The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

Two of our favorite program events are coming up in just a few months! Be sure to add these to your calendars, because you don't want to miss out: On Thursday, November 15th at 7:30 p.m. in SAC 300 , we are hosting our our annual Ph.D. forum . This event includes brief presentations by two of our faculty members who have recently received their Ph.D.'s along with one of our recent alums who is now in a Ph.D. program. As a group, we will discuss the pros and cons of pursuing the Ph.D., how to decide what programs might be right for you, how to craft your applications and personal statements, and what life is like in Ph.D. programs. There will be lots of time for Q-and-A. This event is open to all students in the program, including first-year students. Pizza will be provided. On Thursday, November 29th at 7:30 p.m . in SAC 300 , we are hosting our annual Thesis and Field Exam workshop . This event is designed to get you geared up for your thesis and field exam work.

Aiden James Kosciesza  is now Coordinator of Program Assessment and Evaluation at  Harcum College

The annual Kephart lecture in the History department will be given by Greg Grandin this year and is titled “Fast Fish, Loose Fish: Freedom and Slavery in Herman Melville’s America.” Prof. Grandin will look at the 1804 slave ship uprising that became the inspiration for Melville’s novella “Benito Cereno.” The lecture is Tuesday, Oct. 2,at 7 p.m. in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center, and those who will attend should register. Students, faculty, and other guests can do so online here . Greg Grandin is the author of a number of prize-winning books, including most recently Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City (Metropolitan 2009). A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History, as well as for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Fordlandia was picked by the New York Times, New Yorker, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and NPR for their “best of” lists, and Amazon.com named it the best history book of 2009.