Meet the New Members of the Student Advisory Council

Please join us in welcoming Villanova English majors Ava Lundell, Erin Neilsen, Sarina Sandwell, and Amanda Smith, who joined the Student Advisory Council at our meeting at the beginning of the month. You can learn more about them below. For bios and pics of all the members of the 2020-21 Student Advisory Council, see here.

The Student Advisory Council plays a critical role in making the English major a vibrant, welcoming community. Members serve as consultants for the faculty and as peer advisers for new majors. They also help promote the major to prospective and undeclared students throughout the academic year. If you're interested in joining, please contact Dr. Joe Drury at joseph.drury@villanova.edu.

Ava Lundell (alundell@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore English major with minors in History and Public Administration. I grew up in Washington, D.C., but most of my family lives in the Midwest (either around Michigan or in Chicago). Growing up in D.C. definitely shaped my career goals, instilling in me the importance of policy and politics in changing American lives for the better. Therefore, I plan to enter the field of public policy (more specifically, education policy). After graduating, I would like to work with Teach for America for two years and then pursue my Master’s in education policy. I hope to further promote equal access to quality education for all Americans. My extracurricular activities include Blue Key Society and InterVarsity. I am also a research assistant for two professors investigating disability discussions in K-12 education. I love to read, especially historical fiction novels! One of my current favorites is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Erin Neilsen (eneilsen@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore student from Nashville, Tennessee. I am majoring in English and minoring in Business and Communication. At Villanova, I am a member of NOVAdance Committee, and I serve as the Chi Omega Philanthropy Chair. Outside of Villanova, I have started my own swim lesson business FINS and am often found outside exercising! As a member of the Student Advisory Council, I am looking forward to sharing my positive experience with the Villanova English Department with current and prospective students.

Sarina Sandwell (ssandwel@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore English major with a Chinese minor. At Villanova, I am an orientation counselor, as well as host of the radio show “altronica” on Villanova WXVU where I play indie/alternative/rock music. My favorite books are Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison and There There by Tommy Orange. I am also a huge fan of the science fiction and horror genres. After graduation, I plan to continue studying literature in the hopes of pursuing a career in teaching.

Amanda Smith (asmit151@villanova.edu)

I am a junior English major with minors in Education and Spanish from Wilton, CT. At Villanova I work as a tutor in the Villanova Writing Center, am a member of and the secretary of Club Judo, and serve as a leader in the Sophomore Service Learning Community. I have passions for service and working with kids and throughout my time at Villanova I have always made time to serve in a school in the areas surrounding our campus. After I graduate, I hope to earn my teaching certification to teach elementary education. 

Just Published! Villanova English Alum Jess Swoboda on Postcritique

Check out this terrific article, "Practicing Acknowledgment," by Villanova English alum Jess Swoboda ('15), which was just published in The Point. 

Jess, pictured below with Dr. Megan Quigley, is currently enrolled in the University of Virginia PhD program.

Call for Submissions: The Foundationalist

The Foundationalist, an undergraduate literary journal ran collaboratively by editorial teams at Bowdoin College, Yale University, and the University of Iowa, is currently accepting submissions for its next issue. The editors are interested in literary essays, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, as well as anything written for class. There are no page limits or themes. More information and submission guidelines can be found here.The deadline for submission is March 21, 2021.

If selected, the author’s writing will be published on academia.edu and in print format. 

Call for Submissions: Collision Magazine, University of Pittsburgh

Collision, a literary magazine based at the University of Pittsburgh, is currently open for submissions of undergraduate fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. By submitting to the annual magazine, students will also be considered for the magazine's writing and cover art competitions.

Submissions for the annual magazine close Friday, February 19, but are read on a rolling basis. You can find more information about the magazine and our submission guidelines at www.collision.pitt.edu. Please direct any questions to editor in chief Hannah Woodruff at collision.pitt@gmail.com.

Dr. Jean Lutes to Speak on White Supremacist Violence and the Assault on the US Capitol -- February 18

Please join Villanova English professor Dr. Jean Lutes for an event on the January 6 assault on the Capitol and the history of white supremacist violence in the US. 

Dr. Lutes will be joined by Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities Judy Giesberg for a discussion of recent political events, history, racism, and democracy. This ACS-approved event will be held on Zoom Thursday, February 18 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m, and is sponsored by the departments of History and English. You can register here. 

Johns Hopkins University's Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium

Villanova English majors are invited to apply for Johns Hopkins University’s second annual Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium. 

The symposium was designed to offer students across the country the chance to gather together and disseminate their humanities research on a national scale. Due to COVID, last year's symposium was a virtual event, with 359 participants and more than 10,000 visits to the conference site to date. This year’s event will be virtual as well, held live on April 24 and 25, 2021. The conference application portal is now open.

This symposium is open to undergraduate students from any two-year or four-year college or university who would like to present their original scholarship in the humanities. The organizers hope to have 400 participants this year.

In addition to the multiple panels of student papers and presentations (including original creative works), there will be e a keynote speech delivered by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr and multiple professional development panels featuring Johns Hopkins graduate students and faculty and editors from Johns Hopkins University Press.

Students studying all areas of the humanities are welcome to attend. Attendees will also have the opportunity to work with our student editors to revise their presentation into a journal-length presentation for our journal of proceedings, the Macksey Journal.

 

You can learn more about the event at the conference site.

Call for Submissions: Laurel Moon

Laurel Moon, a national literary magazine based at Brandeis University, is accepting submissions for its next issue. For this issue, the editors will be accepting original, unpublished work written in English: up to five poems and three prose works from each author. They will also accept ten pieces of artwork and photography per submission.

The submission deadline for the upcoming issue is March 15, 2021. But the editors are offering one-on-one feedback to writers seeking guidance on any creative writing piece that they submit before February 20.

Call for Submissions: Comparative Literature Undergraduate Journal

The Comparative Literature Undergraduate Journal is now accepting submissions for its Spring 2021 issue and is issuing a call for papers to all interested undergraduates and recent graduates.

The editors invite research papers from all those working in, around, or critically engaging with literary topics in a comparative nature. Papers in any language are welcome. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Papers comparing at least two authors or texts
• Interdisciplinary research engaging multiples disciplines within the humanities
• Research engaging with literary theory and schools of criticism

To review submission guidelines and submit your paper, or to view past issues of CLUJ, please visit the journal's submissions page.

 

Submissions will be accepted until March 1st 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time.