‘English’
Bringing community to a seemingly solitary endeavor
Oct. 30, 2024—The image of a writer often conjures up visions of an author sequestered away crafting the perfect poem or buried under stacks of paper finishing their next novel. However, award-winning poet and Gertrude Conaway Professor of English Major Jackson believes it is a deeply collaborative process that relies heavily on community. “I think the conception...
Wollaeger, professor emeritus and modernist scholar, has died
Mar. 1, 2023—Mark Wollaeger, a professor of English, emeritus, former director of graduate studies in English, died on his birthday, February 19. He was 66. Wollaeger earned a bachelor of arts from Stanford University in 1979, and a Ph.D. in English from Yale University in 1986. He taught at Yale from 1986-1994, at which point he was...
Didi Jackson: Breeding human connection through poetry
Oct. 14, 2021—“Sometimes our motivations aren’t what we asked for—they are given to us.” That is the experience of Visiting Assistant Professor of English Didi Jackson, who joined Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science in Spring 2021. A true lover of the humanities, Jackson brings to A&S a deep passion for telling stories through poetry and visual...
College of Arts and Science faculty recognized for excellence in 2021 university awards
Aug. 30, 2021—Vanderbilt University’s Office of the Provost annually recognizes faculty members for their accomplishments in teaching, research, and service to the campus community with internal awards. Announced at the Fall Faculty Assembly on August 26, 2021, six College of Arts and Science faculty members received awards for their outstanding work. Below are the A&S winners: Chancellor’s...
College of Arts and Science faculty share recommendations for reading women authors
Mar. 25, 2021—Women’s History Month is both an opportunity and an invitation: an opportunity to learn more about an often-hidden side of history and culture, and an invitation to develop a new awareness, concerns, and habits of learning that can carry through the rest of the year. As part of the College of Arts and Science’s celebration...
Love of Hebrew and Yiddish leads Allison Schachter to hidden stories of women authors
Mar. 2, 2021—Allison Schachter, an associate professor of Jewish studies, English, and Russian and East European studies, never intended to end up in her current field. After studying French and Hebrew as an undergraduate, she entered graduate school for comparative literature and planned to focus on seventeenth-century drama. But her love of learning new languages repeatedly drew...
Vanderbilt Debate overcomes COVID-19 challenges to break new ground in civic engagement
Jan. 22, 2021—One year ago, Sahil “Sael” Soni ’21, a chemistry and economics double major, had just returned from a blue-ribbon performance in Vanderbilt Debate’s first-ever international competition. He was looking forward to finishing the 2019-2020 season on a high note, as were his teammates. For the last 30 years, Vanderbilt Debate has been a national leader,...
Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, The Wond’ry collaborate on undergraduate coffee studies program
Sep. 29, 2020—Americans love coffee: according to Statista, two-thirds of us drink at least two cups per day. Many people, however, are unaware that the popular drink has a complicated past—and present. Together with The Wond’ry, the College of Arts and Science’s Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities aims to close that knowledge gap. Beginning this...
Resources for Engaging With the Spirit of Juneteenth
Jun. 19, 2020—On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger declared to the state of Texas—the Confederacy’s western frontier—that “all slaves are free.” June 19, shortened to “Juneteenth,” quickly became an annual day of celebration for Texas’s black community. By the 1920s, it had spread around the country, and in 1979, the tradition came full-circle as...
College of Arts and Science Faculty Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Jun. 2, 2020—Two members of the College of Arts and Science faculty—Distinguished University Professor Houston A. Baker and University Distinguished Professor George Hornberger—have been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS). Founded in 1780 by John Adams and John Hancock, among others, the AAAS has previously elected luminaries and leaders such as Benjamin Franklin,...