Location: Main office archives, ECS 108.
Object: Book of abstracts of undergraduate projects completed for the University Honors Program, 2011-2012 academic year.
Observations: 1) In the spring of 2012, the University Honors Program produced a book of abstracts representing the work that undergraduate Honors students completed during that academic year. Led at that time by Dr. Steve Kiefer Professor of Psychology (now Psychological Sciences), the University Honors Program was completing its sixth year, having started in 2006. 2) Why do we have a copy of the 2011-2012 book? It includes the work of Dan Hornsby (BA ’12) and his project “Fake Natives,” supervised by English faculty member Lisa Tatonetti.
Location: Main office archives, ECS 108.
Object: Entry for Dan Hornsby, book of abstracts of undergraduate projects completed for the University Honors Program, 2011-2012 academic year.
Observations: 1) Dan’s project is the only one from English and one of the few projects in the humanities for the 2011-2012 year. 2) As Dan’s abstract explains, his project emerged from his coursework in English and other departments in the College of Arts and Sciences as he crafted a “song cycle” about cultural narratives of Native American experiences in response to the literature, film, history, and cultural anthropology of his undergraduate degree. 3) The interdisciplinary quality of the project remains impressive!
Location: Department digital archives.
Object: Photo of the band Fake Natives during sound check at the Manhattan Arts Center, 10 May 2012.
Observations: 1) Fake Natives was not only an Honors project and an album. It was also a band whose members include Dan (vocals, guitar) and English alum John Goddard (bass) as well as Kristin Henry (trumpet player, vocals), Nolan Fabricius (guitar), and Ryan Manes (drums). Their music still appears on Soundcloud and Spotify. 2) At the end of the spring semester in 2012, the Department hosted a performance of Fake Natives at the Manhattan Arts Center, 8:00-9:00pm on May 10. As the event announcement read, “Join us for a performance by the local band Fake Natives. Donations will go to support the literacy organization First Book. A reception before the concert (6:30-7:30pm) will recognize the final research and creative projects completed by graduating Honors students, seniors, and MA students in English.” 3) Though there have certainly been other musical performances within the history of the English Department, the one by Fake Natives in 2012 was likely the first by an undergraduate band with guitars, bass, trumpet, and a drum kit on the stage of the MAC.
Location: Social media, 2022-2023.
Object: Publisher’s Weekly announcement and recent book cover.
Observations: 1) Dan continues to thrive since graduating with his B.A. in English in 2012, earning two more degrees (MFA in fiction, University of Michigan; MTS, Harvard Divinity School) and great acclaim for his creative work, including his novels Via Negativa (2001) and Sucker (2023), both published by Penguin Random House. 2) We can’t wait to see what Dan creates next — and what our current Honors students, under the program leadership of Dr. Sara Luly, Associate Professor of German, will produce, too!
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 