The English Channel The English Channel Volume 17 Issue 2 Spring 2017 | Page 3

Dear Friends of English,
Yet all is not lost: in the fall we will be joined by eighteenth-century British literature
and digital humanities specialist Megan Peiser, who recently completed her Ph.D. at
the University of Missouri. And the department continues to build on its strengths
as well as evolve in exciting new directions. This past year the Creative Writing pro-
gram, in addition to hosting acclaimed writers Stuart Dybek and Danielle Deulen,
successfully launched its literary non-fiction track, enhancing its existing offerings in
fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. The Cinema Studies program developed a new
Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinema
Studies with a Specialization in Film-
making; this hotly anticipated degree
program will begin enrolling students
in Fall 2017. And American Studies,
in conjunction with the College of
Arts and Sciences 2016–17 theme of
“Unity in Diversity,” held its
“Comparative Americas” colloquium
featuring our esteemed Americanist
colleagues alongside a host of nation-
ally renowned guest scholars.
These are just a few of the highlights,
though. Scroll through the pages to
come for a full rundown of what’s
happened and happening in Eng-
lish. If you have news to share, let us
know–and if you happen to be in the
neighborhood of O’Dowd Hall, be
sure to stop by and say hello!
Kevin Laam
Chair
3
ha
2016–17 has been an exhilarating year for the English department—rife with adven-
ture, intrigue, and above all, endless paper-grading. We began the year by welcoming
two new colleagues into the department: poet-scholar Katie Hartsock, who earned
her Ph.D. in Comparative Literary Studies at Northwestern University in 2015; and
literary non-fiction specialist Susan McCarty, who earned her Ph.D. in Literature/
Creative Writing at the University of Utah in 2012. Alas, we will also bid a bitter-
sweet farewell to our retiring colleague Professor Brian Connery, who boasts a long
and distinguished record of teaching, scholarship, and service to the English depart-
ment. We’ll miss you, Brian!