Welcome to the blog for the Villanova English department! Visit often for updates on department events, guest speakers, faculty and student accomplishments, and reviews and musings from professors and undergraduates alike.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Open Mic

The Falvey Open Mic reading from this April has been posted on Villanova’s YouTube channel.  Click here to watch the video.
Amanda Murphy at the Open Mic reading
Yalda Hajavi at the Open Mic reading.


Thursday, June 11, 2015

Danielle Sekerak ('15) on the Law School Process

Danielle Sekerak, class of 2015 English major, will be attending Penn Law School in the fall.  Her narrative about the process of applying to law school follows.

Inspired by the work that I had heard and watched my parents do in the medical field, I arrived at Villanova with the intention of going to medical school after graduation. While I declared my English major early on, I remained pre-med for two years (interestingly enough, I enjoyed organic chemistry). Law was always on my mind, but it was never a potent force until junior year when I realized how much I loved reading and writing and how I wanted to continue to use my English major in my profession, and it became the perfect fusion of my professional and vocational goals.
           
The law school process can be a trying one, but I can confidently say that the English major helped me in multiple ways. It prepared me for the LSAT: I went into the exam as a fast reader who could critically think and comprehend passages in the time allotted per section. I was also able to write and revise my personal statement within just a few days; having had so many papers to write throughout my time at Villanova, the writing process was not a painful one at all.

After submitting my applications over Christmas break, I sat in the metaphoric waiting room, patiently (and sometimes impatiently) checking my email to see if any decisions had come back. When it came time for me to make my final decision, I was torn between two schools.  One of my beloved English professors gave me the confidence and wisdom I needed to finally select the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
           
While Penn will be challenging, I know that the English Department has given me what I need to succeed. I would not change my college experience in any way: I was able to graduate with a degree in a major that I absolutely love, I established great friendships among my compassionate and intelligent classmates, and I fostered relationships with professors that will continue to play an influential role in my future decisions.

Danielle at last fall's Majors Fair.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Villanova English at 25th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania recently hosted the 25th Annual International Conference on Virgina Woolf, "Virginia Woolf and Her Female Contemporaries."  English majors Christa Chirico, Caroline Edler, and Elaine Roghanian (all three graduated this year, Caroline in December) presented papers at the conference as part of a panel entitled "Haunted Woolf:  Ghosts, Memories, and Creativity," chaired by the English department's Prof. Megan Quigley.  Christa's paper was on “Haunting Memories and the Creative Act,” Caroline's on “‘Ghosts of the Mind’: Fear and the Impermanent Self in Woolf,” and Elaine's on “Hungry Like the Woolf:  Consumption as Feminist Action in Woolf ’s Novels.”  Prof. Quigley also delivered a paper on "Vagueness and Julia Margaret Cameron."  The English department provided financial support for the conference attendees.


Prof. Megan Quigley, Elaine Roghanian, Cecil Woolf (the nephew of Leonard and Virginia Woolf), Caroline Edler, and Christa Chirico at the conference.