Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 3.08 Literature and Poetry
Presentation #1 Title
The Food, Faith, and Language of a Region in the Novels of Julia Watts
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Kentucky writer Julia Watts earned the 2002 Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult Literature for her coming of age novel Finding H.F. In this panel, we explore three approaches to the novel that will help us to better understand issues in contemporary Appalachia and will help students to better understand their own language communities. Presenter #1 will examine the food and foodways portrayed in the novel, noting how food is used as a marker for place and as a marker of growth and experimentation. Presenter #2 will examine the novel's treatment of homosexuality and religion, exploring how the congregations and individuals in this novel approach this timely contemporary issue. Presenter #3 will suggest incorporating the novel into a university-level first year writing class, as a way to raise students' awareness of dialect and thus to help them become aware of the different ways they use language in various contexts. (Ultimately, one goal of this pedagogical approach would be to help students navigate the transition into writing and communicating in Standard Academic English in the context of the university.) In this panel, we will thus explore a variety of ways that Finding H.F. can help us see our region and ourselves in a fresh way.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Allison Carey is an Assistant Professor of English at Marshall University, with research interests in teacher education, young adult literature, and food studies. She is a native of Knoxville, TN.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Dreama Pritt teaches Composition in Marshall University's English Department, and her scholarly work inhabits the intersection of literature and religious studies. Publications and awards for this West Virginia native include selections from both scholarly and creative writing genres.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Whitney Naylor-Smith is completing her M.A. in English at Marshall University, where she also teaches first year writing. Her scholarly interests include literary analysis informed by a concern for social justice.
The Food, Faith, and Language of a Region in the Novels of Julia Watts
Corbly Hall 244
Kentucky writer Julia Watts earned the 2002 Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult Literature for her coming of age novel Finding H.F. In this panel, we explore three approaches to the novel that will help us to better understand issues in contemporary Appalachia and will help students to better understand their own language communities. Presenter #1 will examine the food and foodways portrayed in the novel, noting how food is used as a marker for place and as a marker of growth and experimentation. Presenter #2 will examine the novel's treatment of homosexuality and religion, exploring how the congregations and individuals in this novel approach this timely contemporary issue. Presenter #3 will suggest incorporating the novel into a university-level first year writing class, as a way to raise students' awareness of dialect and thus to help them become aware of the different ways they use language in various contexts. (Ultimately, one goal of this pedagogical approach would be to help students navigate the transition into writing and communicating in Standard Academic English in the context of the university.) In this panel, we will thus explore a variety of ways that Finding H.F. can help us see our region and ourselves in a fresh way.
