Recognizing Banned Books Week 2023 at K-State

Banned Books Week 2023 (Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association) Every time I find myself reading The Hunger Games I can’t help but feel inspired by the bravery and poise of Katniss Everdeen. I mean she staged an entire rebellion as a teenager. However, I didn’t know that just by reading that novel, I … Continue reading Recognizing Banned Books Week 2023 at K-State

September 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Cover image for Phillip Marzluf's Travel Writing in Mongolia and Northern China, 1860-2020 (Amsterdam University Press, 2023)   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 … Continue reading September 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

From the Archive: Uncle Iroh’s Got Abs?

Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender 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 posts that have garnered a lot … Continue reading From the Archive: Uncle Iroh’s Got Abs?

Summer 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Cover for the issue of Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains (2023), where the essay by Lisa Tatonetti, Mary Kohn, Haley Reiners (BA ’22), Kinsley Searles (BA ’22, MA ’24), and co-authors Tai S. Edwards and Chester Hubbard appears. Each month during the academic year, we assemble a newsletter of the department's recent … Continue reading Summer 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Fall Preview

Kansas wheat photographed by David Mayes for Kansas State Research and Extension, 2016. The Fall 2023 semester is underway -- and it sure is toasty here in the Little Apple! Kudos to the students, faculty, and staff who are navigating record-setting heat as classes begin, and we'll look forward to temps below 100 degrees in … Continue reading Fall Preview

You Need to Snog a Lot of Frogs to Find a Tolerable Prince

"The Frog Prince" by Scott Gustafson (2003, 2023) Did you know that fairy tales are teaching our youth the dangers of premarital sex? The Wolf that stalks Little Red Riding Hood is trying to deflower her, Beauty spends her story taming the Beast’s masculine sexual aggression. Animalistic tendencies are painted in a purely violent manner, … Continue reading You Need to Snog a Lot of Frogs to Find a Tolerable Prince

April 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Several English Department faculty, graduate students, and alumni presented at the Popular Culture/American Culture Association Conference in San Antonio, TX, 5-8 April 2023. 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 … Continue reading April 2023 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Found Object: 2023 M.A. Projects

Location: Social media.Object: Project Titles,  graduating M.A. students.Observations: 1) Each spring, for many years, we have displayed the M.A. Project and Thesis titles of our graduating M.A. students at our annual spring Awards Banquet.  2) This year, even as we've resumed an in-person awards celebration, we're continuing our new (Covid-inspired) tradition: with the help of … Continue reading Found Object: 2023 M.A. Projects

2022-2023 Annual Awards

Irises in bloom in Manhattan, KS ~ early evening, April 2023 Our annual awards celebration was back in person for the first time since 2019, now that the height of the COVID pandemic has passed and we could gather with greater safety. Rather than the sit-down banquet from the pre-COVID days, we opted for a … Continue reading 2022-2023 Annual Awards

Alumni Spotlight: Mel Hammond

Mel Hammond (MA '14) In August 2012, I drove through the golden-yellow Flint Hills for the first time. I’d applied to K-State’s Children’s Lit program because I wasn’t sure what else to do after college. I liked kid’s books and I liked school, and the thought of getting a job gave me existential dread. It … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Mel Hammond