Notes from Majors and Minors

A Year Later and a Spring in our Step

A year into the Pandemic, Rachel Lloyd (Class of 2020) reflects on the coming of spring. This piece is a sequel to “Less Pomp, More Circumstance” (published here last June), which details Rachel’s experience of having a driveway graduation.  Odilon Redon, The Chariot of Apollo (series) Read “Less Pomp, More Circumstance” here. A year later,…

Why did so many Clark Employees Major in English?

Curious about the number of Clark employees who use skills related to the English major, we reached out via email to Clark employees to see who had majored in English as an undergrad. We were pleased at the variety of responses we received. Interestingly, the English major was useful in a variety of contexts. Why…

Personal Achievements During Covid-19: Clark Alum Lee V. Gaines on Rallying Pride in Difficult Times

Clark Alum Lee V. Gaines writes on the conflicting emotions that arose after receiving an award during Covid-19, and rallying pride as best she can.I recently learned I won an award. I received my first ever regional Edward R. Murrow award for best news series. Now, I’m up for a national award, which is cool.…

A Clarkie Reflects on Presenting at the 51st Annual NeMLA Convention

Azariah Kurlantzick reflects on presenting their honors thesis at the 51st Annual NeMLA Convention, the final event they attended before Clark shut down.As a senior, it’s easy to feel like I’m losing a lot over the next few months. Graduation is online, Senior Week is canceled, my final Spring Fling took place virtually. I have…

Q&A Commentary: Reflections on the Elizabeth Lindsay Rogers Poetry Reading and Workshop

Professor Mandy Gutmann-Gonzalez and students reflect on their experience attending the Elizabeth Lindsay Rogers poetry reading and workshop this past February, speaking to the importance of events such as these and sharing work of their own.Can you start by telling us a little bit about the Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers poetry reading and workshop? M.G: The…

A Note of Inspiration from Professor Kourtney Senquiz: Earning her Ph.D. and the Importance of Academic Support

Professor Kourtney Senquiz speaks on the academic support she received while completing her Ph.D. as a first-generation college student. February 18th, what would have been Toni Morrison’s 89th birthday, I defended my dissertation, The African American Gothic Double, and earned my Ph.D. from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at UMass Amherst. My dissertation…

Michael Carolan’s Creative Writing Nonfiction Course Takes on the 2020 Climate Crisis

Olivia Simonds revisits Michael Carolan’s creative writing course, which is now engaging with the environment and confronting reality.By Olivia Simonds It’s gray and raining on a Monday as students slowly file into Michael Carolan’s Creative Writing Nonfiction class. They are a reserved group of eight, but present nonetheless. The room hums with anticipation. When I…

The 2019 English Capstone

Davina Tomlin writes on her time in the 2019 English Capstone class, lead by Professor James Elliot.After years of study with the English Department, working in the office and attending all sorts of English Department events, when I first walked into the English Capstone, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Capstones at Clark—I find—are…

From Clark to Iceland and Beyond: Student Alum Nicola Imbracsio Speaks on Studying Abroad and Teaching Post-Graduation

Nicola Imbracsio reflects on studying at Clark and abroad and the ways they have inspired her teaching work today.As a first-generation college student starting at Clark University in the Fall of 1994, I didn’t know much about college. But I did know two things: I wanted to be an English major and I wanted to…

In the Market Race, English Majors Get Ahead

Olivia Simonds writes on the importance of English Majors in our modern global economy.It could be argued that in English majors’ down-time—from literary essays, critical readings and textual analysis—they are often met with the moral dilemma of where such studies will take them, perhaps instigated by their fellow STEM majors, a prying but caring parent,…