Originally published December 7, 2016.
Kansas State University’s Department of English was delighted to welcome three new tenure-track faculty members this fall: Charlotte Hyde, Anuja Madan, and Tom Sarmiento. We caught up with all three of them recently to discover what makes them tick as readers, writers, and human beings…
Charlotte Hyde
Assistant Professor / Graduate Faculty
Ph.D. in English, Rhetoric and Composition, 2016, Purdue University
Field of Interest: Technical Communication; Workplace Communication; Gender and Minority Rhetorics; Game Studies
What books are currently on your nightstand?
- Seveneves by Neil Stephenson
- Play: How it shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
What was your favorite book as a child?
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
If you hadn’t become an English professor, what profession would you have liked to pursue?
LEGO® Master Builder
What sound or noise do you love?
The forest/campus noises
What was your first impression of Kansas/ Manhattan/Kansas State University?
The people are so welcoming and helpful!
Anuja Madan
Assistant Professor / Graduate Faculty
Ph.D. in English, 2016, University of Florida
Field of interest: South Asian Studies; Postcolonial Literature; Children’s Literature; comics studies; childhood studies; Cultural Studies
What was your favorite book as a child?
I wouldn’t be able to isolate one favorite book! I loved L.M. Montgomery’s Emily and Anne series and was a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s novels.
What’s the last book you read for pleasure?
Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.
If you hadn’t become an English professor, what profession would you have liked to pursue?
I had seriously contemplated getting an advanced degree in Education and working in education policy organizations, but decided to become an English professor after thoroughly enjoying my first experience teaching literature.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
M.L. Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans; Janice Pariat’s Seahorse
Outside of your professional life, what achievement are you most proud of?
One memorable achievement goes back to my time at an alternative school in Delhi called Mirambika, where we didn’t have a fixed curriculum. In Grade 6, a documentary film-maker couple worked with my class on making a film, in which we also acted. Under their guidance, we did everything from the storyboarding, scriptwriting, cinematography to the editing. It was a lot of fun and The Friendly Alien was recognized as the first film in India made by children.
Tom Sarmiento
Assistant Professor / Graduate Faculty
PhD in American Studies, 2014, University of Minnesota
Field of interest: Filipinx American Literature & Culture; Asian American Literature; Queer Literature & Theory; Feminist Theory; Cultural Studies; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Midwest Literature & Culture; Visual Culture (Television & Film)
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
What book do you think every English major should read?
Rolling the R’s by R. Zamora Linmark
If you hadn’t become an English professor, what profession would you have liked to pursue?
To be an astrophysicist and search for exoplanets and extraterrestrial life
What would you tell your 18-year-old self?
It’s ok to take the road less traveled.
Outside of your professional life, what achievement are you most proud of?
The ability to bake, assemble, and decorate fancy layer cakes
K-State English 