How do you decolonize African literary culture? In 1962, a group of prominent African writers gathered at Makerere University, Uganda, to answer that question. They agreed that the project of decolonizing African literary culture required a vital tool: the creation of a “new” English able, in the words of Chinua Achebe, “to accommodate African thought-patterns.” …
When you think about “grammar,” are you plagued by childhood memories of learning a complicated series of rules about where to put commas, how semicolons work, or when to put an apostrophe in “its”? Knowing this might be the case, students in Professor Anja Wanner’s English 413 wanted to change the average Wisconsinite’s conception of …
The increasingly diverse student populations on university campuses around the country provide educators with exciting opportunities to innovate their teaching methods. To understand how professors in the English Department have responded to changing student needs, we turned to Professor David Zimmerman, the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning. With the Learning Support Services of …
Day of the Badger is coming this Spring! What is Day of the Badger? Well, it’s an 1848-minute event for all alumni, students, and friends throughout Badger nation to give to their passion, show their pride, and stay connected to the university. Everyone who loves UW–Madison is welcome and encouraged to participate. The goal is …
Are you looking for a gift idea for that reader on your list? Or maybe some holiday reading of your own? Check out these current faculty and staff recommendations! For anyone who loves a good coming of age story, I recommend our own Beth Nguyen’s Stealing Buddha’s Dinner (Bich Minh Nguyen). Both hilarious and poignant, …
Monographs Postcolonial Paris: Fictions of Intimacy in the City of Light Laila Amine University of Wisconsin Press, 2018 “In the global imagination, Paris is the city’s glamorous center, ignoring the Muslim residents in its outskirts except in moments of spectacular crisis such as terrorist attacks or riots. But colonial immigrants and their French offspring have …
Our own Professor Cherene Sherrard-Johnson received a 2018 Outstanding Women of Color Award. The award recognizes the extraordinary work done by women of color from across campus and in the larger Madison community. Prof. Sherrard-Johnson “drew a collective ‘wow’” from the award committee with “her tireless recruitment and mentorship of women of color, faculty and students …
This year, we sadly said goodbye to Professor Jeffrey Steele, who died on May 5 at the age of 71. A beloved member of the English Department faculty since 1981, Prof. Steele will be remembered as a generous teacher, colleague, and scholar. Prof. Steele was a dedicated teacher who inspired countless students. In 1992, …
Before coming to UW, Professor Laila Amine most recently taught at the University of North Texas. She specializes in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century African American and African Diaspora Studies with a focus on race, migration, and colonial legacies. Her book, Postcolonial Paris: Fictions of Intimacy in the City of Light was recently published by the …