Director's Corner
The University of Wisconsin Department of English contains six vibrant graduate degree programs: a Ph.D. program in Literary Studies (which includes an MA earned on the way to the more advanced degree), a Ph.D. program in Composition and Rhetoric, a Ph.D. in English Language and Linguistics, an MA in Applied English Linguistics, and an MFA in Creative Writing. While we do not offer an MA in Composition and Rhetoric, through our Composition and Rhetoric Bridge Program students can get an MA in Literary Studies before earning the Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric. Similarly, we have a Bridge Program with the Afro-American Studies Department that allows students to earn an M.A. in that department before “bridging” to one of the English Ph.D. programs. While it is my job to insure that all these programs are functioning well and in harmony with one another, each program has its own director. I direct the Literary Studies program; prospective students who are interested in studying in other degree programs and who need assistance should contact the appropriate program directors.
I want to extend a warm welcome to all the incoming students, who come to us from across the nation and around the globe. While you are here, those of us on the English Department faculty will do all we can to make sure you acquire both breadth of knowledge and the particular skills you need to excel in your area of specialization, and that you do so in a climate that is as supportive as it is intellectually challenging. If you run into any difficulties, please reach out to your program director, to me, or to Robyn Shanahan, the Graduate Program Degree Coordinator.
This fall we also welcome three new faculty members in Literary Studies, whose presence and teaching will tremendously enrich our graduate program. Professor Aida Hussen specializes in feminist theory and in African American literature. Professor Timothy Yu brings expertise in both contemporary American poetry and Asian American literature. Professor Robin Valenza is a scholar of the long 18th Century in Britain, who also brings to her research a background in science and engineering. Her interest in digital media intersects in exciting ways with the work being done in the Department by Professors Michael Witmore and Jon McKenzie. (Look for Professor McKenzie’s spring grad course in the new media lab!)
This year we will again offer a series of professionalizing lunch-time brown bag sessions, as well as more interest groups, symposia, and visiting lectures than any one person could possibly attend. I urge you all to take as much advantage as you can of the rich resources of this great university. And I hope you will stop in to greet me as your full schedules allow!
— Lynn Keller
Department of English
7195 Helen C. White
600 N. Park St.
Madison, WI 53706
608-263-3761
fax: 608-263-3709