English Blog | Refer a Student | Make a Gift | Previous Issues
A
Word
from
the
Chair
Summer
is
ending...
a
bad
sleep
the
night
before
school...
butterflies
in
one's
stomach...
trepidation...
excitement.... You
may
be
thinking
of
small
children
with
large
backpacks
trooping
off
to
school
for
the
first
time,
but
this
giddy
mixture
of
anticipation
and
anxiety
is
very
much
a
part
of
professors'
experience
as
well.
Will
the
syllabus
we
have
painstakingly
designed
work
as
we
had
planned?
When
we
throw
out
the
ball
of
class
discussion,
will
students
pick
it
up?
When
will
first-day
jitters
settle
into
the
more
sustained
pleasure
of
teaching
and
learning?
September
is
not
just
a
time
of
anticipation
and
beginnings;
it
is
also
a
good
time
to
look
back
over
the
last
year.
Here
are
just
a
few
of
the
highlights
of
2015-16
in
the
Department
of
English
at
UW.
In
September,
we
celebrated
the
PhD
degree's
25th
Anniversary.
Founded
in
1990,
the
UW
English
PhD
was
and
remains
unique
in
its
blending
of
the
study
of
Literature
and
Rhetoric.
Fifty-six
graduates
of
the
program,
who
have
achieved
success
in
academic
and
other
careers,
were
invited
to
join
in
an
evening
of
celebration.
In
November,
we
held
a
dinner
to
thank
our
colleague
Professor
Fraser
Easton
for
his
outstanding
seven
years
of
service
as
Chair
and
for
the
wonderful
dedication,
hard
work,
and
principle
he
brought
to
the
role.
Faculty
of
Arts
Alumni
events
in
2015-16
included
a
December
panel
on
the
200th
Anniversary
of
the
Battle
of
Waterloo
(where
I
spoke
about
literary
representations
of
Waterloo)
and
a
March
panel
where
my
colleague
Prof.
Lamees
Al-Ethari
spoke
very
compellingly
about
the
Refugee
Crisis:
Historical,
Global,
and
Local
Perspectives.
In
June,
the
English
+
Innovation
Event
held
at
Communitech
in
Kitchener
celebrated
the
achievements
of
English
students
and
alumni.
Fraser
Easton
and
his
hard
working
team
of
committed
alumni--Mandy
Lam,
Scott
Wahl,
and
Ricardo
Olenewa--put
together
this
wonderful
event.
Visitors
had
a
chance
to
see
student
displays
and
innovative
creations
in
action,
and
then
to
listen
to
panelists
Liz
Chestney,
Patrick
Hofman,
Gian
Mancuso,
Richard
Lander
and
Sherry
McMenemy,
who
discussed
the
paths
that
link
English
studies
to
the
"innovation
economy."
Many
thanks
to
all
of
those
people
involved!
In
August,
our
new
colleague
Prof.
Clive
Forrester
joined
us
in
the
department.
Clive's
expertise
in
linguistics
and
writing
studies
will
greatly
enrich
the
courses
we
offer
students.
Professor
Kate
Lawson
Chair,
English
Language
and
Literature
English + Innovation A Hit!
E+I showcased student accomplishments in English and high tech. Check out the cutting-edge student projects.
Understanding Refugees
Prof. Lamees Al Ethari participated in a public lecture about the refugee crisis and wrote a important accompanying article you can read here.
Hagey Hall's New Hub
Generous alumni support has helped build the new Hagey Hall Hub. Check out the construction photos!
A SAGE Update
2015-2016
was
an
exciting
year
for
the
Student
Association
for
Graduates
in
English
(SAGE)!
We
hosted
some
great
events,
including
four
Poetry
Out
Loud
readings,
a
CV
workshop
facilitated
by
Aimée
Morrison,
and
an
Area
Exams
info
session
for
first-year
PhD
students.
We
also
hosted
the
annual
Tri-University
Symposium
in
June
2016,
which
brings
together
graduate
students
from
Waterloo,
Laurier,
and
Guelph
universities
to
share
research.
Attendees
shared
some
fantastic
papers
with
a
large
and
receptive
audience,
and
the
evening
social
event
at
Settlement
Co.
in
uptown
Waterloo
was
well
attended.
We
have
also
put
together
a SAGE
wiki
for
English
Grad
students,
providing
information
on
everything
from
applying
for
grants
and
TAing,
to
where
to
find
a
cheap
and
yummy
lunch
on
campus.
This
will
come
in
particularly
handy
for
the
incoming
group
of
students,
and
the
SAGE
Exec
will
have
an
important
role
in
welcoming
these
new
students
during
Orientation
2016.
In
addition
to
helping
facilitate
faculty-run
sessions,
the
SAGE
Exec
is
planning
some
info
sessions
of
its
own,
as
well
as
a
SAGE
social
event
on
Friday,
September
9th.
We
are
hoping
to
get
to
know
the
incoming
students,
encourage
them
to
reach
out
to
SAGE
Exec
with
questions,
problems,
and
event
ideas,
and
recruit
some
new
Exec
members
to
serve
as
M.A.
and
incoming
Ph.D.
Representatives.
Keep
an
eye
on
the
SAGE
Facebook
page
for
information
about
SAGE
news
--
there
will
be
plenty
of
fun
and
informative
events
planned
for
the
Fall
2016
semester!
Keely
Cronin,
Ph.D.
Student
President,
Student
Association
for
Graduates
in
English
From the Blog
Alumni Ricardo Olenewa (Google) on What Higher Ed Skills Get You
Alumni Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey a Top-Seller
Co-op at the Masters Level
More of our recent MA grads
More of our recent PhD grads
Exciting English Courses
Popular Potter
Tolkien from Book to Film
Genres of Creative Writing
Gothic Monsters
Madmen and American Literature
Publicity to Publications
Prof. Aimée Morrison is regularly featured in the press, and here she talks about "unfriending" and social media.
Did you know we have a course on the Harry Potter series? Dr. Neil Randall explains more in The Walrus.
Prof. Sarah Tolmie has been busy publishing engaging fiction. Check out her five books.
The Computational Rhetoric Workshop, an international and interdisciplinary workshop was held at Waterloo in August, and our Prof. Randy Allen Harris (aka "prof raha") shared some photos.
Doctoral student Betsy Brey talks Pokémon Go with the CBC.
Another doctoral student, Alexandra Orlando, talks eSports with 570 news.
Recent alumni Christian Metaxas wrote war tapes, featured at Toronto Fringe. Did you catch it?
Faculty are publishing prolifically, including Prof. Linda Warley's co-edited Canadian Graphic, Prof. Winfried Siemerling's award-winning Black Atlantic Reconsidered, Prof. Gordon Slethaug's Adaptation Theory and Criticism, Prof. Michael MacDonald's The Oxford Handbook of Rhetorical Studies, Prof. Marcel O'Gorman's Necromedia, and perhaps the most recent, Prof. Victoria Lamont's Westerns: A Women's History.