At the beginning of 2009, students were asked to submit a concept proposal for a short YouTube-like video that provided a video snapshot of the Department of English. The proposal was judged by these criteria:

• innovation and creativity,
• information presented,
• entertainment value,
• professionalism and relevance,
• ease of implementation,
• specificity and comprehensiveness, and
• appeal to multiple audiences (potential students, parents, faculty, and donors).

Students were asked to consider:

• What is important about studying English or getting a degree in English at Arizona State University?
• How can a degree in English address the range of local and global challenges?
• How does a degree in English address local, regional, and national identities?
• What experiences within the broad range of English Studies--languages, literatures, and discourses--lead to “Aha!” moments that transform one’s thinking about oneself and the world?

The winner of the contest was Ajia Wallace, Department of English alumna.

Cast:

Alisha Alston
Christopher Bradley
Nathalie Cadieux
Cheyenne Clarson
Dr. Neal Lester
Jacob Leveton
Riki Meier
Professor Laura Tohe
Crew:

Marcus Boykin
Phillip Karagas
Edmundo Yeomans
List of Quotes:

An educational system isn’t worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn’t teach them how to make a life. – Author Unknown

The difference between journalism and literature is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. – Oscar Wilde

Literature is news that stays news. – Ezra Pound

We enjoy the fruits of the plains and of the mountains, the rivers and the lakes are ours, we sow corn, we plant trees, we fertilize the soil by irrigation, we confine the rivers and straighten or divert the courses. In fine, by means of our hands, we essay to create as it were a second world within the world of nature. – Cicero

Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions. – William Allin

We die. That may be the measure of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives. – Toni Morrison

It is the responsibility of writers to listen to gossip and pass it on. It is the way all storytellers learn about life. – Grace Paley

Tell me a story – a small story, a true story (or as true as you can tell it) – a story from your heart, a story from your life. Tell me of a time when you lost something – your keys, your heart, your mind, your mother or father, your way in the world – or tell me about a small joy you had today. Tell me a story – and your telling it will change you – and your telling it will change me – and such stories will move us both closer to the light.
– G. Lynn Nelson

You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories. – Leslie Silko and Laura Florence

english.clas.asu.edu/engvideo