English News

While much of the circus surrounding the Depp-Heard trial feels entirely of this moment (a livestream that regularly draws half a million viewers, the rhetoric around “believing women,” and the sheer power of Mr. Depp’s fans to shape the narrative) in many ways what we are witnessing is a story...

Because audiences expect cheery competence from women while tolerating laziness, violence and rule-breaking in men, the female antihero represents a profound threat to the status quo, write Sarah Hagelin and Gillian Silverman, Associate Professors of English. OPINION: Why We Love Lazy, Drunk, Broke Women on TV The New York Times...

“Is there still a place for these bars? Are they still important? Yes. Every time one of these bars closes, it’s a loss of a part of Denver,” says Drew Bixby, Lecturer in the Department of English as well as Assistant Director and Writing Center and Distance Director of the...

Recent years have witnessed a fascinating trend: the explosion of strong and norm-defying female protagonists on prime-time television. These women are, as Associate Professors of English Sarah Hagelin and Gillian Silverman brilliantly argue, our 21st-century anti-heroes. The New Female Antihero, by Sarah Hagelin and Gillian Silverman Times Higher Education, Jan 20

“Some genres are more elastic than others. A mystery is predicated on surprising its audience. A rom-com wants to fulfil every expectation and not violate the contract of genre. Horror forces itself to keep innovating,” said Andrew Scahill, Assistant Professor of English. The setting of winter for some new horror...

Two humor writers walk into a bar. The first one says, “Ouch!” The second one says, “No, go with ‘Yikes!’ because hard sounds like K are funnier.” Julie Vick, Senior Instructor in the English Department, and Sarah Garfinkel are a lot funnier than that. Vick said, “One thing I’ve realized...

Watching frightening films can give you much more than a good scare, they can also help relieve stress and anxiety. “In the 30s, there was a lot of anxiety about what people consumed and whether it transformed them—especially children,” said Andrew Scahill, Assistant Professor in English and the author of...

Scream Queen! , a documentary English Assistant Professor Andrew Scahill is featured in as a film historian, has just won the Dorian Award (the LGBTQ Oscars) for Best Documentary . In advance of the film’s highly anticipated release, Scahill talked about the subject of the documentary, Nightmare on Elm Street...

Associate Professor of English Teague Bohlen is a regular contributor to “the independent voice of Denver since 1977,” but it’s not every week he gets the cover. R. Alan Brooks Plants Awareness of White Supremacy in Anguish Garden Westword , Jan. 15, 2020

The first episode of the English Department and recent MA Alum Nathalia Velez Ryan’s new podcast CultureKlatsch discusses Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and is now available on Soundcloud and Spotify . Associate Professor of English Teague Bohlen recommends you give it a try if you’ve had your fill of...