from The Rutgers AAUP/AFT Newsletter
February 2009 »Link to PDF
Charles Bivona: English Department & Writing Center, Rutgers-Newark [formerly]
Poet, teacher, researcher, writer, tutor, Charles Bivona does it all. With a PhD in Modern History and Literature soon in hand, a long list of publications, and years of teaching experience, Charles is a good candidate for a tenure‐track position.
Teaching a wide array of courses in the Rutgers‐Newark English Department (ranging from “Composition I” to “Special Topics in American Literature: The Beat Movement”), Charles is a versatile contributor to both the Writing and the Literature programs. He also currently teaches similar courses at Drew University (including one on Walt Whitman) and has taught previously at Seton Hall University and Passaic Community College.
Add to this his tutoring at the Rutgers Writing Center and Huntington Learning Center as well as his research work at Rutgers for a tenured colleague and at a chiropractic practice, and you see a very busy man.
Charles is busy, but not too busy to also deliver conference papers and publish poetry. His paper, “A Difficult Telling: Fragmentation and the Traumatized Writer,” was well received at the 18th Annual Tufts University English Graduate Conference.
Most recently, his articles range from “How to Calm SAT Test Anxiety: Personal Mind Tricks for Calming Your Nerves” to “New Criticism & the Romantic Poet: Summarizing and Contending with Cleanth Brooks.”
His poetry has been appearing in reviews and small magazines for more than a decade. Maybe we can elicit a union poem for our newsletter!
When asked why he thinks the PTLFC‐AAUP‐AFT is important for PTLs at Rutgers, Charles reveals his multi‐sided, literary approach:
As part‐time faculty, many of us are forced, for economic reasons, to spread ourselves rather thin. So many of us are on the run, from one job to the next, and often become invisible entities at the University. The union works on our behalf, gives us a voice within the system, and consistently champions our oft‐overlooked contributions to the pedagogical excellence of Rutgers University. The PTLFC‐AAUP‐AFT creates a feeling of solidarity, shared appreciation, and cooperation amongst the part‐time faculty. And on a personal note, as an educator, when I discuss the labor history of this country with my students, I am proud to be a direct beneficiary of that history. Keeping that in mind makes the cultural history of my lectures come alive for me and my students.
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