We have been lucky enough to welcome so many new people into the department this year that we have to split up our introductions over two newsletters! Look for another round of intros in the Spring issue. Professor Ralph Grunewald—Literary Studies We recently met up with Prof. Grunewald for a cup of coffee and a …
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, …
On May 12, 2019, UW–Madison’s English department held a ceremony for its graduating English majors. Below see a video of the speeches given by three graduates (Ryan J. Mulrooney, Richardo Cortez de la Cruz II, and Alexandra Pleasant) as well as some photos from the event.
On April 11th, friends and family gathered to celebrate this year’s retirees from the English department. The crowd raised glasses to celebrate Susan Stanford Friedman, Theresa Kelley, Lynn Keller, Judith Mitchell, and Karen Redfield. One highlight of the evening was a musical performance for the retirees. You can watch the song here. Additionally, a few retirees …
In the fall, we introduced our readers to the four new professors hired to the English department this school year. Professors Laila Amine, Ainehi Edoro, Yanie Fecu, and Kristina Huang joined the department after a year-long search that attracted close to 200 applicants. For readers less familiar with the hiring process for literary studies professors, …
Saying the “Unsayable”: An Interview with Sonya Larson ‘05 Sonya Larson’s (B.A. ’05) short fiction and essays have appeared in Best American Short Stories 2017, American Short Fiction, American Literary Review, The Harvard Advocate, and more. Her story At the Bottom of New Lake was recently published as part of Amazon’s Warmer series, a group …
Readers of the fall newsletter might remember the announcement that Composition and Rhetoric graduate student Neil Simpkins won the inaugural Leadership and Service Award organized by the department’s Diversity and Inclusion Student Committee (D+ISC). This semester, we have invited the D+ISC to share a little more about the group. Here is what they had to …