Some of the 2020 picture books under consideration for this year's Mock Caldecott Everything is different for 2020, including our annual Mock Caldecott. Now in its 13th 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 student organizations, with support … Continue reading 2020 Mock Caldecott
Ask almost anyone in Manhattan and they’ll tell you a story about Richard Pitts. They might tell you about how his Wonder Workshop — a museum/day camp/afterschool hangout — instilled in some child a love of learning. Or they’ll tell you about his tours of the Underground Railroad and Kansas’s abolitionist history. They might have … Continue reading Remembering Richard Pitts
A couple of weeks ago, I climbed into my bright blue Ford Focus, filled up the gas tank (thank you English Department!), and turned on a murder podcast to pass the time for the three-hour drive to Argonia, Kansas. Located about an hour southwest of Wichita, Argonia dominated national news in 1887 when the small … Continue reading “Kansas Women Have Done It”: Visiting America’s First Woman Mayor in Argonia, Kansas
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
Last week on October 29, the Literature Track held an event at The Dusty Bookshelf celebrating the recent publication of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments — the long-awaited sequel to her 1985 dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. Both novels are set in an alternative present where the United States is overthrown by the authoritarian theocracy Gilead, … Continue reading Out from Under His Eye: A Discussion of Margaret Atwood’s Dystopia
If you’ve ever considered submitting a query letter to a literary agent, you might know they typically include a few paragraphs about your manuscript, where it fits in the market, and your qualifications or publication history. If you’ve never been an intern at a literary agency, you might not know that sometimes, in lieu of … Continue reading Grad Student Spotlight: Rebecca Nelson
On Monday, October 14, 2020, Kansas State University’s Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance hosted its 4th annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on “Asserting Sovereignty: Innovations and Battlegrounds.” This year was the largest event yet, with over 280 individual registrants, nineteen classes, over 630 students sent to the conference sessions, coverage by WIBW, KSNT, The Collegian, … Continue reading Indigenous Peoples Day 2019
Appearing on September 30, 1868, Little Women was an instant success. Readers immediately began sending author Louisa May Alcott directives for what should happen next to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March, along with their wealthy, handsome next door neighbor Theodore “Laurie” Laurence. She set to work, happy to give her fancy play as … Continue reading Little Women 150: A Celebration
Three outreach events in 24 hours. April is always a busy month, and the past day is no exception. The hours between 7pm on Wednesday April 10 and 7pm on Thursday April 11 found our faculty and students participating in three different kinds of outreach events -- events designed to engage not only our campus … Continue reading Our Land Grant Mission in Action
K-State English 