Welcome to the spring semester! We hope that you are keeping warm and safe as 2024 gets underway.
Here are some of the events that we’re looking forward to in the months ahead. Please join us for community, creativity, and conversation! All are free but online access requires advance registration:
~ Our spring events begin on Wednesday February 14 at 3:30pm CT with the first presentation in our Spring Colloquia Series. Up first that afternoon: “What’s Next?: Faculty Lightning Talks on Work in Progress,” a series of lightning talks by faculty about their work-in-progress, followed by discussion. Then, on Wednesday April 17 at 3:30pm CT, join us for presentations by our M.A. students for our annual Graduate Literature Symposium. If you can’t join us on campus in Union 227, you can register for the first event at https://tinyurl.com/englcolloq2024 and for the second at https://tinyurl.com/englgradlit2024.
~ Our annual Cultural Studies Symposium is in its 33rd year, maintaining its track record as the longest running Cultural Studies event in the U.S. This year, on Friday February 23 at 3:30pm CT, we’ll host via Zoom Dr. Monica Trieu, Associate Professor of American Studies and Asian American Studies in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University. Dr. Trieu’s work explores the experiences of Asian Americans in the Midwest, and the title of her talk is “Midwestern Asian Americans, Racialized Visibility, and Internalized Racism.” Watch Dr. Trieu’s presentation on campus (location TBA) or register to watch online at http://tinyurl.com/trieukstate.
~ Scott McCloud has been making comics professionally since 1984. More recently, he is best known for his non-fiction books Understanding Comics (1993), a 215-page comic book about the comics medium translated into over 20 languages; Reinventing Comics (2000), a more controversial look at comics revolutions in art, culture and technology; and Making Comics (2006), an extensive exploration of comics storytelling techniques. McCloud returns to K-State on Friday March 1 for a talk at 4:00pm. Join us on campus (location TBA) or on Zoom at http://tinyurl.com/mccloudkstate.
~ On Friday March 22 at 3:30pm CT, our Spring Visiting Writers Series gets underway with a reading by poet Brynn Saito. Join us on campus in Union Wildcat Chamber or online at https://tinyurl.com/saitokstate. We’re grateful for the support of K-State students and their Fine Arts Fees to feature this series.
~ Also on Friday March 22: the annual 48-Hour Film Challenge gets underway! Students register with a small group of friends to create an original story (2-6 minutes in length) of any genre in just 48 hours. The film can be about anything but must include the designated four creative elements; films are then judged and readied for the film festival exhibition and awards ceremony on Friday May 29 at 5pm. Visit the 48-Hour Film Challenge web site for more information.
~ Learn more about the role of religion in American literature and culture when Dr. Jacob Goodson presents “Community, Conformity, and the Cries of the Wounded in William James’s Varieties of Religious Experience” on Thursday April 25. An associate professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Social Science Division at Southwestern College. Goodson’s most recent publication is Building Beloved Community in a Wounded World (Cascade Press, 2022). Join us at 4:00pm CT in Union Big Twelve Room or online at http://tinyurl.com/goodsonkstate.
Keep up to date on all events at our online calendar, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for photos and recaps — and check back here each week for highlights of research and creative activity from our faculty and students, perspectives from our alumni, images of the department’s past, and plans for its future.
Wishing good health for all —
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 