Last November 22, the two 2024 fall sections of English 310 “Introduction to Literary Studies” met at 5 o’clock at the Manhattan Public Library for an Undergraduate Research Symposium titled “‘the flickers of life beyond the weeds’: Literary Studies in the Digital Age.”
The Symposium allowed these new English majors, minors, and Secondary English Education majors to meet and discuss projects they’ve dedicated weeks of their lives to.
The public event began with a presentation by Sarah Hemenway (BA ‘26) on Beowulf and its complexities through a modern-day lens.
Starting at 5:20pm, the ENGL 310 students presented their projects in three 20-minute sessions. The projects came in three mediums: posters, three-minute theses, and videos, though the videos were largely for students who couldn’t make it to the symposium. The undergraduates shared their projects with the general public as well as department members.
Around finals season it can be easy to get caught up in what’s going on with your own exams and your own research that you don’t get to observe what exciting projects others may be working on at the same time as you. After working deeply and passionately on their projects, the symposium was an exciting and unique opportunity for students to share their knowledge as well as gain the knowledge of others. For myself, this event was the first that I had been a part of, and I was enthusiastic about the prospect of seeing all that my peers had worked on and being able to share my findings with others.
The symposium also allowed for discussion around research in a much more laid-back setting, a nice introduction to the project, letting the research be seen by an audience so it can be adjusted for better comprehension in the final product if necessary. My own project, “A Love Letter to Those Who Cannot Say ‘I Love You’: Ada Limón and the Deconstruction of Gender Roles in Favor of Masculine Love,” was met with questions about my research process as well ones about where I wanted to take my project after the symposium and research paper. I was also allowed to hear people’s own accounts about male friends and family who’ve struggled to show how much they care for the people in their lives.
It was good experience to just be able to discuss what you were passionate without the stress of a large grade being held over it. Walking around the symposium allowed for a new academic experience for many students and for everyone involved to see how English Literature as a program is still flourishing.
— Harrison Jones (BA ’28)
K-State English 