Tarzia — 1
Dr. Wade Tarzia
Naugatuck Valley Community College, Waterbury, CT
203-596-8603
Skill Areas
College level teaching (Undergraduate English), Research (folk-literature and anthropology), Technical Writing (science & engineering), Essay & Fiction Writing
Teaching Interests
Writing — technical/science writing, composition, creative writing.
Literature — genre and period surveys, folklore/myth, medieval.
Education
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts/Amherst, English, 1993.
Dissertation —Models of Ritual in Old English and Early Irish Heroic Tales. Robert P. Creed (English, director), Maria Tymoczko (Comparative Literature), John R. Cole (Anthropology). A comparative and ethnographical approach to violence-mitigation rituals depicted in early medieval narratives.
Honors — Earned ‘distinction’ on PhD Qualifying Exam
Earned ‘distinction’ on PhD 3-area Comprehensive Exam.
M.A., University of Massachusetts/Amherst, English, 1988.
B.A., University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Anthropology, 1980.
Continuing Education 1995: graduate course at U.Conn. in theory and teaching of composition.
Teaching Experience
Naugatuck Valley Community College
Waterbury, CT (full-time tenure-track)
• Assistant Professor of English, 2002—present. Teach Remedial Essay (063), Composition 101, technical writing 236 (both as classroom and on-line distance-learning), Writing and Literature 102, American literature I & II, 201 & 202, and Children’s Literature 215. Hire and Supervise tutors and create handout materials for our Writing Center.
• Department Chairperson, 2002—2004. (for literature, philosophy, and foreign language instruction). Interview new adjunct instructors, evaluate adjunct instructors, schedule courses, select textbooks, and handle student grievances.
• Instructor of English, 1998—2002. Teach remedial writing, introduction to composition, technical writing (both as classroom and on-line distance-learning), and introduction to literature. Developed new courses (folklore and tech writing on-line). Tutor in the Writing Center.
Manchester Community-Technical College
Manchester, CT (adjunct)
• Instructor of composition, 1990, 1997. Taught English 111, composition, in two formats: (1) workshop focused on student texts (Elbow approach), and (2) combining writing-workshop approach with reading-response centered assignments.
• Instructor of technical writing, 1989 & 1993. Taught English 114, Technical Writing. Covered proposals, reports, and articles on technical subjects for lay-audience.
• Instructor of literature, 1991. Taught English 120, Intro. to Literature. Covered short story, drama, and poetry.
Northern Essex Community College
Haverhill, MA (adjunct)
• Instructor of composition, 1984. Taught Composition. Focused on writing-workshop and conference approach.
• Instructor of English literature and composition, 1983. Taught Introduction to Literature and Composition. Covered short story, drama, and poetry.
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
• Teaching Assistant, 1982-1983. Taught composition for college freshmen in the Writing Program. Focused on writing-workshop and conference approach.
Other Employment
• Skills — Desktop publishing, graphics & lay-out, editing, writing.
• ContractTechnical Writer, Gerber-Coburn Optical, Vernon, CT. Summer 1998. Write and edit assembly manuals for automated lens-grinding machines; cross-check manuals with blueprint specifications.
• Public Relations Writer, Engineering Department, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 1997-1998. Write/edit brochures, newsletters, and PowerPoint presentations to help boost student enrollment in engineering.
• Technical Writer, Precision Manufacturing Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 1993-1997. Write/edit government proposals, reports, newsletters, presentations, and promotional material for a consortium of university research centers and industry participants.
• Consultant Writer, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, East Hartford, CT, 1993-1995. Compiled, edited, and produced a rocket-propulsion textbook.
• Senior Writer, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, East Hartford, CT, 1984-1993. Wrote/edited textbooks, manuals, reports, proposals, accident investigations, technical articles for trade journals, presentations, and general articles for company newspaper.
Scholarly Publications
“The Legend of the Walled-Up Wife.” Encyclopedia of Women’s Folklore and Folklife. Liz Locke and Theresa A. Vaughn, eds. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Forthcoming 2007.
“Oral Epic Poetry,” “Local Legend,” “Mythography,” “Mythology.” Encyclopedia of Storytelling. Josepha Sherman, ed. M.E. Sharpe. Forthcoming.
“Peru.” Encyclopedia of the World’s Minorities. 3 vols. Ed. Carl Skutsch. New York: Routledge, 2005.
2nd. ed -- “Chapter 4: Myth and Folklore.” Religion and Culture: An Anthropological Focus.” Raymond Scupin, ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Forthcoming 2007, a substantial revision of the chapter listed below for the 2nd edition of this anthology, (peer-reviewed chapter).].
“Chapter 4: Myth and Folklore.” Religion and Culture: An Anthropological Focus.” Raymond Scupin, ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2000. 49-79. (peer-reviewed chapter).
“Feud: Blood-feud in Medieval Society and Literature.” Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales. Beliefs, and Customs. Vol. I: A-K. C. Lindahl, J. McNamara, and J. Lindow, eds. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 2000. 314-321
“A Glance into Mythography.” The 3rd Stone: Archaeology, Folklore, and Myth, #36. Oct-Dec 1999. 39-44. (for ‘general specialist’ audience)
“Tower, Ballad, and Conversational Folklore: The Stable Artifact and the Fluid Commentary of Tradition.” Assemblage 2. 1997 (peer-reviewed article).
“Pseudo-Science Rhetorical Style in Forbidden Archaeology: Anti-evolutionism Outside the Christian Arena.” Creation/ Evolution 34, Publication of The National Center for Science Education. 1994. 13-25. (peer-reviewed review/article)
"Linguistic Tendencies in Creationist Texts: Hypotheses." Creation/Evolution 27, 1990, 11-19.
"The Hoarding Ritual in Germanic Epic Tradition." The Journal of Folklore Research 26:2, 1989, 99-121. (peer-reviewed article)
"No Trespassing: Border Defense in the Táin Bó Cúailnge." Emania 3, 1987, 28-33. (peer-reviewed article)
Essays (General Audience)
“A Bloody Fine First Day with a Crabclaw Sail” (two parts). Proafile International, March 2005. (on-line sailing magazine).
“Teaching Goofy (Or Otherwise) Personal Research.” Innovations Abstracts. NISOD. 26/13, 2004.
“How I used my stroke to teach poetry.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 22, 2001.
“Cheering with the Enemy: Or, Boosting your Mileage with the Best from Bad Reviews.” National Center for Science Education Reports (Summer 1999).
“The Survival of the Scholar-Exile.” The Chronicle of Higher Education XLIV #10:B9, Oct. 31, 1997
• Reprinted in The Independent Scholar, Vol. XI no. 4: Fall 1997
“To Trash or Treasure Literary Style in Science Fiction and Fantasy.” Scavenger’s Newsletter 156 & 157, Feb.-March 1997.
“Strictly Sterile: A Man and his Dog.” Next Phase. Spring 1995.
"The Contrast of Ghasta — Russian Formalism for Science Fiction and Fantasy." The Barrelhouse, Spring 1993.
"The Still Air, the Stained Glass, the Storms to Come — Motifs as Indexes in SF Movies." The Barrelhouse, Winter 1992.
"Walk in the woods becomes a walk on the wild side." Commentary Section, The Hartford Courant, Sunday, February 25, 1990. (reprinted in The Washington Post and The LA Times)
"Death Warmed Over, the Endless Suicide — Diseased Society in SF Tales." The Mage, Winter 1990.
"'...And Trim those Damn Ears!' — Racism in Fantastic Genres." The Mage, Spring 1989.
"The Plausibility Problem — Reality Effects in Science Fiction." The Mage, Summer 1988.
"Decay in the Hero's Way — Heroes as Liminal Characters." The Mage, Spring 1987.
Invited Presentations
“The Beowulf Pattern in Science Fiction.” Lecture for Hebrew High School, New Britain, CT 2001
“Introduction to Beowulf: Society, Orality, and Performance Methods.” for course Epic Poetry, English 300, Professor Hugh Ogden, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, December 2000
“The Chiefdom Hypothesis in Old English Poetry.” Guest lecture, English 502, Prof. Robert P. Creed, University of Massachusetts, March 5, 1997.
“The Folklore of Creationism and Cult-Archaeology.” Five-College Folklore Seminar, University of Massachusetts/Amherst. December 8, 1994.
"Why Dragons are Always Angry: Anthropological Approaches to Traditional Literature." Anthropology Club, Anthropology Department, Central Connecticut State University, April 7, 1993.
"Not-So-Ancient Ruins and the Face on Mars: Aspects of the Folklore of Cult Movements." Anthropology Department, Prof. Kenneth Feder, Central Connecticut State University, April 7, 1993.
"Folkloric Approaches to Cult Archaeology." Alternative Archaeology: A Symposium. Nova Scotia Archaeological Society and Canadian Parks Service. Delta Barrington Hotel, Halifax, May 1-2, 1992.
Presented Papers
“The Spancel Ritual and Conflict Control in Táin Bó Cuailnge.” Session 44, Medieval Folklore, Medieval Congress, Kalamazoo, MI, May 8, 1997.
“Ethnography as Sign of Orality.” 17th Medieval Forum. Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH. April 19-20, 1996.
"Humility Rituals in Beowulf and Old Irish Sagas." 14th Medieval Forum. Plymouth State College, NH. April 16, 1993.
"The Manipulation and Critique of Social Status in Early Irish Literature." 1989 MLA Meeting, December 29, Wash. D.C.
"'SMMD' — Conflict Reduction through Poetry." The 1989 CSANA Conference and Harvard University Celtic Colloquium, May 14, 1989. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
"A Head-Hunter's Guide to Irish Borders." 10th Medieval Forum. April 15, 1989.
"In Memory of Beowulf: The Function and Poetry of Treasure Hoards." 9th Medieval Forum. April 16, 1988.
"Epic and Transition." 8th Medieval Forum. April 11, 1987.
"Status and Socialization: Traditional Poetry in Rituals." Northeastern Anthropological Association Meeting.. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. March 20, 1987.
"Information Structures for Adaptation." 7th Medieval Forum. April 12, 1986.
"Adaptive Verse Structure in Epic Narrative." Northeastern Anthropological Association Meeting. Buffalo, NY. March 21, 1986.
"Information Theory and Early Medieval Literature." 6th Med. Forum. April 18, 1985.
"Hyper-Presentation Units in Beowulf." 5th Med. Forum. April, 1984.
"Swords and Circumscription: The Táin as Border Mechanism." 1984 CSANA Conference. Queens College, NY. Mar. 23, 1984.
"Buried Treasure and Adaptive Mechanisms." The 17th Annual Conference for Medieval Archaeology. SUNY, Binghampton, NY. October 22, 1983.
Professional Attributions for Article Reviews
-- Sean Day Beowulf article
-- Robert Creed oral tradition article(s)
-- Raymond Scupin anthropology of religion chapter(s)
-- Rich Senghas linguistic anthropology article
Scholarly Works in Progress
“The Folklore of Grinding Machines.” (a study based on my observation of small-group communication in an engineering laboratory).
“ ‘World’s in Collision’ (Again): Revival of Romantic Mythography.” (review of videotape for National Center for Science Education’s journal, NCSE Reports).
“The Spancel Ritual in Táin Bó Cuailnge.” (examination of relations of place-name folklore with depiction of conflict-reducing rituals in this medieval Irish saga.)
Selected Fiction
The Sorcerer’s Chain. (novel). Waterbury, CT: Fine Tooth Press. Forthcoming 2007.
“Skellig Rock.” The Blue Guitar #1, 1999.
“The Madness of the Executionee.” FAYRDAW, Aug. 1996 (prose poem).
“The Disforged Days.” The Leading Edge #31, 1995 (novelette)
“Stone Saints & Harpoon Calls.” Pleiades Magazine. 1995. (s. story)
“Autumn Offering.” Year 2000 #1, 1995. (short story)
"A Taste of Home." Argonaut #19, 1994. (novella)
"St. Ariadne's Thread." Midnight Zoo. #3/12. 1994. (short story)
"Confessor for the Burning City." Space & Time #81, 1993. (s. story)
"Last Words from Facility #9." Pandora #25, 1990. (short story)
"Of the Mirror, the Man." The Mage, Winter 1989. (novelette)
Selected Poetry
“Letter to my Daughter.” Sea Stories: an international journal of art and writing. Blue Ocean Institute. 2006.
“That Losing Light.” Long River Run II. Vol. 2, Fall 2004
“Gurley Cemetery.” La Pierna Tierna 7, 1996.
“Belfast Hymn.” FAYRDAW #1/3, 1994.
"Assembly-Line Chantey." Midnight Zoo #2/2, 1992.
"Shaman: Initiation." Crossroads #1, 1992.
"Heretic, Shorebound." Space & Time #77, 1990.
"Odysseus at the Hyperspatial Rim." Pandora #24, 1989.
Major Works in Progress as of 2007
Novel in composition, Sula Cloud, near-future science fiction.
Nautical humor, In Search of Tim Severin.
Dissertation Abstract: Models of Ritual in Old English and Early Irish Heroic Tales (1993)
I examine the question of whether rituals portrayed in heroic epics are realistic reflections of rituals from — in this case — Old English and Old Irish society, or idealized rituals, or anti-rituals (models of social behavior to be avoided). Taking this approach to heroic poetry requires an anthropological analysis of the societies that created the literary texts, which can help us generate hypotheses about the nature of the rituals and how they supported society. After such considerations, the narrative literature can be sifted for portrayals of rituals, and then analysis can tell us the complementary story: how the depicted rituals may have compared to actual use.
In early chiefdom societies where warfare was endemic, rituals that regulated violent conflicts were important, as is attested by Germanic hoarding rituals and Irish boundary rituals. In Beowulf the dragon hoard may represent status symbols whose overabundance created social conflicts. The events leading to the redeposition of the hoard may reflect rituals of communion. In Táin Bó Cúailnge, the events and rules of raiding may portray the real concern for maintaining tribal boundaries nonviolently in the fragmented political climate of early Ireland.
Both literary traditions portray rituals as ideal methods of behavior, although both traditions portray the ill-effects caused when characters break the rules of rituals. Thus, although the dragon hoard was properly buried once upon a time, a thief breaks the rules, recovers some treasure, and unleashes supernatural havoc upon the tribe in the form of a dragon. The proper redeposition of the hoard is, perhaps, for long-term 'damage control'. Similarly, Irish tradition portrays the rules of single combat being followed for a time, in which Cú Chulainn is able to hold his turf against many invaders; but as the rules of warfare are broken against him in unfair combat, his supernatural prowess wreaks mass deaths upon the enemy — mass deaths that ritual warfare attempted to avoid.
Therefore the tales portray the ideals of conflict-reducing rituals by showing the state of society without ritual controls.