VU English Merch (Now with 75th Anniversary Merch!)

We have 75th anniversary crew-neck sweatshirts and t-shirts in stock, as well as hats, totes, hoodies, and more! Stop by the office or write to Program Coordinator Mike Malloy if you are interested!

Introduction to Asian American Literature Course!

 This spring, Professor Yumi Lee will be teaching a new course, Asian American Literature. See the poster:

Fall Pre-Registration Reception--This Friday at 11:30: RSVP now!

Please RSVP to Amanda Eliades for the English Pre-Registration Reception by this Wednesday, Oct 18^th, at noon! Then join us on this Friday, Oct. 20^th, in SAC East Courtyard from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. for great food, information about Spring 2024 courses, internships, and news about the English department, in general! This is a great chance to socialize with English professors, majors, minors and students interesting in English. The reception will feature a free lunch and a raffle with a chance to win literary prizes and English Department swag.  There will also be delicious cupcakes to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the English Major at Villanova!

Professor Jean Lutes Publishes "Feminisms"

Jean Lutes just published "Feminisms" in The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Novel and Politics.  A brief summary of the chapter:

"Twentieth-century feminist activism and thought spread with an urgency and ambition unseen before, as advocates for women achieved mass recognition, unsettled long-held convictions, and upset the status quo in ways unimaginable in previous centuries. No novel genre escaped these changes or failed to register them. Feminist politics reshaped the content, and sometimes the form, of the novel. Yet, dramatic as the expansion of US women’s opportunities was, progress was never unchallenged or universal. Feminist political gains inspired significant backlash: Patriarchy supporters fought back. Meanwhile, feminist organizing fractured from within. Before the twentieth century even began, women of color were explaining why they couldn’t be expected to identify only as women, as if all women belonged in a single category. Their message often went unheeded, particularly in the most widely circulated versions of feminist thought, which elevated white middle-class experiences over those of working-class, Indigenous, Black, Latina, and Asian women. Throughout the century, narratives by women of color pushed back against the white supremacist version of feminism. The American novel narrated multiple feminisms, triumphant and defeated, jubilant and anguished, razor-focused and utterly lost."

 

Teach In On Palestine

On Wednesday, October 18 from 6-8 pm the Villanova Center for Arab and Islamic Studies will host a teach in on Palestine featuring English faculty members. Come with questions!

In the News: Why Majoring in the Humanities Can Be a Great Career Move

 U. S. News and World Report just published an article, "Why Majoring in Humanities Can be a Great Career Move."

From the article: 

It turns out that your parents were wrong. English majors – and others in humanities fields often seen as even less “marketable,” like philosophy and film studies – can get great jobs right out of college.

“The reason why our humanities interns are wanted is because they have research and writing skills,” says Jeffrey Cohen, dean of humanities at ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Those skills serve companies well.”

 

Professor Megan Quigley on University Updates Code of Conduct to Include A. I.

A recent article in The Villanovan discusses new additions to Villanova's Code of Conduct. It features Professor Megan Quigley saying:

“I don’t believe in just banishing it,” Quigley said. “Well, for certain assignments I do. I already have assignments in my classes where the students give a paper prompt to ChatGPT and then we analyze what it produces for its strengths and weaknesses.”

Later in the article, she comments: 

“I would say that, for me, writing and thinking go hand in hand,” Quigley said. “Analyzing and synthesizing information, finding out what a strong versus weak claim is, whether you need those skills for law or teaching or writing or journalism, I think you are still going to need to have them.”

Check out the full article here.