Carnegie Mellon English Department

On Tuesday, June 9, Assistant Professor Camille Rankine will read her work at the Hemingway's Poetry Series. Read a preview of Camille's work at the Pittsburgh Review of Books:

Camille Rankine at Hemingway's - Pittsburgh Review of Books Over this summer PRoB will be featuring the work of upcoming readers that will be appearing at Pittsburgh’s venerable Hemingway’s Poetry Series, now

How do we balance diverse cultural perspectives in space research? What is the moral status of an extraterrestrial microbe? How should we regulate space activity through law? Every other year, members of the Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology and the European Astrobiology Institute convene to discuss the human dimensions of space exploration, including questions like these.

From May 25-27, the Carnegie Mellon campus was host to the biannual gathering, sponsored by the Center for the Arts in Society and supported by the Department of English. Over the last three years Professors James Wynn and Kathy M. Newman have been exploring the topic of planetary hospitality by inviting speakers, starting a science fiction book club, and teaching the course “Hospitable Worlds.”

The conference presenters – hailing from North America, South America and Europe – came with a broad range of backgrounds in both the sciences and humanities, leading to a lively exchange of ideas. From Carnegie Mellon, presenters included English Department professors James Wynn, Kathy M. Newman, and Stephen Wittek. The conference’s keynote speakers included Ana Maria Pino da Silva, Head of CMU’s School of Design; Bryce Kennedy, Executive Director of the Space Valley Foundation; and Octavio Chon, Professor at the University of Lima.

In addition to visiting campus, conference attendees explored Pittsburgh, including an excursion to the Moonshot Museum at the North Side headquarters of Astrobotic.

For those not able to attend the conference, a full schedule of the attendees’ talks and recordings of those talks are available on the conference website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/research-and-publications/inhospitable-space.html

Many readers use “Best of” lists to help them decide what to read. In the Pittsburgh Review of Books, Department Head and Professor Chris Warren recently shared his thoughts on how networks reveal what The Guardian's ranked list of the top 100 novels obscures.

Networking the Guardian 100 - Pittsburgh Review of Books In an unfamiliar city, I rarely walk into an empty restaurant. How good could the food be if nobody eats there? At least a crowded restaurant's one that many

We've enjoyed hosting scholars from a variety of disciplines at this week's (In)hospitable Space conference! For those who could not attend, videos of the presentations will be posted on the conference site.

In conjunction with the conference, the Pittsburgh Review of Books has been posting pieces pertaining to space exploration all week, including this one by Professor and conference co-organizer James Wynn.

Darwin on Mars - Pittsburgh Review of Books The following essay is being published in conjunction with the "(In)hospitable Space Conference" which explores the human dimensions of space exploration and

Are you a graduate of one of our programs? We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to! Use the form below to share any recent professional successes for possible inclusion in an upcoming Alumni Newsletter.

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"Onto trails completely undiscovered" — our department gathered on Saturday, May 9, for the 2026 Commencement of both undergraduate and graduate students. Read more about this year's graduating class:

2026 Graduates Celebrated in Diploma Ceremony - Department of English - Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University 2026 Graduates Celebrated in Diploma Ceremony

From publishing houses to financial firms, the 2026 Humanities Career Trek gave students in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences a firsthand look at how their skills translate beyond the classroom.

Humanities Career Trek Expands Students’ Views of What Comes Next For the second year, undergraduate students studying the humanities spent a weekend exploring different careers for humanities graduates.

Harrison Marks, a senior in Film & Visual Media, has been accepted into the Fifth Year Scholar program. As a result, he will be staying at Carnegie Mellon for a fifth year to work on his community-impact project, the Mellon Life Podcast.

For more information on the Fifth-Year Scholar Program: https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/get-involved/fifth-year/index.html

There are two chances to hear from our faculty over the next two nights at White Whale Bookstore!

Join David Shumway, Friday, May 1, and Ed Simon, Saturday, May 2, as they celebrate the launch of new books!