Honors Bulletin
All the Honors News that's Fit to Print
Farewell, old friend
It's not often we say goodbye in Honors. Outside of the once a year graduation festivities. But it's time to bid adieu to one of the top 10 Honors advisors of all time. Brad Pearson is taking his talents to the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts as the director of advising.
Since the dawn of time, Pearson has patrolled the ranks of Temple Honors, imbuing them with knowledge of the Smashing Pumpkins, forcing them to face the tough questions of our time (oreo or chocolate chip?), and being the tall one. We will certainly miss the way he disagrees with almost everything we say or do during staff meeting.
Join us in bidding a fond farewell to our bespectacled, bearded, bemusing Brad. Send him well wishes and pop by if you have a chance. He's done here June 28th. We'll leave him with a quote he knows well:
"Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same"
TWO NEW COURSES!
YOU ARE HERE: TRAVELING, WALKING, COLLECTING, MAPPING, WRITING (English 2900.02)
Days/Times: Tuesday & Thursday 3:30pm to 4:50pm
Professor: Kevin Varrone
CRN: 31236
About: To be human is to be an explorer. We are constantly getting lost and finding ourselves: we search, have experiences, collect things, and attempt to situate ourselves within the larger contexts in which we live. In this course we’ll read and wander, gather and record. We’ll focus (both in published texts and in your own original work) on writing that stresses the fundamental human acts of walking, collecting, traveling, mapping, and writing as ways to shape identity and understand the world. We’ll read and dissect writing in multiple genres, including travel writing, nature writing, short stories, narrative poems, and creative non-fiction and we’ll experiment with these genres––borrowing from them all––to produce dynamic, original hybrid work. Some of the authors we’ll read in the course are Agha Shahid Ali, Hala Alyan, Carolyn Forche, Tonya Foster, Max Frai, Robert McFarlane (check this out, fans of Andrew Ervin: https://lithub.com/robert-macfarlane-finds-a-little-hope-in-the-worlds-darkest-places/), Haryette Mullen, Rebecca Solnit and others.
About the Professor: I live in an old house just outside Philadelphia. When not chasing three young children around or fixing the house, I write poems, often about place. I’ve also written a book-length poem about baseball and Philadelphia that was published as a free iPhone/iPad app (http://www.boxscoreapp.com/). Lastly, I organize PHILALALIA, a small press/handmade poetry and book arts festival that takes place each September in Tyler School of Art.
THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA: MUSIC FROM THE LENAPE TO THE ROOTS (Music Studies 3900.01)
Days/Times: Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 1pm to 1:50pm
Professor: Elivi Varga
CRN: 27637
About: Taking the 1974 hit song “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” as its springboard, this course covers music of the Lenape, sacred and secular music during the Colonial era, classical music institutions such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, jazz, the development of Rock ‘n Roll, Philly Soul, and current sounds. It was while John Coltrane lived in Philadelphia that he recorded his landmark album Blue Train; it was in Philadelphia that Leopold Stokowski and his Philadelphia Orchestra recorded music for the 1940 film Fantasia; and it was in Philadelphia that Dick Clark hosted American Bandstand, setting the stage for a new genre called Rock & Roll. We'll take advantage of what's on offer in Boyer and be on the alert for experiencing free/inexpensive live music in the city. Other off-campus experiences include a tour of the Wannamaker Organ, the Academy of Music, and (if it works out as hoped) a tour of the Met. Students will gain an appreciation for the rich legacy of Philadelphia’s musical history in order to better appreciate the great music happening here today.
About the Professor: Elivi Varga is a flutist performing everything from classical to drag cabaret. Her music writing has appeared in The Flutist Quarterly, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and elsewhere. She studied music at Goucher College, The Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and the University of Illinois. Her CD Silver Tunes: Music for Flute and Organ, is broadcast regularly on Swedish Radio and throughout Europe. Her favorite music includes 1970s funk, the English band Elbow, and everything by J.S. Bach. The most recent show she attended was Black Belt Eagle Scout at Johnny Brenda's, and they completely rocked. When not in the classroom, Dr. Varga enjoys hiking in Wissahickon Valley Park and doing yoga with goats.
Hootathon Volunteers Needed
HootaThon is looking for 1-2 volunteers to help out at Freshman Orientation on June 27th from 8:30pm-10:30pm! If you’ve previously been involved with HootaThon, or just want to help out our org, please reach out to Erin Knotek at HootaThon.SDDR@temple.edu and she will email you back with more details! All you need is a bright smile and a willingness to speak to incoming freshmen about Temple and Hoota:) We'll be making cards for the kids at CHOP and designing t-shirts, so you're invited to do that while interacting with the new students! (There also may or may not be free Insomnia cookies, but you didn't hear that from me). Thank you all!!
Let's Get Ready
Let’s Get Ready’s mission is to provide high school students from underrepresented backgrounds with free SAT preparation, admission counseling and other support services needed to gain admission to and graduate from college. Let’s Get Ready envisions a future in which students from all socioeconomic backgrounds have the support they need to attain a college education.
College student volunteers have the opportunity to serve as College Access Coaches who provide high school students with SAT preparation tutoring in the math and/or verbal sections of the SAT exam. As College Access Coaches with LGR, volunteers will be able to reduce educational inequality, gain hands-on volunteer experience with disadvantaged communities, and have a positive impact on these students’ lives at such a critical moment.
May I ask you to please forward this email or the flyer (below) to any students you think may be interested in this opportunity? It would be my pleasure to speak with you or them at any time regarding our programs and offerings.
Click here to apply! Email Marci Monaco-Vavrik with any questions (upperdarby@letsgetready.org.).
Contact Us
Email: honors@temple.edu
Website: honors.temple.edu
Location: 1809 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TempleHonors
Twitter: @templehonors