English Literature Archives - �鶹ӰԺ University

‘Deeply moved’: Donation of rare book collection provides invaluable academic resources

Communications — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:44:46 +0000

�鶹ӰԺ University recently welcomed the permanent addition of the Richmond Rare Book Collection. This highly prized assortment of valuable books and illuminated manuscripts has quickly become a highlight among the university’s resources.

It was initially loaned to �鶹ӰԺ by Ann Nelson, a Milwaukee-Downer alumna from the class of 1941, explained Beth Zinsli, assistant professor of art history, curator of the Wriston Art Center Galleries, and director of the Museum Studies Interdisciplinary Area Program. Nelson’s daughter, Susan Goldsmith ’65, is a �鶹ӰԺ alumna.

“There is a strong �鶹ӰԺ-Milwaukee-Downer connection to the collection,” Zinsli said.

Nelson reached out to �鶹ӰԺ in 2016 about the collection, which she received from family friends, the namesake bibliophiles Earl and Aubrey Richmond of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Initially on long-term loan to �鶹ӰԺ, the collection was donated recently in memory of Ann Nelson by Susan and Richard N. Goldsmith ’64 and Eric Nelson.

First editions of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are in the Richmond collection.

Zinsli remembers the air of excitement amid the collection’s initial acquisition in 2016.

“Right when I heard, former Assistant Professor of Art History Ben Tilghman and I packed it up in boxes and drove it up to Appleton in a Penske truck,” she said.

But what exactly are these rare books and manuscripts? The official count numbers 228 books, two extensive illuminated manuscripts, along with a host of letters and other archival material from the Richmond brothers.

“The books are in good enough condition for students to handle, with proper support,” Zinsli said. “They’re here to be used, not just viewed.”

The collection quickly became popular among faculty: its depth and variety make it an invaluable pedagogical resource.

“We immediately started connecting with faculty who might be interested in using the books in their classes,” Zinsli said. “Associate Professor of English Garth Bond was a natural first person because he teaches the History of the Book class, and then Associate Professor of English Celia Barnes because she teaches 18th-century topics.”

Barnes said she loves taking her students to see the books, especially the first editions of 18th-century texts.

“It’s so difficult sometimes to convince students that the texts in early-modern literature courses aren’t simply old, dusty, and—it pains me to say—boring,” Barnes said. “But I find that when I take my students to see the first editions of the very books we’re reading, they come away deeply moved.”

Barnes and Bond incorporated the books into their lesson plans, where they remain as curriculum staples. Other professors found different uses: Associate Professor of Art History Danielle Joyner brought students to investigate the authentic medieval manuscripts, while Associate Professor of Chemistry Allison Fleshman had classes conduct non-invasive chemical analysis.

The Richmond collection includes a first edition printing of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language.

Highlights of the collection include a first edition printing of Samuel Johnson’s influential two-volume Dictionary of the English Language. It is often considered among the most outstanding scholarly achievements from the work of a single author.

“We did an event where we put Johnson’s Dictionary out on view in the library and we turned one page of each volume every week,” Zinsli recalled. “Different faculty give short lunchtime presentations on a specific word. Associate Professor of Physics Megan Pickett presented on ‘Camelopard,’ which is what they called giraffes. It’s just a really fun way to engage with the book.”

Other notable holdings include first editions of both James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The collection also features a signed first edition of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy.

As one might expect, the Richmond brothers were voracious readers and avid collectors. Although others might focus on a specific author or genre that interests them, these brothers had particularly wide aspirations.

“They didn’t collect any one specific author or any one specific time period,” Zinsli said.

Indeed, this immense breadth includes early editions of many literary luminaries, including Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, W. Somerset Maugham, and Herman Melville.

While the Richmond Collection will be housed in the Print Study Room in the Wriston Art Center, it will be cross cataloged in both the university’s online art database and the Mudd Library’s catalog, making it accessible to students, faculty, and the community.

Zinsli highlighted the importance of donations like this for �鶹ӰԺ.

“We depend on the generosity of alumni and friends to provide these magnificent objects for our students,” she said.

With the Richmond Collection now a permanent part of the university, students and faculty have an opportunity to delve into the stories about and within these rare books.

“They’re absolutely here to be utilized, to be part of �鶹ӰԺ’s educational mission,” Zinsli said.

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On Main Hall Green With … Lena Khor: Exploring intersection of literature and human rights

Communications — Mon, 13 May 2024 14:56:05 +0000

About the series: On Main Hall Green With … is an opportunity to connect with faculty on things in and out of the classroom. We’re featuring a different �鶹ӰԺ faculty member each time — same questions, different answers.

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Lena Khor, associate professor of English, has been teaching literature at �鶹ӰԺ University since 2009.

Her academic specialty is 20th and 21st century postcolonial and global anglophone literature. Her research areas have focused on human rights, humanitarianism, and environmentalism.

Khor’s book, Human Rights Discourse in a Global Network, was published by Routledge in 2013. Her work also has been published in Human Rights Quarterly, South Central Review, and Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice.

She has led interdisciplinary projects such as guiding �鶹ӰԺ students in creating and showing documentaries on the intersections of literature and human rights. A member of the English faculty, she also teaches as part of the interdisciplinary ethnic studies program and global studies program.

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A native of Penang, Malaysia, Khor received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.

We caught up with her to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

I am always interested to hear from you—what you think about the reading, how you feel about the questions we explore in discussion, and why you think and feel as you do.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at �鶹ӰԺ that gets you the most excited?

Creating new things excites me, whether that is developing a new research project, composing a new piece of writing, or designing a new course. There’s something quite special that happens when we make something and share it with others.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional, or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I started my career as a contemporary anglophone postcolonial scholar: I study contemporary literature written in English from former British colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. And I analyze them from human rights and humanitarian angles—how literature represents these difficult situations and the complexities of intervening in them. But more recently, I’m developing an interest in children’s literature. Not having read much children’s literature as a child, this genre is fun to read and fascinating to study as an adult. This new direction is quite a surprise, a very pleasant surprise.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?

I’d love to be independently wealthy! Then I would spend my time exploring things just for fun.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

If my favorite spot is where I spend the most time, then it is my office. I also love the LU library. It combines books, comfy chairs, and the knowledge that I’m surrounded by a community of thinkers, writers, and readers—dead and alive.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

A current favorite book is There Must Be More Than That (2020), a concept picture book by Shinsuke Yoshitake. I love all Yoshitake’s picture books actually. They’re funny, clever, even philosophical.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2014), a documentary film by Mami Sunada, is a long-time favorite. It follows Hayao Miyazaki, maybe best-known for making My Neighbor Totoro (1988), as he illustrates and animates another film at the famous Studio Ghibli. I like that it’s about the everyday life of a creator—an artist, a storyteller—making things in the world. Watching the team at Studio Ghibli work diligently—they draw and color the illustrations on paper by hand, then use traditional animation techniques to create the film—reminds me that this is often how things get done, with human skill, cooperative effort, patience, and good humor.

I recommend Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (2003) by Lee Hirsch. I love musicals (the combination of story and song is captivating) and a cappella (the use of the voice as an instrument amazes me). Amandla unites both in that it is a soundtrack to a documentary film by the same title about the role of music (songs, really) in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. How the music influenced the struggle and vice versa is a powerful example of the role that art can have in influencing social change.

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On Main Hall Green With … Austin Segrest: Take no word or phrase for granted

Communications — Fri, 20 May 2022 21:11:09 +0000

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Austin Segrest, recipient of the 2022 Faculty Convocation Award, saw his debut book, Door to Remain, garner significant praise even before it hit bookshelves this spring.

The book of poetry from the �鶹ӰԺ University assistant professor of English took home the 2021 Vassar Miller Poetry Prize last year. Published by University of North Texas Press, the deeply personal book presents poems focused on Segrest’s mother, Susu, who died in 2003 when he was 23, and his time growing up in Alabama.

Segrest, whose poetry also can be found in Poetry, The Yale Review, The Threepenny Review, Ecotone, New England Review, and Ploughshares, will deliver the .

He has been teaching at �鶹ӰԺ since 2014, first as a visiting professor and for the last three years as an assistant professor of English. He teaches classes in poetry writing and literature, as well as First-Year Studies.

Segrest earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, an MFA in poetry at Georgia State University, and a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing (poetry) at the University of Missouri.

We caught up with him to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

Though I’m an English prof, I was a classics major and like to think I still approach writing in a way that takes no word or phrase for granted. I believe in the benefits of othering language. By othering language I mean seeing language operate from the outside, rather than taking it for granted from within/seeing through a single system. When the material and artifice that language actually is are revealed, greater expressive possibilities open up.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at �鶹ӰԺ that gets you the most excited?

My first book, Door to Remain, won the 2021 Vassar Miller Poetry Prize. I’ve been working on, and trying to publish, versions of that book since 2008. I’m interested in the idea of publishing as a kind of finding, and being found by, communities. I’m excited to foster communities of thinking and writing.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

My second book of poems, Groom, which I’m working on now, took an unexpected turn when I started understanding some of my formative teenage experiences in a predatory context. It’s been crucially illuminating, personally, but also very difficult to confront, get right, share, and generally feel OK about.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?

I’d be an editor of a poetry press. Or I’d own a vintage junk shop—jewelry, knickknacks, artwork. With used books and coffee.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

I like to read on the bench tucked away between the Wellness Center and the VR, overlooking the river.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

��Ǵǰ�:��Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, by Merlin Sheldrake

��ܳ�:����𲹰�,��by Thin Lizzy

�ѴǱ��:��Teen Witch

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Two LU students earn Fulbrights; one to study in U.K., one to teach in Mexico

Communications — Thu, 05 May 2022 19:07:02 +0000

Two �鶹ӰԺ University students have been named 2022 Fulbright scholars, continuing a string of success over four decades for �鶹ӰԺ students in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Alex Chand, a senior from Southlake, Texas, majoring in English and physics, received a Fulbright award to support her pursuit of a master’s degree in English literature at the University of Leeds in the U.K.

Marion Hermitanio, a senior from De Pere majoring in Spanish and linguistics, is the recipient of a Fulbright award that will take her to Mexico to teach for a year.

The awards for Chand and Hermitanio mark the 58th and 59th time �鶹ӰԺ students or recent graduates have been so honored over the past four-plus decades.

Theatre professor Timothy X. Troy heading to Ireland on a Fulbright

Claire Kervin, assistant professor of English and director of fellowships advising, said the �鶹ӰԺ experience prepares students such as Chand and Hermitanio to be strong candidates for national awards.

“�鶹ӰԺ students are well-poised to compete for major fellowships like the Fulbright because of their strong liberal arts education, which prepares them to write a thoughtful, compelling story in their application,” Kervin said. “LU students also benefit from the many available extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities, including student leadership, internships, research and independent study opportunities, and senior capstones.”

Chand: Heading to England

Alex Chand: “I’m grateful for the flexibility, independence, and adventures I’ve had in undergrad.” (Photo by Danny Damiani)

Chand will apply her interdisciplinary background in graduate school at Leeds, writing a thesis that examines representations of autistic and cognitively disabled voices in literature.

“I’m thrilled,” she said of landing the Fulbright.

While abroad, Chand plans to continue her work in disability advocacy, something she has been passionate about at �鶹ӰԺ, and will transition from competing in cross country at �鶹ӰԺ to competing in triathlons in England.

Her award is particularly notable considering there is only one Fulbright position at the University of Leeds, and competition for it is always robust, Kervin said.

Chand said it was work done at �鶹ӰԺ that prepared her for this opportunity, both in science labs and in the expansion of her writing. Her master’s thesis, she said, will in many ways be an extension of her undergraduate honors thesis, Charting Autistic Voices.

“I’m grateful for the flexibility, independence, and adventures I’ve had in undergrad,” she said. “I came into undergrad convinced that I wanted to do biophysics—which is funny in hindsight, because I spent a year between high school and college writing. Through a summer of research at the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in a biophysics lab and another summer of virtual research through a physics REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at the University of New Mexico, as well as a virtual biomedical optics summer institute run by the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, I learned loads of valuable skills I’ve been able to carry with me back to �鶹ӰԺ and use in my science classes. But at the end of each day, I found myself wanting to read and write. Of course, I do a bit of writing as a scientist, too. It’s just not where my heart is, though.”

Chand credited professor Doug Martin in Physics and professors Celia Barnes, Karen Hoffmann, Melissa Range, and Timothy Spurgin in English with helping her find that balance between science and literature. And she praised Kervin for helping her make sense of all that in the Fulbright application process.

“Professor Range is my honors thesis advisor, has always been supportive of my work, and encouraged me to apply to Ole Miss for my MFA in creative writing, where I’ll be heading after my Fulbright,” Chand said.

Hermitanio: Heading to Mexico

Marion Hermitanio: “I want to teach students to own their language and find new ways to communicate who they are.” (Photo by Danny Damiani)

Hermitanio applied to the Fulbright program to be an English teaching assistant (ETA) in Mexico.

“It felt so surreal,” Hermitanio said of getting the news that she received the award. “I applied for the Fulbright not thinking at all that I would get it.”

Hermitanio said she viewed the Fulbright as an opportunity to engage more deeply with Mexico and Latin America.

“My previous engagements with the Latin-American and particularly the Mexican-American community inspired me to apply to teach in the country that many of my peers first called home,” she said. “Through volunteering at the Appleton Bilingual School and working as a Spanish interpreter and teaching assistant for an English learner program, I had the opportunity to build relationships with Latinxs and Spanish speakers in the Appleton area. However, I know that staying in my Wisconsin bubble can only do so much to expose me to Latin-American culture.”

Hermitanio is planning to pursue a career in speech-language pathology.

“I want to work with Spanish-speaking populations and advocate for more linguistic and cultural awareness within the field, and I think that there’s no better way to learn about the Latin American identity than living and working in a Latin American country,” she said

Learn about Pre-Professional Advising & Major Fellowships at �鶹ӰԺ, including applications for a Fulbright

Kervin helped guide Hermitanio through the application process. And she got an assist from Rosa Tapia, professor of Spanish, in preparing for an interview in Spanish.

“I feel like I have a unique perspective having studied linguistics at �鶹ӰԺ,” Hermitanio said. “My classes have helped me realize that as much as language is a powerful tool for human connection, standard linguistic practices are often rooted in perspectives that uphold one community while denying others visibility. I want to teach students to own their language and find new ways to communicate who they are. I’m excited to bring this perspective and what I’ve learned at �鶹ӰԺ to my English teaching assistantship in Mexico.”

The selections for Fulbright honors came from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

�鶹ӰԺ students interested in applying in the future for a Fulbright award or other fellowships should reach out to Kervin.

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On Main Hall Green with … Melissa Range: Mixing it up with poetry, history, literature

Communications — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 01:51:17 +0000

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Melissa Range, an associate professor of English at �鶹ӰԺ, is a poet with a love of both creative writing and literature.

Her poetry, which has drawn national honors, is often informed by the teaching she does.

“I am working on a historical poetry collection about the abolitionist movement, so the research I do to prepare for teaching courses on the 19th century is profoundly influencing what I end up writing poems about,” she told Art Lit Lab in a 2018 interview.

In 2015, Range was named one of five national winners in the annual Open Competition sponsored by the National Poetry Series, cited for her second collection of poems, Scriptorium.

A year earlier she was named one of 36 national recipients of a $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Creative Writing.

Range, who has been on the English faculty at �鶹ӰԺ since 2014, has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Tennessee, a master’s in creative writing from Old Dominion University, a master of theological studies from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.

We caught up with Range to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

Expect the unexpected. My favorite thing about teaching is mixing it up and having the freedom to be creative. Maybe one day you’ll come into a literature class and we’ll start digging through digitized 19th century newspapers and relating advertisements for women’s hats to the poems we’re studying. Maybe one day my Emily Dickinson or Frederick Douglass finger puppets will show up. While I am deadly serious about the power of literature—I one hundred percent believe reading poems, novels, plays, and essays can make us better, more just, more empathetic people—I also have a wacky sense of humor. It will show up in the activities we do, especially in creative writing classes. You might end up writing a poem from the point of view of a spoon who wants to join a roller derby team or a snowman who just stole a car, or maybe trying to make metaphors about whatever junk I just pulled out of a cupboard in Briggs 315. (These are real and not hypothetical examples.)

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at �鶹ӰԺ that gets you the most excited?

There’ve been a lot of exciting moments. Definitely teaching Native Guard��First-Year Studies; Trethewey’s one of my favorites (I teach her other books, too!). I am currently rethinking the way I teach poetry workshops and trying lots of new things in my creative writing class, so that’s fun. I really love teaching 19th century literature, especially my course on Emily Dickinson. She’s my favorite poet, and her life and art (not to mention her century) are so complex, intense, maddening, and wild. I have been so proud of how students have jumped into her poetry both times I’ve taught this class.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

My career as a professor is itself a surprise. I grew up a first-generation student in a small town in southern Appalachia, and there was no expectation from anyone that I would go to college at all, let alone do anything like becoming a professor. My path to becoming a professor was quite meandering. There were all kinds of stops—and all kinds of odd jobs—along the way. I didn’t decide I even wanted to go into academia until I was in my mid-thirties; I got my job here at LU when I was 41. So, I’m living proof that you don’t have to have everything figured out the second you graduate.

But, to be �鶹ӰԺ-specific, I never thought I’d be getting up in front of an entire class of first-years and giving a lecture on Native Guard. Somehow, I’ve done it six times now! And I still love that book just as much as the first time I picked it up.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?

I have many ideas—opening a sandwich shop is at the top of the list. Several of my colleagues say they are in—don’t be surprised if one day there are professors slinging sammies on College Ave. Karaoke DJ? It would also be cool to open my own thrift shop. I think I’d also be great at hawking squashes at the farmers’ market. I’ve had so many odd jobs already in my life! What’s a few more?

But of course, there is actually only one other job. That’s the job I already have, which is being a poet. It just doesn’t often pay actual money.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

I love the Wriston Galleries. There’s always something provocative to see. Wriston is also my venue of choice for poets who come to �鶹ӰԺ as part of the Mia Paul Poetry Series. My poetry classes also often give readings in Wriston—so it’s got a lot of great memories for me.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

I love the poetry collection Peach State, by Adrienne Su, which came out earlier this year—it’s about food, family, place, and identity, she’s one of the best rhymers out there, ��Ի��it’s funny. I’m also rereading the novel Middlemarch, by George Eliot, and my jaw is dropping every other page at her sentences and her insights. I could be here all day just talking about books. Same with records—I used to work at a record store and I have way too many I love. Lately I’ve been really into revisiting Anita Baker’s album �鲹��ٳܰ��from . . . I dunno, 1986? 87? Perfect then and perfect now! And also listening to Outkast’s ��ܱ𳾱�Ծ��from 1998. Such perfect rhymes! Y’all see I love rhyme, right? I actually don’t watch a lot of movies or TV, but I do have a soft spot for extremely silly comedies. One I love is What We Do in the Shadows, a vampire show that is a) not scary; and b) truly ridiculous. Also not gonna lie, even though I am not an especially good baker, sometimes the Great British Bake-Off is the only way to end a busy week.

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Student Snapshot: Chloe Thomas explores connections between English, ethnic studies

Communications — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 18:36:47 +0000

Chloe Thomas, a double major in English (literature track) and ethnic studies, was introduced to �鶹ӰԺ through the Posse Foundation, a scholarship program that pairs students with universities across the country to ensure academic success and individual development. Thomas quickly came to appreciate the small class sizes and the easy accessibility with which to get acquainted with her professors.

Chloe Thomas

“I felt that my creativity, desire to explore, and desire to learn would match �鶹ӰԺ’s quirkiness and uniqueness,” Thomas said.

Not unlike many students, Thomas arrived at �鶹ӰԺ undecided on a major. However, she soon felt a natural gravitation toward both English and ethnic studies. Now a junior, she feels passionate about using literary analysis techniques and language to form arguments and carry meaningful conversations regarding topics such as racism, intersectionality, Blackness, colonialism, and otherness.

“I not only receive an interdisciplinary education on topics related to race and ethnicity,” Thomas said, “but I am also given the tools to apply theory and literature into tangible practice and hands-on service to benefit marginalized identities/communities instead of perpetuating further erasure and trauma.”

Although passionate about her areas of study, Thomas has had to overcome personal challenges outside of academia. Due to the pandemic, her second year of college was spent at home in New York City, where online courses threw new obstacles her way. But, she said, the connections she made with students and professors helped her to persevere. She said she wouldn’t change anything because the journey has taught her valuable lessons.

“To anyone currently feeling stuck: trust yourself, believe in your potential, and never ever dim your light,” Thomas said.

Quick facts

Name: Chloe Thomas

Graduating class: 2023

Area of study: English (literature) and ethnic studies

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

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