Department News
October 2007
MATC hosts Wisconsin Book Festival Event
 MATC's Arts and Sciences Learning Center hosted a Wisconsin Book Festival Event October 12 that included readings from novelists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie of Nigeria and Zakes Mda from South Africa (see photo). Danile Kunene, a respected South African scholar at the University of Wisconsin/Madison, also spoke.
Lead by an initiative from the English Department and the Creative Writing Committee, this MATC-sponsored event was at MATC's Downtown campus.
Guy Thorvaldsen, English instructor who helped organize the event, said, "Adichie and Mda are both award-winning fiction writers, penning novels that address the struggles of post-colonial Africa. Their writings are eloquent and poignant. Not only do these authors offer us an opportunity to reach beyond our borders, but they also provide a point of inspiration to MATC’s wealth of immigrant and ethnic students." He added that MATC's Truax library has copies of Adichie's and Mda's books.
Flagship English courses change names but not purpose
Two of MATC’s most well-known English classes were offered with new names in the fall semester. Communication Skills 1 became Written Communications, and Communication Skills 2 was offered as Oral/ Interpersonal Communications. Both classes primarily serve students in MATC's two-year degree programs.
The name changes were mandated by the Wisconsin Technical College System as part of an effort to standardize course names and outlines of instruction across the system. The changes mean that MATC courses will transfer to and serve all other system schools, and that transfer agreements worked out between WTCS and the UW system will apply to our courses as well.
Anna Purnell, an English instructor and chair of the department's Program Service Committee, explained, "As the English Department faculty considered whether or not to agree to the name change, our greatest concern was that we not alter two classes that deliver what our program students and programs want and need. While both classes will have new outlines of instruction, the topics they cover, learning outcomes, and dedication to serving program students will be unchanged."
The name transition itself has been relatively smooth, according to Purnell. She added that all MATC students, instructors, and support staff should "spread the word" that students who have taken Communications Skills 1 should not be taking Written Communications, and students who have already completed Communications Skills 2 should not enroll in Oral/Interpersonal Communications.
(Note: Photo contributed by Zakes Mda)
|
