A Strong Foundation

Jennifer Brown (B.A. ‘93, M.A. ‘95), Jera McGraw (B.A. ‘98), Carly Stithem (B.A. ‘14, M.A. ‘16), and Brooke Williams (M.A. ‘11) share their career paths at the 2017 Alumni Connections Career Panel. When completing our 2017 Alumni Survey, graduates could signal interest in assisting us with a career panel or online visit for graduate and … Continue reading A Strong Foundation

Alumni Spotlight: R. Dean Johnson

There’s this troubling question I’ve been getting since my second book came out. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but my first book, which is stories and not a novel, came out with a small press and didn’t get the fanfare. There were no interviews or Q&As at reading events. So I was caught … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: R. Dean Johnson

Grad Student Spotlight: Peter Williams

For my M.A. thesis, I'm writing a novella, a political thriller set in Kansas, which is a goofy idea. Not because political threat isn’t real in Kansas, but because no one ever writes political thrillers set in Kansas! It follows a guy named Hollis—the assistant campaign manager to a congressman who is running for governor. … Continue reading Grad Student Spotlight: Peter Williams

Return to the Arts

On December 9, 2017, Kevin Rabas (M.A. '98) provided the commencement address for the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University. Below is the text of his speech. Many thanks to Kevin for allowing us to share it here. (You can view his presentation through the university's archived video as of 22:40.)   … Continue reading Return to the Arts

On Keats and Beats: The Kansas State English Department Literary Playlist

As a holiday gift for you, we asked members of the Kansas State English Department to name their favorite "literary" song, and, well, at least a couple of them couldn't pick just one, so maybe you've been extra good this year? Here are the results—the department's literary playlist, via Spotify, that ranges from Coltrane to … Continue reading On Keats and Beats: The Kansas State English Department Literary Playlist

Undergrad Student Spotlight: Trevin Garcia

Trevin Garcia presenting his work at the McNair Heartland Conference, September 2017.   Latinx English in the Heartland: An Analysis of /l/ Variation in Liberal, Kansas. I'm a senior in English Literature and a post-research scholar of the McNair Scholars program. This summer, I conducted research with Dr. Mary Kohn on linguistic changes in Liberal, … Continue reading Undergrad Student Spotlight: Trevin Garcia

In Support of Academic Freedom at the University of Nebraska Lincoln

Below is an open letter of support from 31 faculty members in the Department of English at Kansas State University. For more information about the events prompting this letter, see the reporting provided by Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education.   December 1, 2017 To the Members of the Nebraska Board of … Continue reading In Support of Academic Freedom at the University of Nebraska Lincoln