News and events

Fall 2023 OGS and SSHRC Workshop

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 | By lbetts

Are you a 4^th-year Humanities student who is interested in applying of a Master’s program or an MA student interested in applying to a PhD program?

The Department of English Language and Literature is holding a workshop on grant applications for Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funding agencies.

Learn the steps involved in writing and submitting effective applications that will increase your chances of obtaining external funding for graduate studies in the Humanities.

Join Professor Mathew Martin from the Department of English Language and Literature and Research Awards & Scholarships Specialists Tessa Mazachowsky and Emily Huneault from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs for this important writing workshop.

When: 5 October, 2023, 3-4pm
Where: Glenridge A Room 201

Questions? Contact mmartin@brocku.ca.

Categories: English Faculty, English Graduate Students, English Undergraduate Students, Info Session, Presentations
Professor Lissa Paul joins the Royal Society of Canada

Thursday, September 07, 2023 | By lbetts

Congratulations to Professor Lissa Paul! She was named a Royal Fellow in the Academy of Arts and Humanities on September 5, 2023. The official announcement was made in Tuesday edition of the Globe and Mail.

Please read the full citation here.

Categories: Awards, English Faculty
Welcome and Information Session for 4th-year Students on September 5th

Thursday, August 31, 2023 | By lbetts

Calling all 4th year (Honours) students in ENGL, ENCW, and WRDS!

Please join us for a Welcome and Orientation Session in the Department of English.

Date: Tuesday, September 5th, 2023
Time: 3:30-4:30
Where: GLA 164

Light refreshments will be provided.

Categories: English Undergraduate Students, Info Session
Welcome to the Department, Professor Lissa Paul!

Thursday, July 20, 2023 | By lbetts

It’s official – Professor Lissa Paul is now a faculty member of the Department of English Language & Literature! She is also the director of the PhD Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities.

Looking forward to seeing you in the department, Lissa!

Categories: English Faculty
Welcome, Professor Erin Akerman!

Monday, June 26, 2023 | By lbetts

Dr. Erin Akerman joined the Department of English Language and Literature on June 1, 2023. Photo credit: Erin Akerman

Introducing our newest faculty member, Assistant Professor Erin Akerman! She recently completed her PhD at Western University in Indigenous literary studies with a focus on nineteenth-century Indigenous literatures. Professor Akerman is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario from the Georgian Bay Métis Community. This year, she will teach ENGL 1P91: Decolonizing Literature, ENGL 2P64: Early Canadian Literature, and a new course ENGL 4V77: Early Indigenous Women’s Writing.

Welcome to Brock, Professor Akerman!

Categories: English Faculty
Professor Elizabeth Sauer named President of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies / Société canadienne d’études de la Renaissance

Thursday, June 08, 2023 | By lbetts

Elizabeth Sauer congratulates CSRS Past-President Kenneth Graham (University of Waterloo) on a job very well done.

Professor Elizabeth Sauer was named President of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies / Société canadienne d’études de la Renaissance at the 2023 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies is dedicated to encouraging multidisciplinary studies in the Renaissance by students and established scholars in both official languages.

La Société canadienne d’études de la Renaissance a pour vocation d’encourager les études multidisciplinaires sur la Renaissance dans les deux langues officielles auprès des étudiants et des chercheurs.

The Society sponsors the bilingual scholarly journal Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme and News with information for members, and organizes an annual meeting as part of the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Congratulations, Professor Sauer! Félicitations!

Categories: Awards, English Faculty
Professor Elizabeth Sauer recognized by the Milton Society of America

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 | By lbetts

Congratulations to Professor Elizabeth Sauer, the 2022 Honored Scholar of the Milton Society of America (MSA)! She recently delivered an address to the MSA titled, “Milton, Heidegger, Ayesha Ramachandran, and Pheng Cheah on Worldmaking.”

The Honored Scholar distinction dates back to 1948 and includes C.S. Lewis (1954) and Northrop Frye (1975).

A comprehensive list of Professor Sauer’s scholarly works are listed in the MSA’s 2023 Annual Booklet on pages 7-14.

Her award was previously reported in the BrockNews.

Tags: Brock English Language & Literature, Brock Faculty of Humanities, Milton Society of America
Categories: Awards, English Faculty, News
English Professors Receive Distinguished Service Awards

Thursday, April 13, 2023 | By lbetts

Congratulations to Professor Mathew Martin and Professor Sue Spearey for receiving the 2023 Brock Distinguished Service Award!

The Faculty of Humanities Distinguished Service Award is an internal award that recognizes the significant impact the nominee’s service activities have had on the University, the Faculty of Humanities and community.

Photo of Prof. Martin courtesy of Prof. Leah Knight.

Tags: Brock English Language & Literature, Brock Faculty of Humanities, Distinguished Service Award
Categories: Awards, English Faculty, News
New book of short fiction by Professor Tim Conley

Friday, March 10, 2023 | By lbetts

Professor Tim Conley has recently released a new collection of short fiction, “Some Day We Will Look Back on this and Laugh,” through the Slovenian publisher Corona/Samizdat.

“This collection of suspicious glimpses, transitory disturbances, and apocalypses postponed makes for disorientation and even light-headedness. Readers may feel the need to laugh, but not more than is advisable. Among the assorted hijinks in these pages are a global kangaroo revolution, a fatal duel over a sneeze, spots of melancholy, a telepathic gazebo, various disguises, and a demon awaiting its release from a box of breakfast cereal.”

Copies can be purchased directly from the publisher, or from our local St. Catharines bookstore, Someday Books.

Tags: Brock English Language & Literature, Brock Faculty of Humanities, Short Fiction
Categories: English Faculty, Publications
English graduate student, Kassie Galaski creates helpful resource for students new to the area

Friday, July 08, 2022 | By mvanatte

Having struggled herself upon arriving in Niagara, Kassie Galaski (BA ’22) has set out to make the transition to life in St. Catharines easier for future Brock students.

Originally from Midland, Ont., Galaski drew on her own experiences and creativity to build ‘Where can we…?’ for post-secondary students and other newcomers to the region. More than just a website to find information, the site also invites users to contribute their knowledge through participation in a Discord channel.

Galaski, who graduated from the University earlier this month with her Bachelor of Arts from Brock’s Department of English Language and Literature, was inspired by the writing of Potawatomi author Robin Kimmerer’s essay The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance, which she read as part of ENGL 3V91 Social Justice and Cultural Production taught by Associate Professor Susan Spearey.

“Kimmerer focuses on the concept of a gift economy, where you give something without expecting anything in return and create a mutual benefit and deeper relationships,” says Galaski. “The idea of connection hit deep for me, especially during COVID where we’ve lost that sense of community.”

The website focuses on students who are new to Canada or the region, helping them to locate resources and support and share information about life in Niagara.

“How can someone coming into Niagara participate in the gift economy with few funds?” Galaski asks. “Everyone has some kind of knowledge they can share, whether it’s a recipe, a craft or a tip about a secret spot in the region.”

Galaski’s road to Convocation hasn’t been an easy one. She started her studies at Brock in the Concurrent Education program, but, after facing difficulties transitioning to life in Niagara, she found herself on academic probation.

“I was new to the Niagara region and there were a lot of hurdles,” she says, such as being unfamiliar with transit schedules and walk-in clinics, for example.

Struggling to find a job and connect with community resources, Galaski was eventually referred to Start Me Up Niagara, a local service that provides programming, employment services and housing support to Niagara residents.

Her experience inspired her to create a place “where people can come together as a community and not feel ashamed to ask questions.”

Galaski began creating the website before enrolling in the third-year English course that provided her space to workshop her ideas and develop the concept.

Spearey used Cathy N. Davidson’s notion of “Public Contribution to Knowledge” to frame the term projects and essays for ENGL 3V91.

“Basically, Davidson stipulates that large projects and assignments should not be written exclusively for the instructor or for the purpose of a grade,” says Spearey. “Rather, students should choose a medium that is meaningful to them to demonstrate and apply what they have learned in her courses, with a view to create something that has a larger social impact beyond the classroom, and that the student can take forward beyond the course.”

As part of the project, Galaski prioritized accessibility, from using alt text to her font choices.

“Kassie has modelled such generosity in the website design and the obvious labour that has gone into bringing it online,” says Spearey. “While the site is still in progress, she has paid meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of its design to date.”

Galaski plans to continue the website so it can support others well into the future.

“The more I got into it, the more passionate I got about it,” she says. “I purposely left some sections blank as an invitation to others to come talk, share and work together.”

Brock News Article:
http://https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2022/06/english-grads-website-aims-to-ease-new-brock-students-into-niagara-life/