Eastern Illinois University :: English - Summer Camp 2016 Info for Campers

Summer Camp: Info for Accepted Campers

Welcome, English summer campers! We look forward to meeting you (and welcoming back those who are joining us for the second time). An acceptance letter from camp director Dr. Melissa Ames will be sent to all accepted campers by May 31st, referencing important paperwork that must be completed by June 10 and uploaded online. (These forms are located below.) On this page, you can also complete the RSVP forms for the showcase brunch and campus tour/appointments. In addition, you can learn more about the camp faculty and counselors from their biographies featured on this page.

Paperwork (due June 10)

RSVP Forms (due July 10)

English Summer Camp Faculty and Counselors

	Camp Director
	Dr. Melissa Ames is a Professor of English and the Director of English Education at Eastern Illinois University specializing in media studies, television scholarship, Internet studies, popular culture, feminist theory, and pedagogy. Her work has been published in a variety of anthologies and journals, ranging in topic from Television Study, New Media, and Fandom to American Literature and Feminist Art. Her most recent and forthcoming publications include her books,Women and Language: Gendered Communication Across Media (McFarland, 2011),Time in Television Narrative: Exploring Temporality in 21^stCentury Programming(University of Mississippi Press, 2012), and How Pop Culture Shapes the Stages of a Woman’s Life: From Toddlers-in-Tiaras to Cougars-on-the-Prowl (Palgrave, 2016); chapters inGrace Under Pressure: Grey’s Anatomy Uncovered(2008),Writing the Digital Generation(2010),Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, and the Twilight Saga(2010), Manufacturing Phobias (2016), Adventures in Shondaland (2016); and articles inThe Journal of Dracula Studies(2011),The Women and Popular Culture Encyclopedia(2012), The High School Journal(2013), The Journal of Popular Culture (2014), and Pedagogy (2017).
	Camp Faculty
	Dr. Randall Beebe teaches a variety of courses in the English Department, from courses in 18^th/19^th-century British literature to courses on the Brontes, Jane Austen, and the literary gothic. Most recently, he’s been researching and teaching courses on the legacy of 19^th-century ideas of nature on contemporary disaster and climate fiction. He currently serves as graduate coordinator of the department’s Graduate Studies Program.
	Dr. Melissa Caldwell received her PhD in Renaissance literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tarheels!). She researches and writes about the English Renaissance, particularly about issues related to philosophy, religion, and literature, and about war literature (especially the Iraq War) and Adaptation Studies. Aside from reading and writing, she enjoys hiking, spending time with her daughter, trips to the beach, and playing with her dogs.
	Ashley Flack is an English Graduate Assistant at Eastern Illinois University double concentrating in Composition and Rhetoric and Literary Studies with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. She works in the EIU Writing Center and is a co-editor on the fiction team for Bluestem. Her literary interests center on American Literature, memoir, and slave narratives, while her Composition and Rhetoric interests center on expressivism and the legacy of Ken Macrorie and his influence in regard to principles and practices within Composition Studies but most imoportantly his contribution in shaping the genre of the teaching memoir. .
	Dr. Terri Fredrick grew up in St. Louis and went to college in Missouri and Iowa before moving to Illinois to teach at Eastern. She specializes in the teaching of writing. She is also a member of the Committee for Gender and Sexual Diversity at Eastern and served for many years as the advisor to EIU Pride, a student organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, etc. students.
	Helen Plevka graduated from EIU with a BA in English and minors in Spanish and music, then she received an MA in Comparative Literature from Indiana University. As a high school educator, she has taught in both rural and urban communities in Illinois as well as abroad in the Netherlands. She was an inaugural English Studies Summer Camp Counselor and is thrilled to return this summer.
	Dr. Daiva Markelis wrote a memoir about growing up in Cicero, Illinois as the daughter of immigrants. It's called White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life and was published by the University of Chicago Press. Her short stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in New Ohio Review, Pank, Crab Orchard Review, Oyez, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Reader, The Cream City Review, and Other Voices. She does have academic credentials: a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her favorite sitcoms are The Simpons and Parks and Recreation.
	Dr. Letitia L. Moffitt was born and raised in Hawaii. She received a doctoral degree in English/Creative Writing from Binghamton University in New York, and she taught creative writing at Eastern Illinois University for six years. She is the author of three novels: Sidewalk Dancing (Atticus Books), Trace and Vibe/Sync (Cantraip Press, Books 1 and 2 of the TraceWorld Trilogy). In her spare time she runs marathons and ultramarathons, just for fun.
	Courntey Walton is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University. She received her BA in English Secondary Education in 2015 and taught high school English before returning to Eastern for her MA. She recently received her degree in English Literary Studies and plans to attend Loyola for her PhD in Modern Literature and Culture in the fall. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching Netflix, and traveling. is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University. She received her BA in English Secondary Education in 2015 and taught high school English before returning to Eastern for her MA. She recently received her degree in English Literary Studies and plans to attend Loyola for her PhD in Modern Literature and Culture in the fall. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching Netflix, and traveling.

	Camp Counselors	Counselors
	Abigail Carlin is studying to become a high school English teacher at EIU. When she’s not in class, Abby enjoys playing guitar at the JAC, watching Ghost Adventures (ask her about her ghost hunting research!), and writing columns for the Daily Eastern News. Abby’s favorite texts are A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
	Domonique Hill is a Junior at Eastern Illinois University with a double concentration in Professional Writing and Literary Cultural Studies. In his free time Dom enjoys hanging with friends, getting to know new people, listening to music, and reading. His favorite book is Where the Red Ferns Grow by Wilson Rawls, and his favorite rapper/song writer is J. Cole.
	Emily Hulne is a senior at EIU, majoring in English Teacher Certification. My freetime is spent reading, learning foreign languages and hanging out with my friends. My favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I enjoy most music and my favorite bands are The 1975 and Fall Out Boy.
	Travis Moody is a senior at Eastern Illinois University double majoring in English (concentration in Literary and Cultural Studies) and Philosophy. His favorite thing to read is postmodern literature (ask him about his upcoming thesis)! His favorite book is 1984 by George Orwell, and his favorite television show is Game of Thrones. When he’s not in class, Travis enjoys spending time with his friends and taking care of his dog.