Furman University English Department

Congratulations to Furman English faculty member Dr. Nicholas Radel, who was awarded the Alester G. Furman Jr and Janie Earle Furman Award for Meritorious Teaching at Commencement on Saturday evening!

Dr. Melinda Menzer, chair of the English department, was delighted to meet up with Dr. Chris Palmer, Furman English graduate and professor of English at Kennesaw State University, at the Studies in the History of English Language conference October 17-19!

Dr. Palmer presented two papers, one titled, "History and the Use of Dialect and Slang in Screenwriting" and the other titled, "The History of -eer in English: Suffix Competition or Symbiosis?" Dr. Menzer presented her paper, "Language Use and Development in the Furman Q***r Zine Collection: The History of trans"; she'll be giving a version of that talk on November 8, 12:30 pm at Lunch and Lit in the department lounge.

Congratulations to both on their presentations!

Happy 2024-25! The English department gathered with Ella Harrison '25, our banner carrier, before Convocation this morning.

We can't wait for the first day of classes tomorrow!

What are you reading this summer, part 3!

1-Dr. Jeanne Provost is reading Cixin Liu's Hugo award-winning novel, The Three-Body Problem.

2-Dr. Joni Tevis is reading Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain, by Alan Light.

Happy reading, everybody!

What are you reading this summer, part two!

1-Dr. Helwig is reading the second novel in Colson Whitehead’s Harlem trilogy, Crook Manifesto​. If you look carefully, you can see Little Gigi keeping him company in the bottom left of the photo.

2-English major Pate Smith, here waiting on a train platform in Siena, Italy, is reading Aldous Huxley's classic dystopian novel, Brave New World. Wherever you go, pack a book!

What are you reading this summer?

1-Dr. Menzer is working her way through Seishi Yokomizo's murder mysteries, recently retranslated and published by Pushkin Press.

2-Faulkner is helping Dr. Pate read Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, 2023 Booker Prize winner.

JESMYN WARD CLP: WED. MARCH 20th, 2024

In the Watkins Room of the Trone Student Center at 6:30 PM, 2x National Book Award Winner & MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow Jesmyn Ward will present "Tell It Whole: On Witness & Narrative."

Book Signing & Reception to follow!

Happy Faculty Friday! For our first week, we’d like to spotlight Dr. Margaret Oakes.

Apart from teaching, Dr. Oakes enjoys cooking and baking. She was named one of Princeton Review’s “300 Best Professors,” and she has a forthcoming book on gender presentation in Shakespeare.

Swipe to see Dr. Oakes with her family after acting in a play in NYC last year!

Her favorite part of the English Dept is “seeing our lovely students everyday. They bring great joy to [her] life.”

Thank you for everything you do here at Furman, Dr. Oakes! 💜

LOUNGE WARMING PARTY NEXT TUESDAY 02/28!
Drop by for some coffee, tea, and cookies with our faculty and students from 2:30-4:30 in the English Lounge in Furman Hall! We’d love for you to know us and our new coffee machine! ☕️📚

Fun with spelling!