The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

Congratulations to the five students who will be attending Ph.D. programs next year. All have received funding, and we wish them the best of luck as they embark on their doctoral studies. Don James McLaughlin will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, Kerry Hassler-Brooks will be attending the University of Delaware, Andrew Owens will be attending Northwestern University, and Tiffany DeRewal and Ted Howell will be attending Temple.

Cynthia Estremera, a first-year student in Villanova's Master's Program in English, presented a paper titled "'My President Is Black': Social Optimism in Obama-era Rap Music" on the Hip Hop and Race panel, at the first "In Media Res" Academic Symposium (Conversations on Race, Gender, Media and Popular Culture) at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Conference dates were November 13-14, 2009. Cindy explains, "In this paper I discussed various positive allusions to political Black leadership in the United States within contemporary Hip Hop songs. I specifically examined Hip Hop artists who presently appeal directly to mainstream audiences and have a social/cultural impact on listeners through major media outlets. Thus in order to underscore the impact of socially optimistic messaging in Hip Hop, I excluded underground artists and their material and solely focused on artists Nas, Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Common and Young Jeezy, some of whom have ...

Dr. Megan Quigley passes along this article by Louis Menand on "The Ph.D. Problem." http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/11/professionalization-in-academy?page=0,4

On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, poet Angie Mlinko will be at Villanova University as a participant in the 12th annual Villanova Literary Festival. Her two books, Matinees and Starred Wire , have been met with much acclaim, the latter receiving the 2004 National Poetry Series award. Her reading will be at 7pm in the Connelly Center and be followed by a reception and book signing.

The first annual Villanova Graduate English Thesis and Field Exam Symposium was a great success thanks to those who took the time to present and attend. Special thanks go out to Ashley Bentivoglio, who helped to organize the event, as well as the six presenters: Becca Burnett, John Keir, Laura Heinrich, Tiffany DeRewal, Ted Howell, and Andy Owens. Thank you to all in attendance for helping to make the event an enjoyable one!

Sarah Kelly recently sent us this post from New York: After finishing my MA in 2005, I thought I would try my hand as a Proofreader/Editor at Avenue A | Razorfish, an interactive advertising agency in Philadelphia. To my surprise, I gravitated more toward the business aspect of online advertising, and in 2007 took a job at Google New York as an Account Strategist. At Google, I make high-level strategic recommendations for Technology advertisers, with a focus on display and search engine marketing. I still don't consider myself a New Yorker, but I am enjoying all the city has to offer.

The first annual Thesis/Field Exam Symposium has now been rescheduled and will be held on Saturday, March 27th, at 10:00 a.m., in the Honors Seminar Room. There are six presenters scheduled, and we welcome additional presenters to participate, as well. If you would like to present or attend, please RSVP by Monday, March 15th. Thank you!

Students wanting to get a raw and uncensored take on Ph.D. admissions can visit gradcafe.com. If you are currently applying, be warned: it is not for the faint of heart. The site includes discussion boards in which students who have applied to Ph.D. programs reveal if they have been accepted or rejected in real time. One additional disclaimer: the content is not vetted or policed, so you cannot trust its accuracy. Thanks to Andrew Owens for passing along this information.

See what the team behind the bestselling graphic novel Logicomix makes of the legacy of structuralism by checking out their latest comic strip at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5284373a-1f94-11df-8975-00144feab49a.html. Thanks to Dr. Ormsby-Lennon for passing this along.

Nicole Monaghan, Villanova English MA '99, has recently published a poem in the online literary magazine  Foundling Review  (Feb. 2010, issue 3). Nicole is a stay-at-home mother to three children, ages 10, 8, and 4. She has written poetry, fiction, and nonfiction throughout her life and has recently begun pursuing publication of her work. Nicole won two prizes at the Philadelphia Writers' Conference in June, 2009, in the categories of Literary Short Story and Poetry. Her fiction is forthcoming in  Long Story Short .