Department of English
J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
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In March of 2020, the English faculty and staff and especially our GTAs, who carry the burden of teaching most of our core requirements, were asked to do the impossible, and they did it very well. Being compelled to "go remote!" with classes that require close mentoring on such short notice seemed at first an impossible challenge. Yet, through the end of spring and now through the end of fall semester, they have overcome all the typos and tonal distortions of e-mail, all the playing "I have the conch" on Zoom, all the struggling to see "Where's Waldo?" on Teams, and all the fatigue of asynchronous instruction. To paraphrase Chaucer's second favorite saying, they made virtue of necessity. The Department of English will emerge from this malaise in time, a little more tech-savvy and a lot more appreciative of the privilege of being able to teach our students face-to face. Finally, I’m most happy to report that Assistant Professors Constance Bailey and Casey Kayser successfully completed their third reviews on the road to promotion and tenure, that Toni Jensen and Lissette Lopez Szwydky-Davis were promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure, and that Geoffrey Brock was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor. Thank you all--faculty, staff, and graduate instructors--and best wishes to our alumni. --Bill Quinn |
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LOSS OF PROFESSOR EMERITA
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It is with deepest sorrow that we share the news that Dr. Suzanne Haynes MacRae passed away on November 29th of natural causes in Rogers, Arkansas. Dr. MacRae was hired as an Assistant Professor in 1967 at the University of Arkansas, received tenure in 1973, and served as a revered teacher in the Department of English until her retirement as Associate Professor Emerita in 2004. Her scholarly specializations included medieval and Renaissance literature as well as African film. Her special delights were music, travel, and dancing. She loved all animals almost as much as they loved her. We will miss her deeply. For more information, read the Newswire article that was published Dec. 8th. Special thanks to alum Patti E. Evans (B.A. '80) for the wonderful picture of Suzanne, at right, from 1977. |
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Interview with English Professor Casey Kayser
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Casey Kayser is an Assistant Professor of English, specializing in contemporary American and Southern Literature and Drama, Gender Studies, and Medical Humanities. This fall, she successfully completed her third-year review for promotion and tenure. She also was recently named the Director of the Medical Humanities Program. Click the button below to read our interview with her.
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Undergraduate Literary Magazine, The Diamond Line, Launched in 2020
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The first two issues of the new undergraduate literary magazine, The Diamond Line, were released in 2020. Developed by students enrolled in the department's Literary Magazine Production course, The Diamond Line features fiction, poetry, and visual art submitted by undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas. Click the button below to read our interview with Jane Blunschi, Assistant Director of the Program in Creative Writing and Translation, who teaches the Literary Magazine Production course.
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Interview with Brody Parrish Craig (M.F.A. '17)
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M.F.A. alum Brody Parrish Craig’s poetry collection, Boyish, published by the University of Chicago Press, will be released this April. Click the button below to read our interview with them. We discuss Brody's process of putting together this award-winning collection, their development of the new literary magazine Twang, Professor Geffrey Davis’s Literary Publishing course (a favorite of Brody’s), another author’s recent collection of poetry that Brody recommends, and the reason they find poetry so valuable.
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Interview with Luke Carothers (M.A. '18)
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After M.A. alum Luke Carothers graduated in 2018, having specialized in Cultural Studies, he launched into an exciting non-academic career, working first at JJ's Beer Garden and Brewing Co. as Trivia Host and Creator and now at Civil + Structural Engineer Media as Editor and Content Specialist. Click the button below to read our recent interview with him in which he explains how he still puts to good use the skills he developed as an English graduate student.
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Interview with Jeff Ayers (B.A. '11)
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B.A. alum Jeff Ayers, an English and creative writing teacher at Rogers High School in northwest Arkansas, recently published Skate the Thief, his first book in what will be a trilogy, The Rag and Bone Chronicles. Click the button below to read our interview with Jeff, in which he discusses his time as an English undergraduate, who/what all inspires his writing in the genre of Young Adult literature, his decision to focus on a young thief as the main character of his book, and his recommendation for YA texts that he feels have been effectively adapted to film.
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Interview with Laura Blankenship (Ph.D. '07)
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Laura Blankenship, who graduated from the doctoral program in 2007, has pursued an exciting career path in academia that has not involved the traditional tenure-track route. Click the button below to read our interview with her, in which she reviews how she came to our graduate program in English, decided on a technology-focused dissertation topic for her English Ph.D., and then explored a range of professional positions, most recently stepping into the role of Founding Head for the San Francisco Girls' School, an all-girls school that emphasizes a STEM curriculum.
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We congratulate all of the following students who graduated in Spring or Summer of 2020!
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Jade Adams Rachel Adams Mariana Bakaric Josie Bates Anne Blanchard Victoria Burnett Karly Byrne Makayla Carr Sidney Carroll Maebrie Cruce Alexandra Davis Bethany Dedman Ryan Deloney Robert Devlin Hannah-Grace Dobbs Emily Franks Rylie Federick John Fowler Catherine Gillison Kendra Grant Spencer Hansberger Johnathan Hash Kelsey Hobbs Tyler Houston Brayden Hulkowich Laura Hurst Hallee Israel Courtney Kasch Deborah Koch |
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Anna Lane Caitlin Lane Kelsey Mitchell Allison Morris Elizabeth Muscari Elideth Perez Zia Pritchard Jennifer Proctor Austin Rea Catherine Rebensdorf Emma Richardson Hope Ritchley Ariana Rowles Allison Russom Sean Smith Laura Starling Olivia Steele Justin Stevens Grace St-Germain Alexander Taylor Presley Tomlinson Gabriela Trevino William Turner Alexander Vonbose Emily Walker Bryce Ward Evan Wilkins Ethan Zirkle William Zurborg |
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Anna Burton Addison Cornwell Brigitta Field Sheffield Spence Vee Lawson |
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M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Translation Program
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Hannah Bradley Madeline Vardell Emily Aguayo Samantha Kirby Patrick Font Jacob Lindberg Gwendolyn Mauroner Anna Vilner Joy Clark |
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Luis Paganelli Marin Tim Nelson |
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FACULTY BOOK PUBLICATIONS IN 2020
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São Bernardo Released: May 2020 Padma Viswanathan (Translator) |
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The English Department has been in the news this past fall! Check out some of the following Newswire and Fulbright REVIEW stories written about our outstanding faculty and students: Nonprofit Founder Chosen as 'Homegrown Hero' After Being Nominated by U of A English Professor (Aug. 18, 2020) New Collection of Essays by English Professor Toni Jensen Released Today (Sept. 8, 2020) Graduate Student Speaker Series Continues With Katie Powell (Sept. 16, 2020) Professor of English Awarded Prestigious Book Prize for Work in Literary Translation (Oct. 5, 2020) Geffrey Davis Wins 2020 Porter Literary Fund Prize (Oct. 9, 2020) Give Thanks Supports English and Philosophy Major Pursing Dream of Becoming a Law Librarian (Nov. 14, 2020) Interdisciplinary Collaboration Results in Illustrated Literary Magazine (Nov. 24, 2020) Creative Writing and Translation Alumni and Graduate Students Receive Artists 360 Awards (Dec. 9, 2020) Giving Thanks: Fellowship Supports English M.F.A. Student Pursing Publication and Teaching Career Goals (Dec. 9, 2020) Seven Students Named Winners in Undergraduate Research Poster Competition (Dec. 14, 2020) English Professor Publishes Book on History of Adaptation and Transmedia Storytelling (Dec. 15, 2020) English Graduate Student Publishes Horror Novel (Dec. 22, 2020) |
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Department of English Kimpel Hall 333, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 P 479-575-5007 | F 479-575-7547
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