The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

This past Saturday, faculty and grad students from the department traveled to The Academy @ Palumbo in South Philly for the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. We spent the day doing various improvement projects across the school, including painting columns in the cafeteria and guidance counselor offices. BIG shoutout to our group coordinator, Nick Manai, who did a phenomenal job getting us organized, answering questions, tracking down more paintbrushes, successfully finding band aids, etc. Dr. Yumi "Paint Tape Pro" Lee in action Angeline and Lia! Our group was part of the 5,000 other Villanovans who volunteered their time to various service projects at more than 100 sites across Greater Philadelphia. Thanks to everyone who came!

Attention grad students: The Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) has issued a call for abstracts!   Visit their site to submit.  And don't forget, you can request conference travel funding . The Northeast Modern Language Association's 2018 keynote speaker will be Professor Rob Nixon, the Currie C. and Thomas A. Barron Family Professor in the Humanities and the Environment at Princeton University. He is the author of Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, which won numerous awards, including the International Studies Association for the best book in environmental studies.

Ted Howell, class of 2010, was recently published in the  Modern Language Quarterly ! Abstract: Planted throughout E. M. Forster’s  Howards End  are the seeds of many dramatic forms of climate change that subsequently dominated the twentieth century.  Howards End  gathers together major strands of its contemporaneous ecological thought, where distressful events (rural decay, deforestation) are perceived; nostalgia for a pastoral past is honestly felt but recognized as impractical; devastation on a national, imperial, and even global scale is foretold; and hope for the earth’s future comes in a form largely symbolic or mythical—as vision more than prediction. Forster’s awareness of the potentially global significance of local environmental change emerged in concert with the environmental philosophy of his era, specifically the “back to the land” movement and theories of climatic determinism, and was developed in a 1909 short story, “The Machine Stops,” that he...

Ted Howell, class of 2010, was recently published in the  Modern Language Quarterly ! Abstract: Planted throughout E. M. Forster’s  Howards End  are the seeds of many dramatic forms of climate change that subsequently dominated the twentieth century.  Howards End  gathers together major strands of its contemporaneous ecological thought, where distressful events (rural decay, deforestation) are perceived; nostalgia for a pastoral past is honestly felt but recognized as impractical; devastation on a national, imperial, and even global scale is foretold; and hope for the earth’s future comes in a form largely symbolic or mythical—as vision more than prediction. Forster’s awareness of the potentially global significance of local environmental change emerged in concert with the environmental philosophy of his era, specifically the “back to the land” movement and theories of climatic determinism, and was developed in a 1909 short story, “The Machine Stops,” that he...

Thanks, all, for coming to our recent panel discussion, " Winter is Coming: A Conversation About Game of Thrones ,” led by Drs. Joe Drury , Brooke Hunter , and Travis Foster . It was packed!

AMC Networks is hiring a Social Marketing Content Producer, see link below for more info! Overview: You love the Internet. You love keeping up with the ever-changing social media landscape. You know the difference between a fan and a Liker. You inherently understand the difference between the audiences on Instagram, Snapchat Discover, and YouTube. You understand why designing for social is different from designing for banner ads. You would gladly nerd out over the differences between designing for print, motion, and for the Internet, AKA maximum shareability. You create memes in your sleep. You want to tell stories through the art on our pages, and understand how that story across channels ladders up to a bigger narrative. You think that testing and engagement data can lead to more compelling creative executions for our fans. The Social Content Producer works hand-in-hand on the Social Marketing team with the Social Marketing Manager who writes all social copy, man...

It was great to see you all at yesterday's coffee break! What a wonderful time to meet all kinds of English students at both the undergrad and graduate level. Were YOU one of the lucky ones who was able to snag a department t-shirt? See you next time!

One of our first-year students, Nick Manai, is facilitating the Day of Service at the Academy @ Palumbo in South Philadelphia on Saturday, September, 23rd. See Nick's message below! Palumbo is in the School District of Philadelphia and Villanova has partnered with them to promote college awareness and establish a relationship between our university and a high school in Philadelphia. On the 23rd we will be repainting different rooms in the building, decorating and cleaning a new fitness center for the students, adding a hanging garden to Palumbo's already impressive rooftop, and many other important projects. I know that we are talking about a Saturday here, but Palumbo is always grateful for adult volunteers  who can attend and work with the students on these projects. In addition to the good works, good karma and positive vibes you will receive, I live a few blocks south of the school, so if we get a group of volunteers that day I can invite everyone back to my house for a...

Join professor Megan Quigley for an afternoon at the renowned Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia to view a new exhibition, “ Gothic Monsters / Modern Science, ” on Frankenstein and Dracula. The exhibition explores the creation of two of history’s most memorable monsters. In honor of the bicentennial of the publication of Frankenstein, handwritten pages of Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel will be displayed alongside Bram Stoker’s personal notes for Dracula for the first time , accompanied by scientific and medical works from the 19th century to the present. The outing will take place on Saturday, October 21 from 12:00-2:00 pm . Meet at the Rosenbach  (2008-2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia). If you’re not driving, take the SEPTA train from Villanova to Suburban Station and walk to the museum. Admission is $5.00.