Prof. Julia MacDonnell Chang

Said seminar participant Julia MacDonnell Chang, an assistant professor at Rowan (NJ) University: "Such telling details.

Said seminar participant Julia MacDonnell Chang, an assistant professor at Rowan (NJ) University: "Such telling details.I was mesmerized and plan to teach Eric's series in my special writing class."

Added Alice Rowlands, associate professor at Houston Baptist University, " "he is inspirational to future journalists."

The prize also spawned some action in Montana.A new community task force to deal with drinking and its social problems was organized, and the Gannett Foundation has agreed to fund two new programs in Great Falls.

Said seminar participant Julia MacDonnell Chang, an assistant professor at Rowan (NJ) University: "Such telling details.I was mesmerized and plan to teach Eric's series in my special writing class."

Added Alice Rowlands, associate professor at Houston Baptist University, " "he is inspirational to future journalists."

The prize also spawned some action in Montana.A new community task force to deal with drinking and its social problems was organized, and the Gannett Foundation has agreed to fund two new programs in Great Falls.

But Julia MacDonnell, a professor who heads the creative writing program at New Jersey's Rowan University, is one academic who sees value in chick lit.

Witty and insightful

The genre is full of "witty, ironic stories about idiosyncratic heroines," MacDonnell says.The stories, she claims, are "light-years beyond your basic Harlequin romance, not merely entertaining but also offering insights into how we live now."
...
MacDonnell thinks so.

"People who haven't read much are reading -- and finding that they really like it," she says."It makes them a little more daring in their next choice of book, I think."

MacDonnell is optimistic about the reading habits of her fellow chick-lit readers.
...
The story of a young female reporter sent to investigate government corruption in a South American country, "it's a story that would have had more success in this [current] environment," MacDonnell says.
...
The fact that chick lit has developed so many tributaries is a sign that it's here to stay, MacDonnell says.And perhaps it's time to consider the books as more than mind candy and beach reads.

"I think, certainly, these will be studied in classrooms, although I'm not sure how many [books] will actually make the canon," MacDonnell says.
...
Nevertheless, MacDonnell says, chick lit represents progress.

"I think what's now being called `chick lit' is a very natural outgrowth of the feminist movement," MacDonnell says -- "the fact that you have just hordes of well-educated women out there in the world" who want to read books about themselves.

If authors and publishers successfully diversify the books and their readers, she says, "chick lit, in my opinion, is here to stay."

Ms. Julie Chang Rowan University of New Jersey (856) 256-4500 Ext. 3417

But Julia MacDonnell, a professor who heads the creative writing program at New Jersey's Rowan University, is one academic who sees value in chick lit.

The genre is full of "witty, ironic stories about idiosyncratic heroines," MacDonnell says.The stories, she claims, are "light-years beyond your basic Harlequin romance, not merely entertaining but also offering insights into how we live now."
...
MacDonnell thinks so.

"People who haven't read much "are" reading - and finding that they really like it," she says."It makes them a little more daring in their next choice of book, I think."

MacDonnell is optimistic about the reading habits of her fellow chick-lit readers.
...
The story of a young female reporter sent to investigate government corruption in a South American country, "it's a story that would have had more success in this (current) environment," MacDonnell says.
...
The fact that chick lit has developed so many tributaries is a sign that it's here to stay, MacDonnell says.And perhaps it's time to consider the books as more than mind candy and beach reads.

"I think, certainly, these will be studied in classrooms, although I'm not sure how many (books) will actually make the canon," MacDonnell says.
...
Nevertheless, MacDonnell says, chick lit represents progress.

"I think what's now being called `chick lit' is a very natural outgrowth of the feminist movement," MacDonnell says - "the fact that you have just hordes of well-educated women out there in the world" who want to read books about themselves.

If authors and publishers successfully diversify the books and their readers, she says, "chick lit, in my opinion, is here to stay."

Prof. Julia Chang, adviser

Prof. Julia Chang, adviserStudent Activities Center201 Mullica Hill RoadGlassboro, N.J. 08028(609) 256-4530E-Mail: whit@rowan.edu

But Julia MacDonnell, a professor who heads the creative writing program at New Jersey's Rowan University, is one academic who sees value in chick lit.

The genre is full of "witty, ironic stories about idiosyncratic heroines," MacDonnell says.The stories, she claims, are "light-years beyond your basic Harlequin romance, not merely entertaining but also offering insights into how we live now."
...
The fact that chick lit has developed so many tributaries is a sign that it's here to stay, MacDonnell says.And perhaps it's time to consider the books as more than mind candy and beach reads.

"I think, certainly, these will be studied in classrooms, although I'm not sure how many [books] will actually make the canon," MacDonnell says.

If authors and publishers successfully diversify the books and their readers, she says, "chick lit, in my opinion, is here to stay."