News

Congratulating the Class of 2024.

Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Elianne El-Amyouni! Elianne's dissertation is titled "Political Identity Expression in Palestinian Youth Subcultures". Her supervisor was Ken Hirschkop and readers were Kevin McGuirk, Heather Smyth and Jens Hanssen. The external examiner was Ted Swedenburg and the internal/external examiner was Rowland Keshena Robinson. Her defense was chaired by Urs Hengartner.

Abstract

This thesis examines contemporary transnational Palestinian hip-hop as part of a continuum of politically informed and informing cultural expression, emphasizing the increasing heterogeneity of ideals and visions for Palestinian national liberation in response to a series of expulsions, defeats, and treatises. It traces the relationship between politics and the poem-song from the late 18th century to the present, and there is a focus on the noticeable shifts in the geopolitical landscape at pivotal moments throughout the 20th century—the 1948 Nakba, the 1967 Naksa, and most importantly, the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords—to reveal how the Palestinian situation has become what it is today, and what role the poem-song has played and continues to play in that evolution both within the historic homeland and without. Its focus is on contemporary Palestinian hip-hop and delves into a semiotic analysis of specific songs written and performed by contemporary Palestinian rappers and hip-hop artists from around the world to delineate a possible shared vision of or affiliation with Palestine. What we find in our analysis is a mosaic of opinions, identifications, and preoccupations that sometimes converge with one another and demonstrate a continuity with pre-Oslo resistance culture, while at other times diverge completely into their own new territory.

Congratulations to Dr. Lara El Mekkawi, who successfully defended her dissertation, "Hesitant Belonging: Understanding Generational Traumas of Forced Migration in Black and Palestinian Diaspora Contemporary Transnational Fiction."

Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Sally Beresford, on a successful PhD Defence! Her dissertation is titled “Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Detecting Community in their Public, Private, and Fictional Lives.” Dr. Carol Acton supervised, with committee members Drs. Kate Lawson and Victoria Lamont. The internal external was Dr. Jane Nicholas, and the external was Dr. Ann C. Martin.

Congratulations to Dr. Samuel Rowland, who successfully defended his defence on September 22. His supervisor was Dr. Kevin McGuirk and the committee members were Dr. Ken Hirschkop and Dr. Victoria Lamont. The internal/external was Dr. Andrew Hunt, and the external examiner was Dr. Thomas Carmichael. The defense was chaired by Dr. Sanjay Nepal.

We're proud to announce the names of the English Language and Literature students who are graduating this week. Congratulations to all!

Collage of English-related images (decorative)