From the Chair

During spring break, as I wandered the virtually deserted campus, the opening lines of the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales kept coming to mind.  Though Greenville was still experiencing "the droghte of March," for a brief while the temperature was moderate, the Bradford pear trees were in full bloom, and robins were sparring with one another in fierce battles held on the ground.

I then began to speculate about the annual "pilgrimages" that students make to the beaches in Florida, or more recently to various resorts in Mexico (at least those that haven’t been destroyed by hurricanes).  And then the pilgrimages of faculty in our department came to mind.  At this time of year, a large group of our departmental colleagues typically heads south to Ft. Lauderdale to attend the annual conference of the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), while another equally large group travels to attend the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC).

These trips bring about a badly needed physical and mental rejuvenation.  Students are able to lie in the sun, party at night, and forget about the mid-term tests just taken and papers soon to be due.  Faculty are able to attend provocative presentations, dine with old friends, and forget about papers to be graded and classes to be prepared.

A pilgrimage, however, entails a return to one's point of embarkation.  Welcome back from spring break!