Dr. Sylvia Bailey
Shurbutt
Vitae
Department of English,
Email: Sshurbut@shepherd.edu
WV Address:
GA Address: 705 Brigantine
Education:
Ph.D.
University of Georgia, 1978-1982, Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Linguistics. Dissertation--"Matthew Arnold's Concept
of Nature"--deals with the nineteenth-century concept of nature as it
evolved from the Romantic (Wordsworthian) to the Victorian (Arnoldian) visions.
M.A.
Georgia Southern University, 1972-1974, American Literature.
Thesis--"A Developing Self As Revealed through the Royalty Imagery
in the Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson"-- explores Emily Dickinson's
use of imagery as it parallels an evolving self.
Employment:
SE Bullock High School, English Dept. Chair (1975-78)
Teaching/Research Interests:
19th-Century
British Literature
Women's
Studies
Appalachian
Studies
English
Pedagogy
Linguistics
Professional Organizations:
National
Council of Teachers of English
Organization
for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender
Appalachian
Studies Association
Virginia
Woolf Society
Popular
Culture of
"The Short Fiction of Katherine Anne
Porter: Momentos de Verdades." Southwestern
American
Literature 5 (1975):
40-46. (Research clarified Porter’s fictional
“grace moments.”)
"E. L. Masters' 'Spooniad' as
Homeric Burlesque."
39-46. (Research explored Classical influence on
Masters’ poetry.)
"Emily Dickinson: A Poet the Product
of Her Age." Emily Dickinson Bulletin, 33 (1978):
26-34. (Research established
"A
Developing Self as Revealed in the Royalty Imagery in the Poems and Letters of
Emily Dickinson." American Transcendental Quarterly, 42 (Spring
1979): 167-176. (Research explored
“royalty” image in
"Mary Wollstonecraft: An
Eighteenth-Century Romantic." The
(1982):
47-53. (Research established Romantic influence
of Wollstonecraft.)
“Matthew Arnold's Concept of Nature: A
Synthesist's View." Victorian Poetry, 23 (Spring
1985):
97-104. (Research explored the Romantic and
Modernist tendencies in
"The
Poetry of Matthew Arnold: Nature and the Oriental Wisdom.”
"The
Popular Fiction of Caroline Sheridan Norton: A Vehicle for Change in Woman's
Legal Status.” The Journal of Popular Literature, 2 (Winter 1986):
45-56. (Research explored Norton’s novels as
vehicle for social change in Victorian England.)
"The
Popular Fiction of Caroline Sheridan Norton: The Woman Question and the Theme
of Manipulation," Studies in Popular Culture, 9 (1986): 24-40. (Research explored the theme of patriarchal
manipulation in Norton’s novels.)
Reading/Writing Relationships, co-author.
teach writing and reading.)
"Student Peer Evaluation: A
Practical Approach."
1987):
22-25. (Research explored ways to implement peer
evaluation in writing classes.)
"Integration
of Classroom Computer Use and the Peer Evaluation Process: Increasing the Level
of Composition Proficiency through Student Revision." The
"Matthew
Arnold and John Stuart Mill: In Harmony with Nature." Essays in
Literature, 15 (Spring 1988): 35-43.
(Research
explored relationship between Mill and Arnold’s ideas about nature, implying
the Modernist tendencies of the Victorians.)
"Computer
Writing and Collaborative Learning:
Making the Machine Less Formidable." Notes on Teaching English,
15 (May 1988):12-13. (Research explored
successful use of collaborative learning in the computer writing workshop.)
"Margaret Drabble's The Waterfall:
The Writer as Fiction, or Overcoming the Dilemma of
Female
Authorship." Women's Studies, 16 (Fall 1988): 30-38. (Research explored
Drabble’s vision of the female artist and obstacles
she must overcome to create.)
Introduction to Lost and Saved by
Caroline Norton. 1864.
Facsimiles
and Reprints, 1989. (This volume allowed me
to get 19th-century novelist Caroline
Sheridan Norton’s work back into print. My introduction explains the work and
Norton’s significance in the
immensely important Women Question of the 19th
Century.)
"Revisionist
Mythmaking in Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market': Eve's Apple and Other
Questions Revised and Reconsidered." The Victorian Newsletter 82
(Fall 1992): 40-44. (Research explored
Rossetti’s importance among the Pre-Raphaelite artists and the revisionist
myth-making she undertakes in “Goblin Market.”
In 2004, Gale Research asked permission to reprint the essay in the
first volume of Feminism in Literature.)
"Zelda
Fitzgerald: The Collected Writings." Review for Southern Humanities
Review 27 (3 Summer 1993): 288-290. (This review essay was
commissioned by Southern Humanities
Review, the research and preparation introducing me to the importance and
significance of Zelda Fitzgerald as an early 20th-century artist.)
"The
"Creating a Woman's Life Through
Words: A Language of Their Own." Women and
Language 17 (Spring 1994): 38-42. (Research on Zelda Fitzgerald explored her
attempt to
“write” her
own version of her life as a response to husband Scott’s appropriating of her
life for his fiction.)
"Writing Lives and Telling Tales:
Visions and Revisions." Untying
the Tongue: Gender,
Power,
and the Word, Eds. Linda
Longmire and Lisa Merrill,
1998. (Chapter in this volume explored the work of
Zelda Fitzgerald and her significance to Jazz Age
literature and early 20th-century
feminism.)
"Agony, Ecstasy, and Art: Four
Plays." Contemporary American
Theater Festival,
Program Notes. (July 2001): 11, 16. (Research involved reading and researching four
plays for
The Contemporary American Theater Festival, a
national theater festival for presenting new
playwrights.)
"Zelda Fitzgerald." American
Writers, Supplement IX. Jay Parini,
Ed. NY: Charles
Scribner's
Sons, 2002. 55-73. (Research and essay commissioned by Scribner’s
for critical
and biographical overview of Zelda Fitzgerald.)
"The Art of Illusion." Contemporary American Theater Festival,
Program Notes. (July
2002):
22-23. (Research involved reading and researching
four plays for The Contemporary American
Theater Festival, a national theater festival for
presenting new playwrights.)
"Charlotte Perkins Gillman." American
Writers. Ed. Jay Parini. Supplement XI. NY:
Charles
Scribner’s, Gale Research, 2002.
193-211. (Research and essay
commissioned by Scribner’s for critical and
biographical overview of feminist activist Charlotte Perkins
Gilman.)
“Flannery O’Connor.” American
Writers. Ed. Jay Parini.
Retrospective Supplement II.
NY:
Charles Scribner’s, Gale Research, 2003. 219-239. (Research and essay
commissioned by Scribner’s for critical and
biographical overview of
“Margaret Atwood.” World Writers in
English. Ed. Jay Parini. NY: Charles
Scribner’s
Sons,
Gale Research, 2004. 59-80. (Research and essay commissioned by Scribner’s
for
critical and biographical overview of Canadian writer
Margaret Atwood.)
“The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte
Perkins Gillman.” Encyclopedia of
American
Literature.
NY:
“Revisionist Mythmaking in Christina
Rossetti’s Goblin Market.” Feminism
in Literature.
Vol.
1. NY: Gale Research, 2004. (Essay reprinted by Gale.)
“Margaret Drabble.” The Literary
Encyclopedia. On-line Research &
EbscoHost
Publication
@ www.LitEncyc.com, 2005. (Overview of English
author’s work commissioned by
The Literary
Encyclopedia.)
”Zelda Fitzgerald.” The Literary
Encyclopedia. On-line Research &
EbscoHost
Publication
@ www.LitEncyc.com, 2005. (Overview of Zelda
Fitzgerald’s work commissioned
by The Literary
Encyclopedia.)
“Fred Chappell.” The Literary Encyclopedia. On-line Research & EbscoHost
Publication
@ www.LitEncyc.com, 2005. (Overview of Appalachian
writer’s work
commissioned by The
Literary Encyclopedia.)
“Lies, Truth, and Art: Vanquishing the
Enemy Within.” The Contemporary
American
Theatre Festival, Program Notes (July 2005): 28-31. (Research involved reading and
researching four plays for The Contemporary American
Theater Festival, a national theater festival for
presenting new playwrights.)
“Words, Actions, and ‘Resurrecting Home’:
the Fiction of Denise Giardina and the
Ethical
Imperative.” The Journal of
115. (Research explores the work of
“Where Mountain Meets Atom, Within the
Healing Circle: The Writing of Marilou
Awiakta.” The Journal of Appalachian Studies 11
(Spring/Fall 2005): 195-204.
(Research explores the
work of Appalachian poet Marilou Awiakta and environmental themes in her
poetry.)
“A Roadmap for Becoming an Artist: ‘Unstoppering
the Story Jug’ in the Poetry and
Prose
of Fred Chappell and Listening to the Female Voice.” The
Journal of
storyteller Fred Chappell and his use of the female
voice in his work.)
Conference and Professional Presentations:
"Mary Wollstonecraft: An
Eighteenth-Century Romantic," Women's Studies Session,
“Emily Dickinson: Erratic Emily or a
"The Influence of Hispanic Culture
and Character upon the Short Fiction of Katherine Anne Porter," Fifth
Winthrop Symposium on Major Modern Writers, Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC,
April 23, 1982.
"Writers of the Coastal Plain:
Caroline Miller and Brainard Cheney," Catface Country, The World of the
Turpentiner: Conference Sponsored by the
"Matthew Arnold's Concept of Nature
and the Bhagavad Gita: A Source of Consistency in a Synthesist's Approach to
Nature," Nineteenth-Century British Literature Session, Philological
Association of the
"The Novels of Caroline Norton: The
'Woman Question' and the Theme of Manipulation," Women's Studies Session,
Philological Association of the
"The Popular Fiction of Caroline
Sheridan Norton: A Vehicle for Change in Woman's Legal Status," Women's
Studies Session, Popular Culture Association of the South,
"Caroline Sheridan Norton: 'Angel'
with a Cause,"
“Student Peer Evaluation: Questions and
Answers--Pitfalls and Poppycock!" Conference for Improving the Teaching of
Writing in Freshman English,
"Integration of Classroom Computer
Use and the Peer Evaluation Process: Increasing the Level of Composition
Proficiency through Student Revision," University System Computer Network
Conference, Rock Eagle, GA,
"Margaret Drabble's The Waterfall:
The Writer as Fiction, or Overcoming the Dilemma of Female Authorship,"
Women's Studies Session, Popular Culture Association of
"The Composition Computer Lab: From Conception
to Implementation," University System Developmental Studies Workshop,
"The Evaluation Process in Freshman
Writing: A Tool for Improving Composition Skills," Freshman English
Session,
"Matthew Arnold and John Stuart
Mill: In Harmony with Nature," British Literature Session, Philological
Association of the Carolinas, Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC, March 6, 1988.
"The Demonic Masked, Or the
Necessity of Indirection: the Popular and Polemical Prose of Caroline Sheridan
Norton," Women's Lives and Letters Session, Popular Culture Association of
"Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin
Market' As Revisionist Mythmaking, Or
"The Politics of Language:
Empowering the Female Writer," Understanding Women's Writing Session, NCTE
Conference on College Composition and Communication, Seattle, WA, March 17,
1989.
"The 'Proper Lady' and Political
Subversion," Nineteenth-Century Women Writers Session, Women's Studies
Conference, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, September 28,
1989.
"Revisionist Mythmaking in
Nineteenth-Century Women's Writing: Eve's Apple and Other Teleological
Questions Revised and Reconsidered," Southeastern Nineteenth Century
Studies Association, The Citadel,
"The College Computer Lab: Initiating
and Integrating Computer Writing into the Freshman Program," National
Projects on Computers and College Writing Conference, The City University of
New York, June 1, 1990.
"The
"Creating a Woman's Life through
Words: A Language of Their Own," Organization for the Study of
Communication, Language, and Gender,
"Political Persuasion and the Lady
Novelist: Myths, Masks, and Feminism in the Life and Work of Caroline Sheridan
Norton," Southern Conference on British Studies,
"Jane Austen and the Gothic Romance:
Terror, Satire and Subversion in the Life and Work of a Femininely Augustan
Mind," 1993
"Zelda Writing Zelda: Reading a
Woman's Life in Fitzgerald's Save Me the Waltz,"
"Writing a Woman's Life: Visions and
Revisions," American Culture Association of the South,
"Re-figuring Narration: the Prose
and Visual Art of Zelda Fitzgerald," American Culture Association in the
South,
“Equality and Art,” Organization for the
Study of Communication, Language, and Gender,
“Telling Stories, Writing Tales—New
Voices at the Century’s End: the Novels of Sharyn McCrumb,” OSCLG,
“Re-imaging the Literature Classroom:
Enhancing Student Participation and Performance through the Classroom WebPage,”
National Council of Teachers of English Global Conversations on Language and
Literacy Conference,
"Weaving the Sacred Circle: The
Prose and Poetry of Marilou Awiakta," Organization for the Study of
Communication, Language, and Gender,
"Art and Life in the Prose of Zelda
Fitzgerald: An Original Aesthetic," Twentieth-Century Literature
Conference,
"Explorations with Technology: the
English Webpage," National Council of Teachers of English Conference,
"Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad Novels and
Talking from the Fringe,' Twenty-fifth Annual Appalachian Studies Conference,
“The Prose and Poetry of George Ella
Lyon: ‘The Mystery of the
“The Literary
Achievement of Marilou Awiakta,” Women of
“Where Mountain Meets Atom Within the
Healing Circle: The Writing of Awiakta,” Twenty-Seventh Annual Appalachian
Studies Conference, Cherokee, NC,
“Zelda Fitzgerald and the Age of Jazz,”
Faculty Forum,
“Words, Actions and ‘Resurrecting Home’:
The Fiction of Denise Giardina and the Ethical Imperative.” Twenty-Eighth
Annual Appalachian Studies Conference,
“Denise Giardina and Southern Appalachian
Writing.” Southern Women Writer’s Conference,
“Fred Chappell: The Art of Story Telling
and the Female Voice.” The American Culture Association in the South
Conference,
“A Roadmap for
Becoming an Artist: Unstoppering the Story Jug in the Work of Fred
Chappell.” Appalachian Studies
Association Conference,
“’Home Is Where
You Come From’: The Fiction of Jayne Anne Phillips and the Journey
Within.” Seventh Biennial Southern Women
Writers Conference,
”Peripheral
Vision in the Fiction of Robert Morgan: Living Voices and Roads Well-Traveled.”
Appalachian Studies Association Conference,
Editing/Review Work:
Grammar for English Teachers by Mark Lester, Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1988.
Reviewer for Proteus, 1989.
Advisory
Committee for Reevaluation of State of
Reviewer
for PMLA, 1996-97, assessment and recommendation of articles for possible
publication.
Grants Received:
Co-author,
NEH Challenge Grant, Georgia Southern U., November 1983, $400,000.00 (for
faculty professional development and library acquisition).
Author,
Regents Quality Improvement Funds, 1986, Composition Computer Lab, $41,541.90.
Author,
Co-author,
WV Humanities Grants, Appalachian Writer in Residence, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (all grants range between $2000.00 and
$6,880.00).
Author,
WV Humanities Planning Grant, Teacher Institute, 1999, $1,500.
Co-author,
WV Humanities Grant: WV Teacher Institute, 2001, $16,000.
Phi
Kappa Phi Literacy Grant, Appalachian Heritage Young Writers Fiction
Competition, $1000.
Courses Taught at Shepherd:
General
Studies English: ENGL 101, 102, 204, 209, including Learning Community with Dr.
Gordon, Eastern Traditions. (http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/NewEngl204/English_204.htm
and http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/engl209/
)
ENGL 340, British Romantic Literature ( http://www.shepherd.edu/englweb/romantics/romantics.htm
)
ENGL 341, 19th-Century British Literature (http://www.shepherd.edu/englweb/engl341/engl341.htm
)
ENGL
ENGL 366, Women in Arts & Literature (Gateway, http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/ENGL366/366index.HTML)
ENGL 370, Structure and Evolution of English (http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/engl370/
)
ENGL 375, History of English (http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/eng375/index.htm
)
ENGL 430, British Literature and the Prominence of Place (http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/travelcourse1.htm)
ENGL 431,
(Travel courses
include “English Heartland,” 1999; “Gaelic Adventure,” 2001; “Literary
Expatriates,” 2007)
EDUC 421, Methods of Teaching English (http://webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/educ421/
)
ENGL 486, English Education Capstone Presentation
Graduate Courses Taught:
CIS
930, Women
& Writing: A Different Voice, WVU, July 2001 (http://www.shepherd.edu/englweb/institute/
)
ENGL
599, Methods of Teaching English, Fall 2006, 2007
ENGL
699, Structure and Evolution of English, Summer 2007
Institution
& Community Activities:
Name of Committee, Years
of Active Specific
Task Force, etc. Involvement Responsibilities
Shepherd
Senate President 2006-2008 Provide
Faculty Leadership, Set Agendas, Preside
Shepherd
Senate 1995-99, 2003- English Rep., ACF Rep.
WV
Advisory Council of
(Duties
included organizing state meetings and setting ACF agendas, making presentations
to Higher Education Policy Commission, the CTC Council, and the West Virginia
Legislature, organizing faculty summer ACF retreats, gathering information and
preparing Higher Education Faculty
Resource Directory, Representing WV Higher Education Faculty and their
issues before a variety of groups, including the Governor.) See ACF website at http://www.wvacf.org/wvacf/home.aspx.
WV
Advisory Council of Faculty Legislative Subcommittee Coordinator 2006-present
(Duties
include coordinating advice to the Legislature on Higher Education issues.)
WV
Advisory Council of Faculty Shepherd U. Representative 2000- (Duties include soliciting input from
Shepherd Faculty and University Senate, making regular reports to Shepherd BOG
and Faculty, representing Shepherd faculty in the state ACF organization.)
Appalachian
Heritage 1999- Project Director & Grant Writer
Writer-in-Residence
Project (See website at http://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/)
WV
New Writers
(See website at http://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/new_writers.html)
Anthology
of
(See website at http://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/anthology/
Shepherd
Friends of Music 2001- Support
Music Events
Tour
Director for British Literature 1999,
2001, 2007 Originator of English
travel study idea
& Prominence of
Place Town/Gown
Masterworks
Chorus 1987- Soprano
chorus member
National
Organization of Women 1990- Eastern
Panhandle President, 3 yrs.
Reader’s
Digest Grant Committee 1992-94 Acad. Coord. for Judith Shatin Music
Residency
Senate
Rep. on Affirmative Action Com. 1997-99 Committee oversaw campus AA
activity
Shepherd
Faculty Council 1988-90 English
Department Representative
Shepherd
Curriculum and Inst. Com. 1992-2005,
2008Chair 2003-05, 2008-present
Shepherd
Strategic Planning Com. 2000- Faculty
Representative
Graduate
Committee 2001-02 English
Education Representative
NCA
Task Force Committee 1999-2001 Preparation for Univ. accreditation
General Studies
Committee 1999-2003 Chair at inception of GSC and coord. of campus
discussion of GS curriculum & ISOs in preparation for
North Central Accreditation (see GS brochure)
Assessment
Task Force 1999-2003 Committee members reviewed assessment
reports
and made recommendations
Professional
Education Unit Council 1987- Committee oversees TE Program
PEU
Council NCATE Subcommittee 1995-97 Subcommittee oversaw curriculum Issues
Shepherd
Women’s Caucus 1990-92 Caucus
addressed women’s issues and
discrimination on campus, Secretary
Women’s
Studies Committee 1993 Original
committee developed
Women’s Studies Minor, Coordinator
Performing
Arts Committee 1991-93 Committee
approved arts performances
Awards
and Recognitions:
Name & Nature of Award or Recognition Year Organization
Making___________
STAR
Teacher Award 1978
NEH
Challenge Grant Writer (GSU) 1983 National
Endowment for Humanities
($400,000
for Faculty Professional Development)
Phi
Kappa Phi 1984
Georgia Regents Quality 1985 GA Board of Regents
Improvement Grant for Computer
Lab
NEH
Yale Univ. Summer Sem. 1987 National
Endowment for Humanities
Faculty
Research Grant for Girton 1987
College Archives,
Faculty
Research Grant for 1990
Strathclyde Archives,
Shepherd
Computer Tech Grant 1992
for English Department Knutti Computer Lab
WV
Humanities Council Grant for
Appalachian Heritage WIR Project 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006
Faculty
Mini Grant for NCTE Global 2000
Conference Presentation,
WV
Humanities Planning Grant
2001 WV
Humanities Council
for WV Teacher Institute
Faculty
Mini Grant for NCTE 2002
Conference Presentation,
Faculty
Mini Grant for Virginia Woolf 2004
Conference,
2004
Summer Fellowship for 2004 WV
Humanities Council
2004
PKP Literacy Grant Recipient 2004 Phi Kappa Phi
for WV New Writers Fiction Competition
2007
West Virginia Professor of the Year 2007 WV
Merit Foundation
Faculty
Mini Grant for NCTE 2008
Appalachian Studies
Association Conference Presentation