The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

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.

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...

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.

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 ...

 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 .

“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 te...

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.