Message from the chair
Greetings from The Department of English Language & Literature in this season of awakening and light.
It has been a blur of a year, as we, along with the rest of the world, have withdrawn into a realm of remote courses and virtual contact. Even in this time, though, the department has come together to accomplish a great deal. I am delighted to report that we have completed an 18-month process of revising our undergraduate curriculum. The result is a BA degree in English and Creative Writing that remains embedded in tradition but also looks forward to the future, integrating critical with creative work, and allowing our students a rich array of course options that will prepare them for a range of exciting careers along with a rewarding life of the mind. Associate Professor Jeff Drouin, our director of undergraduate studies, deserves much credit for this work, even as all our faculty worked hard on this project.
Our graduate students, under the wise guidance of Professor Dennis Denisoff, our director of graduate studies, recently convened their spring conference: PANIC! Textual Responses to Extreme Moments in Time. Taking place in a virtual format, it exhibited the creativity and resourcefulness of our graduate students as well as several fascinating research projects. Thanks to doctoral student Steven Maulden, who organized the event, and congratulations to all our students who contributed to its success. Kudos also to Danielle Calhoun, Amber Drew and Muriel Unseth, who will be awarded their master's degrees in May, and to Marie Sartain, who has earned her doctoral degree.
This second issue of our newsletter, developed by our student intern Kayley Spielbusch, Class of 2022, features some of the accomplishments and activities of current and former students, along with an interview with our beloved Emeritus Professor Gordon Taylor. We hope you enjoy reading all these stories. Congratulations to Kayley for her excellent work on this project.
Thank you for your warm response to our first newsletter last fall. It was such a pleasure to hear from former students and from friends of the department. Do please reach out and let us know how you are doing and to share your ideas for future topics you would like us to cover.
Wishing you good health and happiness,
Laura Stevens
Department Chair
laura-stevens@utulsa.edu
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Names to faces
With the assistance of an oral historian from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Chapman Professor of English Laura Stevens and three undergraduate students are uncovering the history of the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls, the identities of the students who attended and its ties to the history of The University of Tulsa.
Archival quest
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Big Apple alumna
Former English student Catherine Roberts (BA/BS '12) is today a multimedia journalist in New York City. Tuck in to Roberts' recollections of some of her favorite moments studying at TU and thoughts on how studying English prepared her for career success.
“What do you do with an English major?”
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Strange walking: The COVID-hit streets of South Korea
English PhD candidate Seungho Lee offers a short meditation on his experience of walking during the COVID-19 pandemic in his hometown, Namyangju-si, just outside Seoul, South Korea.
Nature, air and wind
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“A whole new form of expression”
Walter Professor of English Sean Latham is a long-time fan of Bob Dylan. As the director of the TU Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, Latham combines his personal appreciation with scholarly work on this major figure in American music and literature.
Some kind of alchemy
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Decolonizing post-secondary studies
The lack of representation of Indigenous people and cultures is a concern at universities across the country. English student Alexandria Tafoya and alumnus Mason Whitehorn Powell (BA '17) recently published essays outlining their thoughts on the issue and advocating for routes forward.
Indigenous research and teaching
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Reflection, reading and retirement
Meet – or reconnect with – retired Chapman Professor of English Gordon Taylor as he reminisces on his time at TU and shines a light on his activities since retirement.
Books still unread
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