Sermo in circulis
est liberior.
‫دائرة‬
‫القلم‬
Issue N° 39 – October-December 2016
Journal of the Department of English
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Beni Mellal, Morocco.
Editor: Khalid Chaouch.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The Poet’s Corner:
―Hearts and Minds‖ by O. Henry …
―Pen‖ by Mohamed Louza …
Pen Circle Prize (2016/2017) …
Publish or Perish…
Middle Ground, Journal of the Research Laboratory on Culture
and Communication (Issue N° 7 - 2015):
‗Representation in Literature and Culture.'
Proverbs of the Moment: Conversation and Talkativeness …
Department Activities:
Report on International Conferences
A Cultural Encounter in Beni Mellal…
Pungent Quotations on Philosophy …
―Crosswords‖ N° 39 ...
Clues to ―Crosswords‖ N° 38 ...
Courses Framework of the Fall Semesters (1, 3, and 5) …
02
04
05
06
08
10
11
11
12
14
15
16
 Pen Circle
Sultan Moulay Slimane University
Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Department of English
BP. 524, Beni Mellal, Morocco.
Fax: 212 (0) 5 23 48 17 69
Email: [email protected]
Pen Circle is also available at www.flshbm.ma
Publications
Editorial Board
Mly. Lmustapha MAMAOUI, Mohamed RAKII, Redouan SAÏDI.
Pen Circle n° 39
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The Poet’s Corner
This corner is devoted both to prominent figures in poetry and to ambitious students who dare to
embark on the process of creative writing. Students‘ attempts should be sent by email or presented
in legible handwriting, and submitted to a member of Pen Circle Editorial Board.
―Hearts and Minds‖
by O. Henry
Denver, a great many passengers joined the coaches on the eastbound
Boston and Maine train. In one coach there sat a very pretty young
woman. She was beautifully and richly dressed. Among the newcomers
were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance
and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly
dressed. The two were handcuffed together.
As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only vacant seat offered was
a reversed one facing the attractive young woman. Here the linked couple
seated themselves. The young woman's glance fell upon them with a distant,
swift disinterest; then with a lovely smile brightening her countenance and a
tender pink tingeing her rounded cheeks, she held out a little gray-gloved hand.
When she spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate, proclaimed that its owner
was accustomed to speak and be heard.
―Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I suppose I must. Don't
you ever recognize old friends when you meet them in the West? ‖
The younger man roused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed
to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly, and then
clasped her fingers with his left hand.
―It's Miss Fairchild,‖ he said, with a smile. ―I'll ask you to excuse the other
hand; ―it's otherwise engaged just at present.‖
He slightly raised his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining bracelet to
the left one of his companion. The happy look in the woman's eyes slowly
changed to a bewildered horror. The glow faded from her cheeks. Her lips
parted in a vague, relaxing distress. Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused,
was about to speak again when the other forestalled him. The glum-faced man
had been watching the young woman's countenance with veiled glances from
his keen, shrewd eyes.
―You'll excuse me for speaking, miss. But, I see you're acquainted with the
marshall here. If you'll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen
he'll do it. It'll make things easier for me there. He's taking me to Leavenworth
prison. It's seven years for counterfeiting.‖
―Oh!‖ said the woman, with a deep breath and returning color. ―So that is what
you are doing out here? A marshal!‖
―My dear Miss Fairchild,‖ said Easton, calmly, ―I had to do something.
Money has a way of taking wings unto itself, and you know it takes money to
At
Pen Circle n° 39
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keep step with our crowd in Washington. I saw this opening in the West, and …
well, a marshalship isn't quite as high a position as that of ambassador, but—‖
―The ambassador,‖ she said warmly, ―doesn't call any more. He needn't ever
have done so. You ought to know that. And so now you are one of these
dashing Western heroes, and you ride and shoot and go into all kinds of
dangers. That's different from the Washington life. You have been missed from
the old crowd.‖
The woman's eyes, fascinated, went back, widening a little, to rest upon the
glittering handcuffs.
―Don't you worry about them, miss,‖ said the other man. ―All marshals
handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr.
Easton knows his business.‖
―Will we see you again soon in Washington?‖ asked Miss Fairchild.
―Not soon, I think,‖ said Easton. ―My butterfly days are over, I fear.‖
―I love the West,‖ she said. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away
out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply, forgetting about style
and manner: ―Mamma and I spent the summer in Denver. She went home a
week ago because father was ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think
the air here agrees with me. Money isn't everything. But people always
misunderstand things and remain stupid …‖
―Say, Mr. Marshal,‖ growled the sad-faced man. ―This isn't quite fair. I'm
needing a drink of water. Haven't you talked long enough? Take me into the
dining car now, won't you?‖
The bound travelers rose to their feet. Easton still had the same slow smile on
his face.
―I can't say no to a need for water,‖ he said, lightly. ―It's the one friend of the
unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know.‖ He held out his
hand for a farewell.
―It's too bad you are not going East,‖ she said, remembering again her
manner and style. ―But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?‖
―Yes,‖ said Easton, ―I must go on to Leavenworth.‖
The two men made their way down the aisle into the dining car.
The two passengers in a seat nearby heard most of the conversation. Said
one of them: ―That marshal is a good sort of chap. Some of these Westerners
are all right.‖
―Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn't he?‖ asked the other.
―Young!‖ exclaimed the first speaker, ―Why … Oh! … Didn‘t you catch on?
Say, did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?‖
Source: David Queen (ed.) Configurations. American Short Stories for the
EFL Classroom Advanced Level. Washington: USIA, 1987, pp. 57-58.
Pen Circle n° 39
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Pen
I‘m made of ink and plastic.
To write on trees dismembered in an attic.
It‘s my blood that you read,
Those letters stand for my seed.
An unbeautiful woman holds me carefully.
She me puts in her handbag carefully
Perfumes, mirrors… I‘m suffocating
Now, I am dying.
Methinks I‘m not important for her.
Any book starts with a letter.
Just like the road‘s first step,
Or a house made of rep.
Mohamed Louza
Pen Circle n° 39
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Pen Circle Prize
for Mellali Writers in English
(2016/2017)
Pen Circle opens the annual competition in creative writing
for all students of the Department of English. This aims at
encouraging students to express themselves in English.
The students who would like to participate in this
competition are required to write an original piece of writing
not exceeding two pages: a short story, an essay, or any form
of creative writing. Participants are kindly requested to send
their
attempts
to
the
Journal‘s
email
address
([email protected]) before March 16, 2017. As it is the
case each year, the jury members of this competition take into
consideration the levels (Semesters) of the candidates so as to
give equal chances to all.
Four awards will be given to the winners, each assigned
to a Semester (Semesters 1, 3, and 5, in addition to a winner
chosen among Master Studies‘ students.) The winners will
receive the awards and will have their works published in the
next issue of Pen Circle (N° 40).
Good luck to all!
Pen Circle n° 39
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Publish or Perish
The Pedagogic Discourse and the Construction of Identity: Gender
Representation in the Moroccan EFL Textbook Discourse (2016) is the title
of the book being published by many international companies, namely
Amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/Pedagogic-Discourse-ConstructionIdentity-Representation/dp/3330804793), Ebay, morebooks.de. Indeed, the
book was originally written as a thesis by Mohamed Jaafari in the fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in the Faculty of Letters,
Beni Mellal. Then, it was printed in Germany. The study examines the
manifestations of unequal distribution of power to genders in the gendered
dialogues and talk exchanges embedded in the Moroccan EFL textbooks. In
this endeavour, the study is methodologically guided by the works of the
Critical Discourse Analysis scholars. The research is also characterized by
the implementation of M.A.K Halliday‗s Systemic Functional Linguistics,
mainly modality analysis at the interpersonal level and transitivity analysis at
the experiential level. The conversational methods and techniques are
employed to map out the way people exert power over interlocutants,
reproduce or challenge prevailing gender ideology in talk. The results show
that inequality perseveres in the gendered distribution of modals and
transitivity process types that grant males the power of self-assertiveness,
inclination to activity and material words, and domination in the world of
science and knowledge. The importance of the results is proved by their
implication for the improvement of society as a whole.
Pen Circle n° 39
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Publish or Perish
Nabil Eddoumi, Investigating Metacognitive Awareness of Reading. The
Case Study of Moroccan Third Year University Students. Lambert
Academic Publishing (2016-09-13). ISBN-13: 978-3-659-95244-9
The author of this book, Nabil Eddoumi, is now a Fulbright scholar at
Florida Memorial University 2nd in Miami Gardens, FL, where he teaches
Arabic. He had his BA degree in English Linguistics at the Faculty of
Letters and Humanities in Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal,
Morocco. Then he earned his 2nd BA degree in Applied Linguistics and
Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Mohamed V University in
Rabat, Morocco.
--- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --Abdelaziz Khourdifi, Glory on the Edge and Other Moroccan Short
Stories. Marrakech: Watanya, 2014. ISBN: 978-9954-33-262-7
The author of this book, Abdelaziz Khourdifi, taught as a Fulbright
scholar at Stetson University in Florida, USA. He obtained his Master in
‗Languages, Computer Science, and Translation‘ from the Faculty of
Letters and Humanities in Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal,
Morocco. He is also the author of Snow in the Desert (Beni Mellal: Ain
Asserdoune, 2010).
Pen Circle n° 39
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Middle Ground, N° 7 (2015)
Issue N° 7 (2017) of Middle Ground, International Journal
of Literary and Cultural Encounters, has been released by the
Research Laboratory on Culture and Communication. The papers
of this issue deal with the theme of ‗Representation in Literature
and Culture.‘ The authors belong to different universities from
Morocco and France. Below is the list of papers:
Part One: Questions of Otherness
Mohamed Sghir Syad
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
From (Self)-Othering to Self-Modelling: Toni Morrison’s The
Bluest Eye (pp. 13-38)
Khalid Chaouch
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
American Painters’ Pre-colonial Morocco (pp. 39-64)
Benaouda LEBDAI
Le Mans University, France
Fanon's Discourse on Otherness and Race in South African
Writing (pp. 65-80)
Abdeljalil TOUNSI
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
Language Use in the Bazaars of Marrakech (pp. 81-122)
Part Two: Representation and the Aesthetics of Marginality
Moulay Lmustapha MAMAOUI
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
D. H. Lawrence: An ‘Isness’ beyond the Confines of Western
Canon (pp. 125-148)
Pen Circle n° 39
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Abdelkader Sabil
Chouaib Doukali University, El-Jadida, Morocco
Going Occidental or Intellectual Alienation: The Cases of
Season of Migration and The Mimic Men (pp. 149-164)
Mohamed Sghir Syad
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
Gendering Black History / Race-ing Historical Representation
in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (pp. 165-210)
Jacqueline Jondot
Toulouse-le-Mirail University, France
Otherness, Duality and Duplicity in A Beggar at Damascus
Gate by Yasmin Zahran (and other Arab Writers in the
English language) (pp. 211-223)
Mohamed Rakii
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
The Portrait of an Outsider: A Study of James Joyce’s A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (pp. 225-239)
Middle Ground is an annual and a peer-reviewed international journal,
devoted to researches and studies in literary and cultural fields. Its scope is
open to all periods and genres.
To order a copy of this issue or of previous issues, please contact:
Sultan Moulay Slimane University
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Department of English
Avenue Ibn Khaldoun, Ouled Hamdane,
B.P 524, 23000, Beni Mellal, Morocco
Fax : 212 0523 48 17 69
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.flshbm.ma
Pen Circle n° 39
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English Proverbs of the Moment
TALKATIVENESS and CONVERSATION
in English Popular Wisdom











A good tongue is a good weapon.
The lame tongue gets nothing.
Speak and speed, ask and have.
He that speaks well, fights well.
Good words cool more than cold water.
The bird is known by his note, the man by
his voice.
That is not good language which all
understand not.
Conversation makes one what he is.
Conversation
teaches
more
than
meditation.
Education
begins
a
gentleman,
conversation completes him.
He that converses not, knows nothing.
 The eternal talker neither hears nor learns.
 The tongue of the idle persons is never
still.
 He cannot speak well, that cannot hold his
tongue.
Pen Circle n° 39
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Department Activities
The Research Laboratory on Culture and Communication
(RLCC), Sultan Moulay Slimane University in Beni Mellal,
organized its annual International Conference on 29-30 March
2016. The event, which commemorated the 400th anniversary of
Shakespeare‘s death, was devoted to the theme of:
―Shakespeares: Critical Perspectives Past and Present.‖
A selection of the presented papers will be considered for
publication in the next issue of Middle Ground, the peer-review
Journal of the Research Laboratory on Culture and
Communication.
--- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --As a partner in the Erasmus+ project, Sultan Moulay Slimane
University and the Department of English in Beni Mellal
organized on 23-25 May 2016 an international conference on:
"Gender, Identities and Education".
--- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --A Cultural Encounter in Beni Mellal
The Department of English at the Faculty of Arts and
Humanities, Beni Mellal, in collaboration with Dar America,
organized on 23 September 2016 the annual cultural encounter,
which is a meeting of cultural exchange and dialogue between
students of the Department and students from different
Universities of the United States of America.
Pen Circle n° 39
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Pungent Quotations on
PHILOSOPHY
"I think that bad philosophers may have a certain
influence, good philosophers, never."
Bertrand Russell,
Observer, 24 April 1955.
―The German philosophers are the most frivolous of
all – they count truths like lovers but seldom propose
to marry them.‖
Lin Yutang (Attr.)
"A great many people think they are thinking when
they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
William James,
(Qtd. in A. Andrews,
Quotations for Speakers and Writers .)
"All are lunatics, but he who can analyse his
delusion is a philosopher."
Ambrose Bierce,
(Qtd. in H. L. Mencken,
A New Dictionary of Quotations.)
"The English and French bourgeoisie created a new
society after their own image. The Germans came
later, and they were compelled to live for a long time
on the pale gruel of philosophy."
Leon Trotsky,
History of the Russian Revolution.
Pen Circle n° 39
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"Philosophy, as we use the word, is a fight against
the fascination which forms of expression exert upon
us."
Ludwig Wittgenstein,
The Blue Book.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world
differently, what matters is to change it."
Hegel (Attr.)
―One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous
breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly
important. If I were a medical man, I should
prescribe a holiday to any patent who considered his
work important.‖
Bertrand Russell,
The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell.
―No man was ever yet a great poet without being at
the same time a profound philosopher.‖
Samuel Coleridge,
Biographia Literaria.
―Not to care for philosophy is to be a true
philosopher.‖
Blaise Pascal,
Pensées.
References:
Cohen, J. M. and M. J. Cohen. The Penguin Dictionary of Modern
Quotations. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1980.
- - - - - - The Penguin Dictionary of Quotations. Harmondsworth,
Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1983.
Selected by Khalid Chaouch.
Pen Circle n° 39
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CROSSWORDS (N° 39)
1- Movies – Moroccan mountain chains. 2- To depart – Find
it in ‗prop.‘ – Quid pro ~. 3- A prefix of repetition – Concerned
in, used in, seeing – Unified resource link. 4- Easily
remembered melodies (pl.) – Find it in ‗Arab‘. 5- Rather old. 6Editor (abbr.) – A structural unit of a film linking a number of
scenes. 7- Smooth and delicate – A small animal like, but larger
than, a mouse – To move from one place to another. 8Manuscript (or typescript) for an actor‘s part in a play or a film
– Double vowels. 9- Extra-terrestrial – Double. 10- Employee in
an office who is responsible for correspondence, appointments,
records, etc. 11- Famous Islamic institution in Egypt – The
personal name of Russian novelist, Tolstoy (English spelling).
12- The deep – Informal word for ‗father‘ or ‗papa‘ – Of
mankind.
A B
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
C
D
E F
G
H I
J K L M
Pen Circle n° 39
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A- Fortified building or town. B- European Union –
Document – Stamped addressed envelope. C- Life is good –
Monosyllabic answer – To be so cold that water turns into ice.
D- To change position – ‗One ~ in time saves nine. E- Another
word for ‗island‘ – A form of popular music. F- Uncle Sam – A
plant chewed by some people in Yemen and gives them an
awful mouth – A period in history starting with a significant
event. G- European unity – Double consonants. H- A series of
short extracts from a cinema film to advertise it in advance – To
clean something with water. I- Lots of laugh – Basic constituent
of the human gene – Conjunction introducing an alternative. JTo amend or correct. K- A right-angled geometrical form – A
city hosting the capital of cinema. L- Your – Like gold in value
or color. M- The home of the U.S. film industry.
Clues to ‘CROSSWORDS’ N° 38
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
A B C D E F G H I J
S H A K E S P E A R
P A
I V Y
M N
A P P L E
B B
V
M P
L
S U E
E
Y E S
E R R O R
R
A
C A N
I S
A P R I L
S
E
J U L I U S C A E S
A N Y
B O W L
H
S
U
O F
O T H E L L O
A
I
E E
N E G
M A C B E T H
H E
H A M L E T
S
K L M
E
A
G O D
O I D
I
I
S
C
M
T
T
A R
L O L
G Y M
E
D
R O
I R S
A G A
Pen Circle n° 39
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Sultan Moulay Slimane University
Faculty of Letters and Humanities
Department of English
Filière of English Studies
Beni Mellal - Morocco
M1
M2
Reading
Comprehension
and Précis 1
Paragraph
Writing
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
Guided
Reading
Study
Skills
Languages I:
Semester
1
M15
Semester
3
Extensive
Reading
Semester
M16
Grammar Spoken
1
English
M17
M18
M19
French
M20
British
Public
Culture
Composition 2 Grammar Speaking and Society Initiation
to
3
and
/ Culture
Translation
Debating and Society
in the US
5
Literary
&
Cultural
Studies
Stream
M27
M28
M29
M30
M31
Novel 1
Drama
Media
Studies
Applied
Travel Translation &
Linguistics Narrative Interpretation
Semester
M27
M28
M29
M30
M31
M32
M32
5
Linguistics
Stream
Novel Phonetics & Morpho- Applied Sociolinguistics Translation &
Phonology Syntax 1 Linguistics
Interpretation