NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

4/06/2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - Two Northwestern State University students and a faculty member made presentations at a conference on 20th Century literature and languages held recently in Louisville, Ky.

Michael Griffin of Terrytown, a junior pursuing a double major in English and humanities/social thought through the Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern, presented a paper, "Narrative Stylistics and Creations: The Female Identity in Coetzee's 'Foe' and 'Elizabeth Costello,'" which focuses on two works by author J.M. Coetzee, a South African writer who won the Nobel Prize in 2003.

Monica Gremillion, a graduate student in English from Opelousas, discussed "Language That Cried Woolf: Post-Structuralist Feminism and 'To the Lighthouse'" during a session on Virginia Woolf and Feminist Ethics, Language and Space. Their faculty sponsor, Dr. Holly Stave, presented during the African American Trauma, Memory and Empathy discussion, presenting a paper entitled "'Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me': Toni Morrison's 'Love' as a Critique of Christianity."

Griffin sent in an abstract and was accepted to present at the conference, a notable achievement for an undergraduate.

"People assume you are a graduate student or have your Ph.D," Griffin said. "That's how I was able to slip under the radar."

The 20th-Century Literature and Culture Conference, now in its 34th year, has become an international event attracting more than 600 participants annually. Scholars in all languages and literatures are invited to submit proposals for papers on any topic pertaining to the literature of this century. The conference also welcomes work by creative writers. The best critical and creative works are selected by reading committees; the papers are then grouped for presentation at sectional meetings held on the University of Louisville campus.

"'Foe' is a novel about Daniel DeFoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' rewritten in a female perspective," Griffin explained. "'Elizabeth Costello' is actually a collection of essays that Coetzee wrote to validate 'Foe.'"

Griffin has attended other national conferences, presenting on a different topic at each one, and has submitted abstracts to several upcoming conferences. Some of the topics crossover to reflect themes he had studied in philosophy classes at the Scholars' College.

"I'm sure with my conference attendance, my graduate school applications will stand out," said Griffin, who plans to eventually earn a Ph.D. and pursue a career teaching and writing. While preparing his Scholars' thesis on Elfriede Jelenek's "The Piano Teacher," he will also present a deconstruction of "Frankenstein" during NSU's Research Day on April 18.

Gremillion also serves as editor of Argus, the campus literary magazine. Argus has been judged as one of the top five campus literary magazines in the nation for the past three years.

"In my presentation, I explained the use male and female language along with artistic expression," said Gremillion. "Feminine or poetic language doesn't follow standard conventions. It is more fluid somewhat like stream of consciousness."

Attending a professional conference and presenting a paper is important for a graduate student like Gremillion, who would like to pursue a doctorate.

"It is important to be active in your field," she said. "If you want to earn a Ph.D. and get work in the field, you have to publish and attend conferences."

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