Highest number of submissions received in literature conference's history
By Jonathan Hiser
On March 20, UP celebrated the literary accomplishments of northwest high school and college students, hosting the seventh Annual Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature. Featuring three lecture sessions, NUCL boasted 68 student presenters from 19 schools.
English Professor Molly Hiro said NUCL provides students the unique opportunity to experience professional-style literary discussions outside of the classroom and to become authorities in their subject.
"The classroom can be such a performative environment, where everything is done for a grade, so it's wonderful for students to just be genuine about their literature and without there being any evaluation," Hiro said.
Maggie Faber, a junior at the University of Puget Sound, said she enjoyed the at times intense, but always constructive discussions that sprang from the readings.
"It's interesting to hear what other people are talking about, especially in relation to my own paper," Faber said.
Topics ran the literary gamut, with sessions ranging from feminism, to foreign languages, to fantasy. Some writers synthesized different genres into one, as seen in University of Oregon professor Ben Saunders' keynote address on "Wonder Woman in Bondage: Gender, Power and the Amazon Superhero."
Saunders said he was trying to "balance the inevitable human response" in relation to Wonder Woman.
"This is not a character who is easy to write," Saunders said.
Saunders made no attempt to hide his admiration for the feminine superhero, even commenting on the incident in which film actress Megan Fox once refused to play the role of Wonder Woman because she thought the character was "lame."
Saunders' response to Fox was simple and direct.
"My feeling is that Megan Fox is lame; Wonder Woman is cool," Saunders said. "It's strange; it's not necessarily politically progressive, but it is not lame."
Following the spirited keynote address, four awards were given out for the best foreign language paper, best high school paper, most imaginative and best overall. Each winner also received a $25 cash prize.
Sophomore Ty Blakeney of Reed College won the aptly-named "Brass NUCL" for the best overall essay award. His paper examined homosexuality in Flaubert's "Le plaisir de raconter."
"It's been cool," Blakeney said. "I enjoy hearing other people's papers and engaging with them about it."
Stanford-bound Adriana Rojas-Echenique, a senior at Grant High School, won the "Best High School Essay" award for her critical analysis titled "John Steinbeck's Poetic Dualism."
"It's a really unique opportunity, especially as a high school student," Rojas-Echenique said.
Allison Faris, a senior at Portland State University, won the Foreign Language Award for her paper on "Female Power in 'L'Oranger et l'abeille." This being the first conference she ever attended, Faris said she was caught off guard by the award, in a good way.
"I wasn't expecting it at all - it happened so fast," Faris said. "I was the first one called and I was shaking, then I sat down and it was over just like that."
PSU Professor Jennifer Perlmutter, who sponsored Allison Faris, said she was impressed with the organized and professional atmosphere of the conference.
Other students were equally excited to be selected to share their papers outside of the classroom.
Ashley Reed, a sophomore from University of Oregon, presented her paper, "A Prevailing Virtue: Defense of the Fallen Woman in the Poetry of Christina Rossetti," in the session entitled "Restoring the Fallen Woman." Reed first heard about NUCL when her literature professor mentioned it in class. Reed said she was surprised and wasn't expecting to be selected, but was honored to present nonetheless.
"I actually kind of wasn't expecting to get in," Reed said. "I was a little nervous that it would be dry, like some conferences are, but so far it's been really interesting ... it's been a positive experience."
English professor Cara Hersh said the conference provides a step above the classroom environment by breaking the mold of the traditional and limited student-professor dialogue with papers. In doing so, NUCL adds a richer environment for student thought and development.
"It's really nice to present that paper with 15 people instead of just one, because not only are you being able to share it with 15 other people, but those people are talking back to you and pointing out ideas, and that can be a really exciting thing," Hersh said. "Here you have an opportunity to really know a text, which really heightens the discussion."
Jessie Hethcoat, Lauren Seynhaeve and Lisa McMahan contributed reporting to this story.
