effects are constantly made and remade, emerging
through the way in which various elements are articulated—or
linked up—in a complex set of relations at a particular
moment."
Thralls, who earned her master's and doctorate in American
Studies from Purdue University, taught for 20 years at Iowa
State University before coming to Utah State in 2001. She was
the founding editor of the Journal of Business and Technical
Communication and currently co-edits Technical Communication
Quarterly, and has received many distinguished awards throughout
her career for her research and teaching.
For more information about the Inaugural Professor Lecture
series, contact Chris Fawson at (435) 797-0979.
Governor
Honors Exemplary Utah State University Emeritus Professor
 Gov.
Olene Walker, joined by the Governor's Commission for Women
and Families, honored Utah State University Department of English
Emeritus Professor Patricia Gardner and six others with the
Utah Women's Achievement Award. The women were honored Thursday,
March 11, for their significant contributions to the field of
literacy, and each received a plaque from the governor.
"I am delighted to present these awards to you today,"
Walker said. "Women like you represent the innovation and
dedication our state needs to truly make literacy a priority.
You have helped our next generation find the path to success
by giving them a strong reading foundation. Congratulations
and keep up the fine work."
Gardner taught children's and adolescent literature for almost
three decades. As chair of the English department at Utah State
University, she developed a master's degree for public school
teachers in which literacy courses constituted the major requirements.
Other award recipients included Lou Ann Bessinger, a former
community development block grant manager; Cynthia Buckingham,
director, Utah Humanities Council; Christine Franco, a teacher
at the Utah School for the Deaf; Merilyn Hesleph, founder of
Early Reading Programs; Tawnya Johnson, a speech language pathologist;
and Elaine Thompson Nielsen, a retired teacher.
For more information on Gardner, contact (435) 797-2733.
Utah
State Students Do Well At Japanese Speech Contest
 Four
Utah State University students who study in the Japanese program
in the Department of Languages, Philosophy and Speech Communication
competed at the 23rd annual Japanese Speech Contest bringing
home first and second place honors in several categories.
Participating students included Cleveland Karren, Tom Kjar,
Jake Geddes and Kelvin Wursten. The students took first place
in the beginning level at the competition and second place in
the advanced level. The students are enrolled in Japanese courses
at Utah State with Atsuko Neely and Mitsuko Hirata.
According to faculty member Atsuko Neely, most of the state's
institutions of higher education — including Utah State,
University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Weber State, Utah
Valley State College, Salt Lake Community College, Westminster
College and Snow College — offer Japanese language courses.
Each year, selected students from each of these institutions
gather to compete at beginning and advanced levels.
Contestants at the advanced level must deliver an original
five-minute speech in Japanese on a topic of their choice. Beginning-level
students recite a favorite story.
Beginning-level first-place winner Tom Kjar chose to tell a
Japanese folk tale titled "Horimono no Nezumi-Carved Mise"
and received the highest marks, Neely said.
The advanced-level second-place winner Jake Geddes presented
a personal account of becoming an official referee for ice hockey
games.
The All-Utah Japanese Speech Contest is one of the longest
running contests of its kind in the nation.
"Twenty-three years ago, Utah was a pioneer in recognizing
the importance of providing an enriching environment for Japanese
language education," Neely said. "First hosted by
professor Masakazu Watabe of BYU in 1980, Japanese educators
in the state have continued to host this unique annual event
on a rotating basis. It serves as a competitive showcase for
students in all of the Japanese language program in the state."
Support for this year's event came from the Japan Foundation,
Consulate-General of Japan at Denver, University of Utah's Department
of Languages and Communication and a number of Salt Lake City
restaurants, including Mikado, Shogun and Kyoto.
For information on Utah State's Japanese program or the competition,
contact Neely at (435) 797-1365.
utah
state today/archives/March
2004/archives
prior to Sept 2002/
Brought
to you by Utah State University Public Relations and Marketing
|