2016
July 25, 2017 | Graduate Studies
Sara Marie Jones Memorial Scholarship
Congratulations to Sarah Harrison, winner of the Sara Marie Jones Memorial Scholoarship for her paper "Resisting a Traditional Recovery Model of Trauma in Joy Kogawa's Obasan through Mad Grief". The committee adjudicating the award, Drs. Manina Jones, Joshua Schuster, and Jane Toswell, agreed that Ms Harrison’s paper “offers a new way of thinking about Kogawa's classic and important novel. Harrison's intervention offers a new paradigm of Mad Studies and especially Mad Grief.” As well, “By addressing the three central characters not as models of recovery but as figures engaged in mad grief, responding to the racialized and sexualized traumas of their lives in multiple, incommensurate ways that reflect an intersectional model of trauma, Harrison offers a new and powerful way of interpreting the novel.” Awarded annually to a first-year PhD student in English, the Sara Marie Jones Scholarship is valued at $500.
May 12, 2017 | Alice Munro Chair in Creativity
Applications being accepted
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Western University invites applications or nominations for the Alice Munro Chair in Creativity. The Alice Munro Chair in Creativity will recognize and honour our Nobel laureate, inspire student writers and foster creative expression of all kinds. Alice Munro is counted among the University’s most extraordinary alumni. This position will be a full-time, Limited Term appointment, with an academic rank commensurate with the successful candidate’s qualifications. The position will reside in the Department of English and Writing Studies, or as a joint appointment with English and Writing Studies and another department in the Faculty, as appropriate. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain a vigorous creative/research program, and to contribute to teaching undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. The appointment will be made in accordance with the relevant University policies and will be for a one- to three-year term. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position will commence on July 1, 2018 or as negotiated.
May 10, 2017 | Western News
Writer-in-Residence looks to marry different voices in role
Daniel MacIvor, a playwright, director and actor, will serve as Western’s Writer-in-Residence for the 2017-18 term. As Western’s 48th Writer-in-Residence, part of Daniel's work on campus will revolve around helping develop the newly renovated Theatre Studies Program, which is attracting much student attention. MacIvor plans to work with students and the broader London community on fostering creative thinking, writing and an appreciation for theatre and the doors of self-discovery it opens, he noted.
May 10, 2017 | Graduate Studies
McIntosh Prize Competition Winner
Congratulations to Jason Sunder, winner of the McIntosh Prize Competition for his paper “Religious Beef: Untouchable Life, Constitutional Secularism, and Sacred Cows in Arjun Dangle’s ‘The Cantonment has Begun to Shake’”. Jason's paper presented a fresh and ambitious intervention in post-colonial criticism that offered incisive readings of legislative and literary texts. Honourable mentions also go to Hanji Lee, who argued with extraordinary clarity for reading Conrad’s Nostromo as ‘nostalgic metafiction,’ and to Nahmi Lee, for her elegantly argued discussion of the subject-object relations in the materiality of Dickens' London in Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend.
We are grateful for the collegial occasion that the McIntosh Competition provides, and to all the 4th–year PhD students who shared their research with the community. The Graduate Studies office would like to warmly thank this year’s adjudicators, Professors Mary Helen McMurran, Donna Pennee, and James Purkis.
April 20, 2017 | Undergraduate Studies
Film students present at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference
Film Studies Honours students Jen Martin-Cannon and Seline Boer will present research papers at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference at the University of Minnesota April 21-22, 2017. SCMS-U is a conference featuring students from North America and around the world presenting their scholarly work on cinema and media. A panel composed of University of Minnesota faculty selected thirty proposals for the fifth annual conference.
April 6, 2017 | Western News
Workshopping Samuels’ ‘Because I Am Your Queen’
Andrea Holstein shares her experience of working alongside Samuels, Dugal and fellow students in this one-of-a-kind learning experience.
April 4, 2017 | Undergraduate Studies
Ready, Steady ...
Professor Solga weighs in on her fears and expectations as students in Theatre Studies 3900G - Destination Theatre get ready to head to the UK on June 19.
March 30, 2017 | CBC Books
André Alexis's novel Fifteen Dogs, championed by Humble The Poet, won Canada Reads 2017
Humble The Poet, defending Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis, faced off against Measha Brueggergosman, defending Madeline Ashby's Company Town, to decide the winner. On the final day of debates, Humble and Measha were given opportunities to sway panellists Candy Palmater, Jody Mitic and Chantal Kreviazuk through discussions about the books' writing quality, the respective endings and how well they addressed issues important to Canadians. Learn more about André and Humble the Poet in this short video clip.
March 30, 2017 | Western News
Dystopic déjà vu: Trump and the resurgence of cataclysmic classics
Professors Bryce Traister and Miranda Green-Barteet explain what the renaissance of these old dystopic stories tell us about current times.
March 22, 2017 | Undergraduate Studies
New English modules
Our Undergraduate English modules have changed! The changes reflect the direction of the field of English Literary studies and the expertise of the faculty in the department. Students will still be required to gain a broad understanding of the history of English literature, but the new modules offer greater flexibility and choice which will allow students to design a program of study which satisfies their own intellectual curiosity. To compliment these increased choices, we are also offering a new lineup of 3000-lvl courses which are focused around narrower themes, genres or issues.
March 16, 2017 | Western News
Western celebrates excellence in teaching
Professors M.J. Kidnie and Miranda Green-Barteet are among eleven winners, representing five different faculties, who have been awarded Western’s highest honours for inspiring active and deep learning in their students.
March 10-11, 2017 | Undergraduate Studies
Celebrating Excellence in our Undergraduate English Program
Undergraduate English students Chris Austin, Heidi Choi, Laura Brooks, and Purva Mehta presented their research papers at the annual Quebec Universities English Undergraduate Conference (QUEUC) where students from across Canada connect and share their research in a comfortable, collaborative environment that fosters the pursuit of knowledge and the love of learning. Since its inception in 2009, QUEUC has blossomed into the most successful English Undergraduate conference in Canada. Papers presented: "Johnathon Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room": Scatological Misogyny" (Christopher Austin), "The Recycling of Excrement in Johnathon Swift's Gulliver's Travels" (Heidi Choi), "The Lesser of Two Evils: The Portrayal of Leadership and Political Apathy in William Shakespeare's Richard II and Measure for Measure" (Laura Brooks), "Seeing is Deceiving--Emotional Abuse and It's Impacts on Ann Shirley and Harry Potter" (Purva Mehta).
March 9, 2017 | The Gazette
Civility and Manners
Dr. David Bentley discusses the importance of civility and manners and their enduring presence at Western University.
March 8, 2017 | Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Mary Helen McMurran, 2017 Arts and Humanities Teaching Excellence Award (Full-Time)
This award recognizes teaching excellence in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the undergraduate and/or graduate level for course design, curriculum development, thesis supervision and educational outreach.
March 7, 2017 | Western News
Remembering Bonnie Burnard, BA'67
The Western community mourns the loss of award-winning author, alumna and former Writer-in-Residence, Bonnie Burnard, BA'67. She passed away on March 4, 2017 at the age of 72.
March 7, 2017 | The Gazette
Antagonist highlights modern day tyrants in Antigone
This student-led production is made up of students from all disciplines across campus, including our own from English & Theatre Studies. Written by Jean Anouilh and adapted by Lewis Galantière, Antigone reimagines the Greek tragedy by Sophocles within the context of the German occupation of France in the 1940s. Compared to the big name musicals and popular 20th century classics university theatre groups frequently produce, a performance based off of a classical text stands out as a unique project in the Western community.
March 4, 11 & 18, 2017 | Undergraduate Studies
Japanese Food: A Documentary Film Series
Through beautiful images and heartwarming personal stories, Michael Raine presents a film series at the London Public Library that traces the origins of food in Japan and how it is understood, from the medieval period to the present day. By tracing the development of characteristic foods we can understand how the Japanese culture relates to its natural environment and how some food preferences are still connected to its history and ecology. In Drops of Heaven we are introduced to Yoshiko TATSUMI's "Soup of Life" that is the basis of her teaching on natural food in Japan. Dashi & Shoyu uncovers the history of those most characteristic flavors in Japanese home cooking. Finally, The Birth of Sake shows us the dedicated workers in a small family brewery as they prepare a new batch of Japan's representative alcoholic drink. All films have English subtitles.
March 2, 2017 | Office of the President
Professor Thy Phu, 2017 Faculty Scholar Award
Established in 2005, the Faculty Scholar awards recognizes the complete scholar who has maintained an excellent record in teaching and research, and who has recently achieved prominence in one of these two domains. Nominated by faculty deans and selected by the Faculty Selection committee chaired by the Provost, the recipients have an international presence in their discipline and are considered all-around scholars.
February 2, 2017 | Western News
Alumunus finds his calling behind the camera
It was during-and after–an elective first-year Film Studies class he pinpoints as the actual ‘pivotal’ moment when he knew he made the right choice to come to university as a mature student.
February 1, 2017 | Brickenden.org
2016 Outstanding Comedy Win - Summer Shakespeare/Much Ado About Nothing
Congratulations to Jen Hale and Kait Rietdijk, and the whole Much Ado/Western Summer Shakespeare crew, for their 2016 Brickenden Outstanding Comedy win!
February 1, 2017 | CBC Books
2010 Writer-in-Residence named Canada Reads Finalist
Congratulations André Alexis on being named a 2017 Canada Reads finalist! Five Canadians - an actor, a musician, a comedian, a performer and a veteran - will battle it out to become the next Canada Reads champion beginning March 27, 2017.
January 25, 2017 | Western News
March fosters community, collective power
January 12, 2017 | Western News
Professor bridges gap in elite collection
James Good, an English professor emeritus and former Dean of Arts at Western, established the Dr. James M. Good William Wordsworth-Samuel Taylor Coleridge Collection at Western Libraries. He recently bolstered this collection with the addition of a first edition of Wordsworth’s An Evening Walk, a 1793 collection of poetry of which only 33 copies are known to exist around the world. Western now owns the only copy to reside in Canada.
December 14, 2016 | Western News
Remembering Alan Thicke – English graduate, actor, producer, composer and performer
Iconic Canadian actor Alan Thicke, BA’67, best known for playing Jason Seaver on 1980s sitcom Growing Pains, died from a heart attack Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 69. Thicke was playing hockey with his youngest son, Carter, when he suffered the fatal attack. In a 2011 interview with the Alumni Gazette, Thicke playfully admitted he had no idea what he was doing when he arrived on Western’s campus five decades ago.
December 1, 2016 | Undergraduate Studies
Sidewalk poetry coming to London
November 30, 2016 | Western News
Remembering Tywin Lannister 1,000 years to the day after his demise
November 17, 2016 | The Gazette
Twelve Angry Men, one groundbreaking show
November 17, 2016 | Western News
Remembering a Canadian poet, songwriter - Leonard Cohen
Professor David Bentley recalls his first foray into Leonard Cohen’s work, The Spice-Box of Earth, an early collection of poetry.
November 14, 2016 | WordsFest London
Words Festival Presents: Emma Donoghue in Conversation with Bryce Traister
Words Festival presents a reading and conversation with award-winning novelist Emma Donoghue, hosted by the Chair of the Department of English & Writing Studies, Bryce Traister.
November 9, 2016 | Western News
Film festival fills gap in local arts scene
November 6, 2016 | WordsFest London
John Milton's Poetry
Professor John Leonard will be giving a lecture on Milton's poetry this Sunday, November 6th as part of WordsFest London Canada. Featuring first edition works by Milton from Western Archives.
November 2, 2016 | Western News
Alumnus to explore life of ‘Rebel Angel’
Remembering Ross Woodman – a former English prof, art critic, wizard ... and inspiration.
November 2, 2016 | Western News
Fall Theatre Production - Q1 Hamlet
Class gives ‘bad quarto’ its day on stage. Hamlet Q1 – the first-known printed edition of Shakespeare’s most popular tragedy – is not the text you studied from. It’s not the text traditionally used for theatrical productions, either. In fact, you probably haven’t encountered this version of the play before.
October 26, 2016 | Macleans
Cool course: “Winter is Coming”: A Game of Thrones
October 1, 2016 | Undergraduate Studies
Nuit Blanche
For one sleepless night, from sunset to sunrise, students from Theatre Studies 2202F joined the annual, city-wide celebration of contemporary art in the streets of Toronto. Students explored the artistic playground and enjoyed a series of exhilarating contemporary art experiences in unexpected public spaces.
September 7, 2016 | Western News
Professor Thy Phu named to the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists & Scientists
September 2016 | Alumni
Multimedia maven and alumna, Sam Maggs is the first lady of geek
August 26, 2016 | Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Congratulations Professor Kim Solga. Recipient of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Editing for her achievement in editing Performance and the Global City editors (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Performance and the City editors (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
