English and Modern Languages
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- First-Year Composition Classes
- Foreign Language Classes and Activities
- Creative Writing, Literature, and Other Upper-Division Classes
- Affiliated Programs (Gender and Women’s Studies)
Grounded in the Humanities: Our Mission and Vision
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Alumni Spotlight: Joshua Cross (2003)
Department News
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch group will be getting together on Wednesday, June 15th, at the home of frequent participant Daan Vreugdenhil here in Shepherdstown. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information or to get the address for Daan’s house, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
On Friday, April 22nd, Shepherd University held its annual McMurran Convocation, and seven English majors were recognized as McMurran Scholars. This year’s recipients include Mary Barker (Literature), Izzy Hawkinberry (Creative Writing), Lily Kessler (Education), Isabella Sager (Literature), Sarah Seibert (Creative Writing), Maddi Sites (Creative Writing), and Vivienne Wells (Literature). The McMurran Scholars program was started in 1961, and it is the highest academic honor awarded by Shepherd University. Mary, Izzy, Lily, Isabella, Sarah, Maddi, and Vivienne: You all are most deserving, and we couldn’t be prouder of you!
On Thursday, April 21st, five students were inducted into Shepherd University’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honors society. The inductees this year, English and English Education students, were Mark Cuthrell, Logan King, Clara Monson, Olivia Stevens, and Carter Warhurst. In addition, the roster of Sigma Tau Delta officers for next year was announced. Tanner Boeckmann will be serving as president, Kim Cano as vice president, Lee DiFante as secretary, and Mark Cuthrell as treasurer. Shepherd’s chapter of the honors society is very active and is sponsored by Dr. Heidi Hanrahan and Dr. Tim Nixon. Welcome aboard new members and officers!
As the semester and the academic year draw to a close, it’s time for us to come together again and celebrate the work of our graduating seniors. English Capstone students will be presenting their final projects this week. The presentations will be divided up over two sessions, one on Thursday, April 21st, and the other on Sunday, April 24th. The presentations are free and open to the public.
On Thursday the 21st, the presentations will be held in the Byrd Center’s multipurpose room, and they will begin at 6:30 p.m. The presentations that evening will be
- Isabella Sager— “Emily Dickinson’s Paradoxical Variants: The Tension of Choice and the Other”
- Maddi Sites— “Fractured Glass”
- Megan Bicking— “Submarine Dreams”
- Celine Wilson— “Human/Nature”
- Dannah Lohr— “The Horror of Eleanor Vance as an Unreliable Narrator”
- Emily Keefer— “The Journey”
On Sunday the 24th, the presentations will be held in the Byrd Center’s auditorium, and they will begin at 2:00 p.m. The presentations that day will be
- Vivienne Wells— “The Chaste Are Chased in Ovid’s Metamorphoses“
- Mary Barker— “‘As if the Devil Was in Her’: Fanny Fern Redefining the Nineteenth-Century Woman Writer”
- Sarah Seibert— “Half”
- L. Harvey— “The Dream Team”
- Shelby Daughtery— “She’ll Be All Three”
- Abi McClung— “On Leaving Home, or The Answer”
- Izzy Hawkinberry— “embody: verb“
Professor Sadie Shorr-Parks, Instructor of English and Director of the Society for Creative Writing, was just presented with an Adjunct Faculty Award in Instruction. Dr. Richie Stevens, Assistant Provost for Faculty Affairs, said that Sadie’s award and the others that were conferred this year “celebrate the excellence of our faculty at the undergraduate and graduate levels.” Sadie is a fixture on campus and around Shepherdstown, and we, her departmental colleagues, couldn’t be happier for her. You deserve this recognition, Sadie, and so much more!