English and Modern Languages
We, the faculty in the Department of English and Modern Languages at Shepherd University, feel compelled in this moment to declare emphatically and unequivocally that BLACK LIVES MATTER. Ours is not a declaration stimulated by George Floyd’s brutal and horrific murder on May 25th, nor is it a response triggered by the killings of Breonna Taylor or Ahmaud Arbery. Those, sadly, are only the most recent examples of black lives being destroyed by widespread social, societal, and systemic racism in this country. When the first black bodies were brought to the Jamestown settlement in 1619, our nation began its centuries-long pattern of prioritizing white lives over black lives. That devaluing of black lives continues to this day. Enough is enough! Our commitment to educational equality can only begin, we believe, when we as a faculty and we as a country begin to redress longstanding wrongs by affirming that BLACK LIVES MATTER. We declare that here, now, and always. Read more.
Here’s how students get to know us and we get to know them:
Here’s how students get to know us and we get to know them:- First-Year Composition Classes
- Foreign Language Classes and Activities
- Creative Writing, Literature, and Other Upper-Division Classes
- Affiliated Programs (Gender and Women’s Studies)
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Alumni Spotlight: Patrick Briscoe (2010)
Department News
The Rude Mechanicals announce auditions for the spring production of three plays written by Shepherd University students. The three plays include: The Dream Girl by L Harvey, The Bird by Abi McClung, and Wishing You Were Here by Frank Santiago-Cabrera. The auditions will be held on Tuesday, January 26th, and Wednesday, January 27th, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Reynolds Hall. Masks are required! There are roles (large and small) for all genders and all levels of experience. Tech crew, video artists, and artists are also needed. Shepherd students can earn three credits by participating and enrolling in ENGL170 (CRN 40723) or ENGL470 (CRN 40724). Community members aged 16 and over are welcome to audition, too! For more information, contact Dr. Betty Ellzey (bellzey@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5208).
On Tuesday, December 15th, Dr. Heidi Hanrahan led a discussion of Charles Dickens’s masterpiece, A Christmas Carol, as part of The Scarborough Society’s Scarborough Art and Lecture Series. The Scarborough Society is an organization sponsored by the Shepherd University Foundation, and its annual membership dues help support library acquisitions, technology, and programs. Dr. Hanrahan’s book talk was held via Zoom, and as always, this bit of Scarborough Art and Lecture Series programming was free and open to the public. Your unflagging energy and involvement in the Department, the University, and Shepherdstown engagements continues to amaze us, Heidi!
