The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

Lauren Shohet, Luckow Family Professor of English, presents: “The Fragrance of the Fall: the Semiotics of Smell in Paradise Lost” Haverford Room, Connelly Center Wednesday, November 11 at 12:00PM Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by November 6 to sharon.rose-davis@villanova.edu

Photo by Auraleah Grega During the week preceding Fall Break, the English department ran their fourth annual freshmen program in Good Counsel Hall. A group of grads and undergrads volunteered to assist Dr. Kamran Javadizadeh in leading a discussion of a chapter from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye . The point of the program was to introduce Villanova freshmen to the level of thoughtful analysis they can encounter through the English Department here. The event began with Dr. Javadizadeh presenting some context for the chapter, as well as an introduction to the great benefits of pursuing study in the field of English. Then student volunteers, each designated a role, read through the 13th chapter of  Catcher . The freshmen were then broken into small groups to discuss their ideas about the text they had just heard. Photos by Auraleah Grega With a grand total of 89 first year students signing in to the event (though numbers were likely higher than...

Below is a write-up by first-year graduate student Rob McClung about a trip he and the rest of Dr. Lisa Sewell's Ecopoetics course took earlier this month: Photo by Rob McClung         Philadelphia is often called a “city of firsts”: within its limits were established the nation’s first public schools, its first hospital, its first lending library, its first public parks, and on the banks of the Schuykill River, its first botanical garden, established by John Bartram on the 108 acres he purchased from Swedish settlers in 1728. Bartram (1699-1777) is remembered as the country’s earliest, and for many years its most prominent, botanist. A third generation Quaker, he remained a farmer throughout his life, but established himself as an authority on North American plants through a combination of autodidactic perseverance and extensive travel throughout the continent, taking him as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida to collect and catalog seeds and...

Dr. Mullen and Dr. Hicks will present their perspectives on the current state of PhD. application, admission, and academic job market. There will also be conversation with Villanova alumnus Don James McLaughlin, who is currently writing his dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania. Each speaker will offer their thoughts on whether or not to pursue a doctoral degree, where to apply, how to produce an effective application, and what the experience of a PhD. program is like. The event will end in a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Hicks. Come for the pizza, stay for the insightful perspectives on taking the PhD. path! Monday October 5 at 7:30PM in SAC 300.

There will be two workshop dates offered to Villanova graduate student women and alumnae to help enhance their earnings for the rest of their working lives. Participants should attend only one workshop. The dates are: Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m. OR Sunday, November 15 at 1 p.m. Registration Fee: $15 (includes dinner) STAY TUNED FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION Health Services Building, Room 200 This workshop is co-sponsored by VSB Graduate Business Programs, CLAS Human Resource Development Program, CLAS Masters in Public Administration, VU Alumni Relations & Villanova Women's Professional Network

The Villanova Undergraduate English Blog posted some great pics from the First Fall Coffee Break! Please check them out, and be sure to attend the next Coffee Break to meet and chat with current grads, undergrads and faculty in the English department. Plus snacks! Villanova English: First Fall Coffee Break : Pictures, taken by English major Karen Loor, from the first fall Coffee Break--Cupcake Edition.

This Monday is the annual Thesis and Field Exam Workshop. All graduate students are welcome to attend, regardless of whether they are finishing up their degree this year or later.  Dr. Heather Hicks is leading the workshop and will discuss suggestions for identifying a thesis or field exam topic, approaching a director and second reader, and how to undertake the work itself. It's a great opportunity to think about the thesis and field exam, as well as an opportunity to begin setting up groups among yourselves.  Additionally, there will be pizza! Monday September 21 at 7:30 in SAC 300

10/1 Erin Giles “Keep It Real with Erin Giles, Founder of End Sex Trafficking Day” Co-sponsored with Villanova SVA, POWER, and Peace & Justice. Connelly Cinema 10/27 Joanna Barsh, Author of How Remarkable Women Lead and Centered Leadership Co-sponsored with Villanova Women’s Professional Network and College of Engineering Villanova Room, Connelly Center 11/2 Brenda Elsey (History, Hofstra University),  “The Unbearable Whiteness of the Women’s World Cup, 2015”  Co-sponsored by History, Global Interdisciplinary Studies, and Romance Languages & Literatures Driscoll Auditorium (Driscoll 132) 11/4 Stefanie Knauss (Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova) “Less sex, more fun: A feminist-theological analysis of celibacy as a lifestyle” Lunch faculty research workshop Devon Room, Connelly Center 11/10 “Perspectives and Experiences of Women in Engineering: A Panel of Recent Graduates” Moderated by Amy Fleischer (Mechanical Engineering, Villanova), co-spons...