English Department Events, English Department News, Studying English

Students Uncover Origins and Motifs of Horror in Ari Aster’s Midsommar

At the second annual celebration of Women in Horror Month’s Student Panel event, two students presented historical-cultural inspirations and  motifs in Midsommar, which follows a dysfunctional relationship’s trip to a remote commune in Sweden to celebrate a midsummer festival. Theo Mitterando ‘24 presented his paper “Reflections: Unification & Division” which focuses on the symbolism of…

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English Department Events, Studying English

The Rare Book Open House

The Goddard Library’s Archives and Special Collections opened its doors to visitors Wednesday, November 16th at 10:00 AM for the annual Rare Book Open House, where each of Prof. Neuman’s student archivists presented a rare book—and its charming idiosyncrasies—from the Jonas Clark collection to visiting students and faculty. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with Prof.…

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English Department News, Writing

Professor Ousmane K. Power-Greene’s “Truth and/or Fiction?” Panel

CW: Discussions of racism, antisemitism, and violence  On Wednesday, November 2nd at 12:00 PM, students and faculty gathered in the Higgins Lounge in Dana Commons for “Truth and/or Fiction? Faculty discuss fictional depictions of the history of racial violence.” The event celebrated the publication of Professor Ousmane K. Power-Greene’s debut novel, The Confessions of Matthew Strong.…

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English Department Events, Studying English

Queer Comedy Presents: “The Lesbian Avengers and the Possibilities of Queer Feminist Humor”

CW: brief discussions of sexual, racial, and homophobic violence as well as some “citational swearing” On Thursday, October 20th at 4:30pm, Kristen Leng, an associate professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at UMass Amherst, gave her first public talk since the pandemic on her current paper in progress about the Lesbian Avengers and their…

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