The conversation surrounding diversity in children’s and adolescent literature has been growing for decades -- despite little change in the publishing industry -- with readers, writers, and educators clamoring for more stories from, about, and for underrepresented groups, such as the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, and people of color. This movement also opens the … Continue reading Grad Student Spotlight: Molly L. Burt
On the eve of St. Valentine's Day, we decided to serve up some counter programming. We asked members and friends of the K-State English Department to share a book they truly despise, inspired in part by the conversation about American Dirt, a No. 1 bestseller, that has been rightfully panned for its inaccuracies, its cultural … Continue reading The Books We Hate
In summer 2019, I was reading a myriad of folks on Twitter talking syllabi and assignments. The conversations were invigorating, and I was especially attracted to a syllabus that Dave Gaertner, a brilliant assistant professor in First Nations and Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia, put together for a course on digital literacies. … Continue reading On Photo Essays and the Sharing of Knowledge: In Praise of New Assignments
I love the library, but it is possible the library doesn’t love me back. Two weeks after I was hired to be the communications student for K-State Libraries, Hale Library caught on fire and was shut down for repairs for an indefinite amount of time. I definitely expected to receive an email telling me that … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Brenna Leahy
As promised in the posts from last September, October, November, and December, here's our next installment of faculty, student, and alumni achievements in research, scholarship, and creative activity. Looking to catch up on past success or to find future announcements? Visit our archive of Reading Matters, our monthly newsletter. Have news to report? Email us … Continue reading Winter 2019-2020 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity
The landscape of western Kansas is perhaps best known for two things: wide fields and tall elevators. While eerie fields have had plenty of great moments in gothic fiction, the towering grain elevators that stand guard over them have received considerably less literary attention. My M.A. thesis, titled “Son of the Devil,” is a gothic … Continue reading Grad Student Spotlight: Nick Cady
"Now that I live in Boston for grad school and Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women was just nominated for Best Picture, it seemed an ideal time to return to Concord and Little Women": This week, as the awards season bestows accolades and throws shade at the most recent adaptation of Alcott's Little Women, … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Macy Davis
As part of a service learning project this academic year, graduate students in Todd Gabbard's ARCH 807 "Architecture Design Studio" are preparing a redesign of our English Department space, so it could best serve the needs of faculty, staff, and students. The collaboration began last summer when Todd -- as an associate professor in Architecture … Continue reading Designing a Better English Building
Recent ice and snow remind us that winter is still at hand, but the start of the semester promises that spring is near! Here are some of the events that we're looking forward to in the coming months: ~ Assistant Professor Shirley Tung launches our Spring Colloquia Series on Wednesday, February 12 with her … Continue reading Spring Preview
I was seventeen years old when I had the pleasure of seeing my older brother step onto the McCain stage in a musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol. With a dreadfully avaricious protagonist and an omnipresence of memento mori portrayed through the story’s visiting ghosts and terminally ill child, A Christmas Carol is often viewed … Continue reading Undergrad Student Spotlight: Skyler Lindquist
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