Welcome to the English Department
English majors learn to synthesize information and to present their ideas and opinions skillfully. They find employment in fields where the sophisticated use of language is necessary for advancement. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study, not only in writing, film studies and literature, but in medicine, law, education, journalism and business. In today’s job market, as job titles and responsibilities shift constantly, English majors have an advantage because they are used to analyzing situations critically and communicating the results effectively.
Job choices for English majors go beyond the obvious options of teaching, attending graduate school, or becoming a writer, because graduates also excel in many other areas. English majors have learned how to write, analyze material, and communicate effectively, so they work in many different fields, including broadcasting, sales and marketing, management, government and entertainment.
English Department News
CultureKlatsch's Newest Episode is Out! Ep 11 & 11.5: Targaryens, Television, and Trauma: Watching George R. R. Martin’s House of the Dragon 1.17.23
This episode of CultureKlatsch discusses House of the Dragon (the Golden Globe winning prequel to Game of Thrones) in terms of spectatorship and genre. Host Jake Johnson, along with guests Kendall Adamson, Madison Cook, David Debonis, and Landon Sickler (all CU Denver students), create a roundtable discussion on a wide range of topics, including television consumption patterns and rituals, violence against women as a plot device, trauma and spectatorship, the cultural appeal of high fantasy television, the ways HOD mirrors current social relations, the politics of gender and colonialism, artistic intent and HOD as historical account, and the ongoing celebration of “masculine strength” in both GOT and HOD. They speak with several CU Denver professors—Dr. Sarah Hagelin (Ethnic Studies and English), Katy Mohrman (Ethnic Studies), and William Wagner (History)—as well as CU Denver film student Darcen McCampbel and spectators outside the university, Beth Hall and Allie Borgsmiller.
Listen to a longer interview with Drs. Sarah Hagelin and Katy Mohrman in this bonus episode of CultureKlatsch (hosted and edited by Jake Johnson).
Listen now on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts.
CultureKlatsch in the Auraria Media Center Sound Studio. From left: Madison Cook (guest + editor), Jake Sorensen (media specialist + sound engineer), Kendall Adamson (guest), Michelle Comstock (instructor), Jake Johnson (host). Not pictured: Landon Sickler (guest) and David Debonis (guest + editor).
Copper Nickel Rises in National Rankings!
There are approximately 700 regularly publishing literary journals in America—and each year a writer and blogger named Clifford Garstang ranks them based on how often work from their pages is reprinted in the prestigious annual Pushcart Prize Anthology.
The Pushcart Prize is, of course, only one metric for evaluating a literary magazine's "standing," but we're proud of Copper Nickel's growth in visibility and prestige since its relaunch in 2015.
Copper Nickel is edited by CU Denver creative writing faculty. And, unique for a journal at this level, Copper Nickel also receives substantial editorial input from undergraduate students. As many as 30 each semester engage in first-round editorial screening, proofreading, and production through work as volunteers, interns, and, every fourth semester, through ENGL 4088: Literary Editing: Copper Nickel.
Departmental Latin Honors
As we near the end of spring semester, the English Department encourages their undergraduates to pursue Latin honors with their English degree. The application process is easy, and we’d be happy to answer any questions that students might have.
Please reach out to Wayne Miller (cynthia.wong@ucdenver.edu) in the next few weeks if interested. Wayne Miller would be happy to answer questions and assist in the development of a project. There is still plenty of time to apply. You can find the guidelines for pursuing honors at the following website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/english/latin-honors.
English Faculty Accomplishments
- Teague Bohlen published a piece in Westword covering Andrew Scahill's Rainbow Cult, its success and upcoming sold-out movie screening of Sister Act at Meow Wolf. Be sure to give it a read!
- Andrew Scahill will be having a keynote speaker, poet Kerrie Joy, deliver the sermon for the Rainbow Cult showing of Sister Act at Meow Wolf. Showing will be February 4th.
- John Purfield just had a book review published in enculturation of Debra Hawhee's "A Sense of Urgency: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Rhetoric". Congrats John!
- Wayne Miller's poem "Toward a Unified Theory," which was originally published in The American Poetry Review, won a Pushcart Prize and has been reprinted in Pushcart Prize XLVIII (2024): Best of the Small Presses. Congrats Wayne!
- Anthony Ballas interviews Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly about her brand new book, Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States for the De Facto Channel. Be sure to check it out!
- Anthony Ballas has published a new essay, "Jazz, Film Noir, and the Geography of Music: Revisiting Duke Ellington's Score for the Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (1959)" in the new issue of Middle West Revview. Congrats Tony!
- Anthony Ballas was interviewed by the Iran's Book and Literature House for Iranian Book Week. Congrats Tony!
- Anthony Ballas & Dr. Gerald Horne just co-authored a piece contextualizing the recent SAG & WGA strikes within the history of class struggle in Hollywood dating back to the 40s & 50s, & in the labor movement more broadly. They also discuss Red Scare politics, past & present. Congrats!
- Anthony Ballas just released a new episode on the De Facto podcast where Dr. Julie Carr discusses her new book Mud, Blood, & Ghosts: Populism, Spiritualism, & Eugenics. Dr. Carr talks about the history of the People's Party, Omer Kem's biography, and how politics are still haunted by settler colonialism.
- Anthony Ballas has published a piece for Protean Magazine titled, "Philosopher Divya Dwivedi Among Latest Targets of India’s Right Wing". Tony discusses Dwivedi's criticism of India's caste system and backlash. Congrats Tony!
English Student and Alumni Accomplishments
- Asma Al-Masyabi published "Loss for Words" in The Cincinnati Review. Congrats Asma!
- Asma Al-Masyabi, a Creative Writing student, has won the 2023 Emerging Poet Award from the Ruth Weiss Foundation for her poem “The Future I Feed My Brother.” The award comes with a $1,500 grant. The ruth weiss Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities to support poetic artists through their annual grant program. Asma Al-Masyabi is a Scholastic Silver Medal Poetry winner with publications in Subnivean, the Santa Clara Review, the Riverstone Literary Journal, and more. She often uses poetry as a way to process the world, as she does with “The Future I Feed My Brother,” which she dedicates to her younger brother. She’s currently pursuing a degree in creative writing at the University of Colorado Denver and looks forward to a career filled with words and art, her two biggest passions. Congrats!
- Congratulations to Fernanda Cabrera, Kinzey Gill, and Yesenia Olivas-Jimenez for being awarded the 2022-2023 Michael S. Gorniak Scholarship.
- Kendall Mallon's series of podcasts were chosen as the winner of the Rex Burns Award for best graduate essay of the year!
- Doran Seff was awarded the Richard T. Dillon Scholarship award, which recognizes undergraduate excellence in the English Department. Lexi Cipriani was awarded as the follow-up runner for the Dillion Scholarship. Congratulations to you both!