seminars and presentations

Recent Talks
College Courses
Miscellaneous talks, panels, and presentations

RECENT TALKS

How to Win Friends and Influence People -- Through Writing

I have taught this interactive seminar about a dozen times through the Bruin Leaders Project, UCLA’s nationally-renowned leadership training program.

We often think of writing as a solitary activity, where the individual sits at his or her keyboard or desk alone. So what does writing have to do with leadership? In this interactive workshop, we will talk about some of the attributes that great writers and leaders share, such as an awareness of one’s audience, a strong sense of focus, and the ability to express one’s personal voice. We will also think about the various kinds of writing that leaders must do — ranging from informal e-mails to formal reports — and how, in each case, writing is ultimately a social activity too.

How to Be Liked: The Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald

In February 2007, I held a "salon" for the Friends of English, an organization that supports the UCLA English Department and that frequently hosts events with prominent authors and scholars. Below is the description from the Friends of English's publicity materials:

Please join us as Melanie Ho presents her work on F. Scott Fitzgerald. In her multimedia presentation, Ms. Ho will discuss Fitzgerald's literary techniques as well as his social context, especially in relation to 1920s and 1930s ideas of self-help and personality.

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COLLEGE COURSES

UCLA in the 1960s

I taught this freshman seminar in Spring 2005. Below is the course description:

This course will look at UCLA from 1960-1974, a period of both immense growth and enormous conflict for the University of California. We will consider such questions as: What is the place of the university in society? In history? How can we link personal stories and historical events at UCLA to their larger institutional, political, and sociocultural contexts? How can we consider UCLA as a starting point for broader questions related to higher education and the university? [click here for full description]

Other UCLA courses designed & taught as main instructor:

• English 4W: Critical Reading and Writing (Summer 2007)
• English 4HW: Critical Reading and Writing for Honors students, Topic: How to Win Friends and Influence People: Literature and Persuasion (Winter 2005)
• English 4W: Critical Reading and Writing, Topic: Introduction to Critical Controversies (Fall 2004)
• English 4W: Critical Reading and Writing (Summer 2004)
• English 4W: Critical Reading and Writing, Topic: Literature and Visual Culture (Winter 2004)

• Instructor, "Essential Writing Tools," UCLA Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research (Summer 2004-2007)
• Discussion Section Leader (T.A.), English 50: Introduction to Visual Culture (Spring 2004)
• Discussion Section Leader (T.A.), English 85: The American Novel (Fall 2003)
• Instructor, "Ninth Grade Writing Academy," UCLA Early Academic Outreach Program (Spring 2002)
• Writing Tutor, UCLA Academics in the Commons (1998-2001)
  

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MISCELLANEOUS

• Moderator, "Keys to Success in Grad School: Humanities and Arts Ph.Ds," New Graduate Student Orientation (Sept. 2007)
• Guest Lecturer, "Temperament Theory," Anthropology 186: Modeling and Simulation in the Social Sciences (July 2007)
• Emcee, "Higher Education and the Information Age," Student-Faculty Roundtable Luncheon (May 2007)
• Panelist, "Faculty and T.A. Panel," Freshman State Finals Scholarship Competition and Recruitment Event, UCLA Alumni Association (Apr. 2007)
• Panelist, "Grad School Forum," Undergraduate English Honors Society (Feb. 2007)
• Panelist, "Second Qualifying Exam Workshop," UCLA English Department (Feb. 2007)
• Panelist, "Scholars for the Future," UCLA Alumni Association (Feb. 2007)
• Organizer, "American Literary Studies: The State of the Field," Americanist Research Colloquium, UCLA English Department (Jan. 2007)
• Guest Speaker, "Teaching Film," Graduate Pedagogy Seminar, UCLA English Department (Nov. 2006)
• Panelist, "Keys to Success in Grad School: Humanities and Arts Ph.Ds," New Graduate Student Orientation (Sept. 2006)
• Presenter, "The Author as Professor: Thornton Wilder and American Education," American Literature Association Annual Conference (May 2006)
• Panelist, "Faculty and T.A. Panel," Freshman State Finals Scholarship Competition and Recruitment Event, UCLA Alumni Association (Apr. 2006)
• Presenter, "Our Wilder: Progressive Education and Literary History," UCLA Americanist Research Colloquium (Mar. 2006)
• Panelist, "Second Qualifying Exam Workshop," UCLA English Department (Mar. 2006)
• Guest Speaker, "Student Website Projects," Teaching with Technology Seminar, UCLA English Department (Feb. 2006)
• Panelist, "Grad School Forum," Undergraduate English Honors Society (Jan. 2006)
• Panelist, "Seminar Development Workshop for Teaching Fellows," General Education Cluster Program (Dec. 2005)
• Guest Speaker, "Teaching Visual Culture," Graduate Pedagogy Seminar, UCLA English Department (Nov. 2005)
• Panelist, "Grad School Workshop," Undergraduate English Honors Society (Feb. 2005)
• Organizer, "American Literary Studies: The State of the Field," Americanist Research Colloquium, UCLA English Department (Nov. 2004)
• Panelist, "Graduate School in English," Undergraduate English Association (Nov. 2003)
• Panelist, "Keys to Success," UCLA Leading Edge Conference for College-Bound High School Students, UCLA Alumni Association (Feb. 2003)
• Panelist, "The UCLA Advantage," UCLA College Honors Day (April 2001)
• Panelist, "Getting and Making the Most of an Internship," UCLA Career Center (October 1998)