The Alfred State English and Humanities department hosted a joint conference with the New York College Education Association (NYCEA) and the Pennsylvania College English Association (PCEA). Fifty attendees representing twenty different institutions in New York, Pennsylvania, and as far away as France and Italy attended the two-day conference entitled “Texts at Work, Labor in the Liberal Arts.”
Travis Matteson, Chair of the English and Humanities Department and Board member of NYCEA, was excited about the opportunity to host and the work done. "I'm so grateful that we were able to host the first NYCEA conference since 2019 here at Alfred State. We were able to highlight our new technical writing degree program, and we connected with faculty from all over our region."
The conference featured a Keynote Address by Dr. Rose Zaloom, content writer for Rosamond Gifford Zoo and its nonprofit partner, Friends of the Zoo. Her address was entitled “How to do Things with a Humanities Degree…According to Seamus Heaney, J.L. Austin, and African Red River Hogs.”
The conference featured multiple panel conversations (in person and virtual) ranging from The Teacher-Scholar Profession, Approaches to Artificial Intelligence, and Programmatic Interventions. It also featured a screening of ASC Professor Summer Dorr’s film “Young Monks” and remarks by President Steven Mauro.
Several members of the ASC English and Humanities Department served as moderators and panelists throughout the weekend.
NYCEA is a professional organization dedicated equally to scholarship and teaching. One of twenty regional affiliates of the College English Association, the NYCEA welcomes faculty, students, independent scholars and creative writers who are interested in contributing to scholarship, teaching, and literary culture. Each year they host a conference that allows presenters an opportunity to share insights about literature, teaching, and writing.