CoLEAGS Activities
Professional Activities
Graduate Colloquium
The Graduate Colloquiua provide an opportunity for graduate students to present work in progress (perhaps in advance of a conference) to an audience of faculty and their peers. If you would like to participate, contact this year's Colloquium Coordinators.
Grad Forum
The graduate forum aims to help students navigate the program and the profession by recruiting speakers (often more senior graduate students or junior faculty members) to discuss issues of immediate interest to students in the department. Past topics have included preparing for exams, producing a strong CV, and navigating program requirements.
Symposium
The Symposium is a "mini conference" designed to provide new students a chance to present their work to an audience of their peers in a realistic conference environment. Presenters are organized into panels, each with a chair, and present their work in nintey-minute sessions. The Symposium provides a great opportunity to prepare for that first conference presentation (or practice for the next one).
Intellectual Activities
Critical Speakers Series
The Critical Speakers Series attempts to enrich the intellectual environment of the department by inviting scholars from UNC and other universities to present their work and discuss the field. Past speakers have included Jonathan Goldberg, Micheal Moon, and Walter Benn Michaels.
Boundaries of Literature
Each spring, the Boundaries of Literature symposium invites a group of scholars to address the boundaries of the field over the course of several days. The symposium provides the opportunity for a sustained discussion that takes place during presentations, roundtable discussions, and panels including both invited speakers, faculty, and graduate students. Last year's symposium, with keynote speaker Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, focused on the interaction between literature and history.
Furst Forum
The Furst Forum invites scholars in comparative literature to present their work and disucss current issues in the field.
Social Activities
Pig Pickin'
Every fall, faculty and graduate students gather to enjoy a traditional North Carolina feast. The night before, a few hardy souls camp out and slow cook (most of) a pig. That day sides (including plenty of vegetarian options!), libations, and those less inclined to roughing it in pursuit of the perfect pork arrive. It's a great chance to socialize with familiar faces from the department, eat a lot of good food, and enjoy North Carolina's beautiful fall weather.
Twelfth Night
Like the Tudor festival, our Twelfth Night is characterized by the reversal of the status quo. For one night, we poke fun at all that the profession and the department hold dear. Faculty are caricatured, classes are lampooned, and merry time is had by all.
Prospective Weekend
In late March or early April, the department invites those students admitted to the graduate program to campus for a weekend. While they're here, prospective students stay with graduate students, sit in on classes, meet faculty, and learn a lot about what life is like here in Greenlaw. While CoLEAGS isn't solely responsible for the event, we do arrange several events for the prospective students while they're here, and we can always use extra help!
Happy Hours
Every other Friday (payday!) the Social Chairs pick a local venue for a low-key get-together to celebrate...well, getting paid. Usually we meet at a local bar, but in the fall we'll sometimes go to the Carolina Inn for live music, and recently we've been venturing farther afield. Contact the Social Chairs or check the CoLEAGS calendar for more information.