Ainsley Trunkhill (BS '25, English Secondary Education) I submitted my college applications in a Harvard University sweatshirt, with stacks of ACT prep books lined up against my walls and hopes of achieving Rory Gilmore-esque academic prestige. As an intellectually-driven student who grew up surrounded by marketed images of what success looks like for women in … Continue reading Undergrad Student Spotlight: Ainsley Trunkhill
Professor Phillip Marzluf (October 2023) In the first week of October, I traveled throughout Inner Mongolia in China, visiting giant cities of glass and steel, paying my respects at the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, and taking photographs of rural and desert landscapes. I was conducting “in the footsteps” travel research of Western visitors who, in … Continue reading 6,487 Miles from Home: On the Tea Roads in Northern China and Mongolia
Traci Brimhall's poem "Arts & Sciences" appeared in The New Yorker Each month during the academic year, we assemble a newsletter of the department's recent publications, presentations, announcements, and awards. We're happy to recognize the recent successes in research, scholarship, and creative activity outlined below. Want to catch up on past successes or to … Continue reading October 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity
Some of the 2023 picture books under consideration for this year's Mock Caldecott Now in its 16th year, the Mock Caldecott is a joint endeavor between the English Department and the Children's and Adolescent Literature Community (ChALC), one of our department-sponsored student organizations, with support from the Manhattan Public Library (MPL). In the pre-COVID times, … Continue reading 2023 Mock Caldecott
Dennis Etzel, Jr (MA '06) "To Be a Kansas State University Alum (MA 2006)" By Dennis Etzel Jr To look back at the brief two years, not just out of fondness and freedom, but transformation. To be given the privilege of having a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. To realize how much I love teaching. To be … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Dennis Etzel Jr
Image Credit: Goodreads Since our blog debuted in 2017, we have published 400+ posts. While some of you may have been with us from the start (thank you, loyal readers!), others may have joined us more recently. So, we're highlighting periodically some of the posts that have garnered a lot of views or that address … Continue reading From the Archive: Halloween Horror: The Tell-Tale Heart
For Fall 2023, I’m teaching ENGL 650 "Readings in 20th- & 21st-Century American Literature" as “Multiethnic Literatures of the Midwest.” Centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Midwestern stories and authors, the course invites us to explore our perceptions and misconceptions about America’s heartland and to discover the rich diversity of the region. In … Continue reading A Sense of Place for Midwesterners of Color: A Podcast from ENGL 650
Last Tuesday, October 17, faculty in English joined with colleagues from across the university and beyond K-State to explore "AI and the Future." Our department's contribution to the three-day symposium, in partnership with the Writing Center and the Office of Honor and Integrity: a panel session on "AI and the Writer's Voice." As the title … Continue reading AI and the Writer’s Voice
Charlesia McKinney (BA '13) and Francesca Royster (BA '88) Add this book to add to your reading list! Francesca T. Royster (BA '88) has written an amazing memoir, Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance (Abrams, 2023), recounting extended family history as a backdrop for her family's choice to adopt their daughter. … Continue reading Choosing Family
A tree from Over the Garden Wall (Episode 1 “The Old Grist Mill”) Since our blog debuted in 2017, we have published 400+ posts. While some of you may have been with us from the start (thank you, loyal readers!), others may have joined us more recently. As a result, we're highlighting some of the … Continue reading From the Archive: Over the Garden Wall is Trying to Scare Your Kids, and That’s Not a Bad Thing
K-State English 