Graduation 2013

Congratulations, newly minted M.A. students!

Paper for the People

Falvey Library’s recent rediscovery of a collection of dime novels, reprint libraries and other late-19th century popular materials has sparked new interest at the library, and they want to share this exciting moment with everyone. To do so, Falvey is hosting a popular culture conference on June 10 called Paper for the People. The first in a series of popular cultural conferences entitled VuPop, this year’s conference is broadly construed so presentations about the history of story papers, newspapers, or early popular mass literature are all welcome. Michael Foight, one of Falvey's Special Collections Librarians, especially invites English Graduate students to attend the event and even consider presenting.

Click here to visit the VuPop website.

Library Day of Conversation

On May 14th Joe Lucia, the head of Falvey Library, is hosting a day of conversation about future directions for the library as a key component of the academic environment. The theme of the day is "Library Transformation and Academic Life in the Digital World" and will include various speakers addressing the topic. While everyone is invited to attend this event as audience members, Lucia is also looking for speakers to give "lightning talks" on what they believe a library should be (and/or what Falvey Library should become), and he would love for a graduate student or two to volunteer. Dr. Hicks will be one of the faculty speakers, and she would be happy to hear your thoughts about Falvey, which might help to shape her comments.

As a kickoff in the morning, the university will formally receive the 2013 Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Award for Excellence. Fr. Peter will be on hand to accept the award from ACRL President Steven Bell.

At the end of the day, there will be celebratory reception in the Old Falvey Reading Room. Members of the greater Philadelphia academic library community will be invited to join with their Villanova library colleagues for this event, which will also be open to the Villanova University community.

A feature of the evening will be a performance by Lucia’s musical ensemble, Marc Fields & Bad Data, which is comprised of librarian musicians from the Mid-Atlantic region.

We hope to see you there, and please let Dr. Hicks know if you are interested in participating as a graduate student speaker.

Check back for further details!

Merchant of Venice

The students of Shakespeare in Performance (HON 5753) invite you to our free public performances of The Merchant of Venice on May 2 and 3. After a semester-long literary and dramatic exploration of Shakespeare's play, led by Dr. Alice Dailey (English) and Dr. Shawn Kairschner (Theatre), the honors students are pleased to present an hour-and-twenty-minute production that features the work of eleven student actors, original music, and a post-show talk by the cast.

Click here to read the production flyer.

Graduate Liberal Studies Lecture Series

The Graduate Liberal Studies lecture series begins on Tuesday, April 16th with a multidisciplinary panel discussion on the theme "Community and Identity."

The panel is comprised of the following faculty members:

Valentina DeNardis (Classical Studies)
Crystal Lucky (Africana Studies)
Paul Rosier (History)
Fayette Veverka (Theology)

Click here to see the official event poster.

18th Annual Philosophy Conference

The Philosophy Department has just announced their lineup for their annual conference!

The conference is free and open to the public, and will be taking place April 12th and April 13th in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center. Click here to learn more.They are asking that you indicate whether you plan to attend to help them manage attendance.

24th Annual Elizabeth Cady Stanton Conference

Presenters, faculty, and friends gathered after another successful Elizabeth Cady Stanton conference to hear testimonials from alumni and a senior Gender and Women's Studies major - and to applaud some well-deserving essay winners!

Diane Gilliam Fisher Reading

Poet Diane Gilliam Fisher, PhD, will be on campus tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m., to give a reading at Falvey Library as part of the 15th Annual Villanova Literary Festival. Dr. Fisher’s most recent book, Kettle Bottom, tells the story of the West Virginia coal mine wars of 1920-1921 through the individual perspectives and voice of characters affected by those events.

The reading is the second in this year’s Literary Festival, sponsored by the Department of English. Along with Dr. Fisher, the festival will bring major writers from all over the country to Villanova’s campus, including Junot Díaz, a recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Keep an eye on the Department of English blog and homepage for future announcements regarding festival events.

This event will be held in the Speakers’ Corner of the Library, and will be followed by a book sale and signing.

Click here to read more about Dr. Fisher and the upcoming event.

Graphic Design by Joanne Quinn

English Grad Alum Lands New Library Internship

Don't be surprised if you see a new face in the library this semester. Alexander (Alex) Williams, a Drexel University iSchool graduate student, is serving a six-month internship with Falvey's Academic Integration and Information and Research Assistance teams. Alex is an alum of our Graduate English Program, earning his degree with us in 2011. Now, he is focusing on information services although he is also interested in competitive intelligence. He expects to graduate from Drexel in 2013.

Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in English literature and religious studies from Stonehill College, Easton, Mass. While a student at Stonehill, Alex worked as a circulation aide in the library, an early indication of his future interests.

Click here to read more of Alex's story.

Dr. Alice Dailey

Congratulations to Dr. Dailey, whose book, The English Martyr from Reformation to Revolution, was published by the University of Notre Dame Press in December, 2012.

Dr. Hugh Ormsby-Lennon

Congratulations to Dr. Ormsby-Lennon, whose book Hey Presto!: Swift and the Quacks has been selected by Choice magazine as a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title in the “Humanities, English and American” category. Check it out here!

James English Lecture

 As part of the English Department's Luckow Endowed Chair Graduate Speakers Series, Dr. James English, John Welsh Centennial Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, delivered a talk to students and professors on the fascinating and encouraging information he has gathered in researching his book, The Global Future of English Studies.

Kensington Riots Project

“Who gets to be an American?” ask Jebney Lewis and Maria Möller, two Philadelphia artists whose work lays bare the violent nativism and xenophobia present in the history of the city. They will be giving a talk at Falvey Speakers’ Corner on Monday, January 28 at 6:30 PM and will discuss their Kensington Riots Project, a site-specific experiential art project that recalls two violent anti-Irish Catholic clashes in 1844 in which churches (including Old St. Augustine’s Church) and buildings were burned and destroyed with cannons; twenty people were killed; and over a hundred more were wounded. This episode was one of the most serious race riots in the country’s history, and was set off by debates about economic and employment opportunity; fear about religious freedom and religious education; governmental control; and community and national identity.

The piece was informed by the urgency of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street and involved a six-week workshop in which Arab-American teens created protest signs displaying historical, contemporary, and personal messages in both English and Arabic about experiences of race, nationalism, and personal alienation — connecting past to present. The entire process was documented through photography, video, and social media, and the signs and other related pieces were then displayed at a presentation in the Kensington neighborhood where one of the riots took place.

Möller and Lewis have spoken about this piece at Villanova before, and signs from the project were on display in Falvey Library last semester. Falvey Special Collections holds several artifacts such as books and artworks on the riots, and the exhibition’s web site can be accessed here.

Graduate Student Journal

It's that time of year again! CONCEPT, the interdisciplinary journal sponsored by the Graduate Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is now accepting both article submissions and volunteers to serve as editors and peer-reviewers. 

The author of the best article in the 2013 issue will receive the Graduate Student Research Prize.

Authors should register with the website, and follow the instructions for posting their submission (authors may submit no more than 1 article for consideration). Those interested in serving as editors and peer-reviewers should consult the job descriptions posted on the website.

James English Lecture

On Monday, January 28th, at 7:30 in SAC 300, Dr. James English, John Welsh Centennial Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, will be delivering a talk as part of the Luckow Endowed Chair Graduate Speakers Series. This series is designed to address professional questions concerning the discipline of English. Dr. English will be speaking about the fascinating (and encouraging) information he has gathered in researching his book, The Global Future of English Studies. Here is a link to his book: http://www.amazon.com/Global-English-Studies-Blackwell-Manifestos/dp/0470654945.

Please email Dr. Hicks to RSVP.