Greetings from the chair
I am delighted to begin this newsletter with the exciting news that the Department of English Language and Literature has officially been renamed the Department of English and Creative Writing.
This renaming is the culmination of a two-year process of contemplation, research and discussion by our faculty, as we considered how our strengths and goals align with national best practices and the future of study in our field. Having redesigned our major so that it combines the strengths and opportunities of creative writing with our longstanding excellence in literary studies, with options for concentrations in either area, we agreed that the department rename itself to reflect this new, combined curriculum and more expansive outlook.
I want to thank all my colleagues for coming together to agree on this new identity and fresh path forward. Thanks also to Dean Karen Petersen for supporting our department through this time of intensive planning and revision. My colleagues and I are excited to go forward with a curriculum and identity that offers more flexibility and opportunities to our students, and that positions us to pursue new collaborations with local entities, such as the Tulsa Artist Fellowship program.
Mighty accomplishments
We have much to celebrate in our department. Congratulations to Professor Dennis Denisoff, whose book, Decadent Ecology in British Literature and Art, 1860-1910, has just been published by Cambridge University Press; to Professor Lars Engle, who has co-edited an essay collection, Shakespeare and Montaigne, forthcoming next month from Edinburgh University Press; and to Professor Sean Latham, who edited an essay collection, The World of Bob Dylan, published last May by Cambridge University Press.
Our congratulations and thanks also to Professor Jennifer Airey, who after two years of leading our faculty as vice president and then president of the TU Faculty Senate is now serving as the university's interim vice provost. We are also proud of Muriel Unseth, an alumna of our Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts programs, who received an award from the Fulbright Foundation to represent our country in the Czech Republic as a teaching assistant.
Fall 2021 newsletter
This third issue of our newsletter, curated by our student intern Michala Beesley, TU Class of 2022, details the recent accomplishments of our graduate students, introduces us to Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Dustin Pearson and shines a spotlight on alumna Kate Williams (PhD '15), who has pursued a brilliant entrepreneurial career as the founder and CEO of People First Content. A forum on mental health and literature offers timely and moving reflection on the perspective, deeper awareness and even the healing that the study of literature can bring to all of us.
My thanks to Michala for her efforts on this publication. I am confident you will enjoy reading all these thoughtful stories.
A return to community life
Following a year of pandemic-required isolation, I have been thinking a great deal about connection and community. Like many teachers and professors, I felt immense joy to return to in-person teaching this past August, to run into colleagues and students around Zink Hall and to engage in the pleasures of conversation in our hallways and offices.
As we each return at our own paces to a less virtual, more immediate, life, I want to say how grateful I am for the multi-generational community of students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends that has at its core the Department of English and Creative Writing – a group of people bound together by a love of writing, literature and the life of the mind.
The faculty of our department – whether you think of us bearing our old or new name – are always happy to hear from all of you, whether you want to visit Zink Hall in person or drop us an email. Our name has changed, but our welcoming, diverse community remains the same.
Wishing you good health and happiness,
Laura Stevens Department Chair laura-stevens@utulsa.edu
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Alumna spotlight: Kate Williams' bountiful writing lifeKate Williams (PhD '15) took the skills and knowledge she developed pursuing her doctorate in English at TU and transformed them into a career as a professional writer and communications business leader. Get to know Kate and read her five essential tips for anyone looking to be a successful freelance writer.
| | A season in Tulsa: In conversation with Dustin PearsonThis fall, we welcomed poet and bon vivant Dustin Pearson as a visiting assistant professor of creative writing. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Dustin has fit right in to TU life. In this story, he talks about the inspiration for his forthcoming collection of poetry, his approach to writing, thoughts about teaching and an array of other topics.
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Forum: Literature, mental health and addictionWhat light do literature and literary studies shed on mental health and addiction? That's the question we asked five members of our English and Creative Writing community. We're certain you will be fascinated by their responses.
| | English graduate students: On a roll
The past year has been one of the most vibrant for Department of English and Creative Writing graduate students. Undaunted by the rigors of virtual learning and teaching in the first half of the year, throughout 2021 our M.A. and Ph.D. students conducted research, taught, hosted a symposium, won major prizes and landed great jobs. Congratulations, all!
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Digital ModernismDirected by Professor Jeff Drouin, the Modernist Journals Project continues to break new scholarly ground and serve as a vibrant training site for English students – undergraduate and graduate – interested in Modernist literature and culture as well as digital humanities. Catch up with all the innovations here!
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