SDSU Department of English & Comparative Literature

09/23/2026

The Living Writers Series is back on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Love Library, Room 430! The Laurie Okuma Memorial Reading will feature acclaimed author, Alicia Upano!

Each semester, thanks to an endowment created by her family and friends, the Laurie Okuma Memorial Reading honors the memory of SDSU alumna, Laurie Matsueda Okuma. The fall, 2026 Okuma Author, Alicia Upano, will share excerpts from her debut novel, "Everything to the Sea," which has been lauded as “An arresting, profound, and fiercely beautiful debut.”

Alicia Upano was born and raised in Hawai‘i. She is the recipient of the Poets & Writers Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award Hawai‘i, the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, and a Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholarship. Her short fiction has appeared in The Massachusetts Review, The Southern Review, The Best Peace Fiction: A Social Justice Anthology, and more. After living in Asia and both U.S. continental coasts, she now resides on O‘ahu with her family.

09/14/2026

E-Lit Workshops, 9/28, 10/5, & 10/19

Join us in the Digital Humanities Center’s E-Lit Studio for a series of workshops on Electronic Literature! Digital Humanities Center: LA 61, Bottom of the Library Dome

If you are interested in attending any of the E-Lit workshops this fall, please fill out this RSVP form at the link below. This form will help determine what types of literature and tools attendees may be interested in exploring during these workshops.

-Intro to E-Lit (Hybrid - on Zoom and in person) 9/28, 1-2 PM: Attendees will learn about the history of Electronic Literature, peruse existing projects, and explore different tools for creating their own E-Lit projects.

-E-Lit Playdates! 10/5 and 10/19, 1-2 PM: Depending on feedback from this form, these playdates may include a brief tutorial in one or more E-Lit creative tool(s). This will also serve as co-working time for Twine and other E-Lit projects. Attendees will be able to work on their own creative projects, ask questions, and show off their projects to peers.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLQLu81ujPSZvuXnrkYhvGoKzCJ0VOOwE1PI4ZkgwSXbQCPQ/viewform

09/09/2026

Save the date! Professor Jessica Pressman will be giving a talk at the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park on Friday, October 9 at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Mingei's "To Catch a Fish" exhibit.

This talk will consider what we can learn by taking seriously the contemporary mermaid renaissance, catching a fish or two, and carefully examining these examples as a means of understanding the larger current. What might mermaids—from contemporary culture AND Mingei's exhibition—tell us about culture’s most pressing anxieties and concerns, past and present?

Register here: https://mingei.org/events/lecture/art-break-24-2

09/08/2026

Mark your calendars! A book talk with Professor Marc C. Marino is coming up on Thursday, October 8 from 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. in the Digital Humanities Center (LA-61).

"Inventing ELIZA: How the First Chatbot Shaped the Future of AI" Join as they discuss how the original ELIZA chatbot transformed ideas about AI and society’s response to them. As we reach the 60th anniversary of ELIZA’s public debut, "Inventing ELIZA" offers the first comprehensive critical analysis of Joseph Weizenbaum’s groundbreaking chatbot system through the lens of critical code studies.

09/03/2026

Thanks to all the faculty and students from the MA, MFA, and MALAS programs who came out to our graduate student mixer yesterday! What a fun way to start the year!

07/21/2026

CONGRATS! Incoming MALAS graduate student and May 2026 ECL graduate, Natalie Gonzalez, took second place honors at the AGLSP annual conference!
AGLSP is the umbrella organization for masters in liberal arts and science programs across the U.S. and Canada. Thirty or so faculty and graduate students delivered presentations at the conference with representatives from Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth College, and the University of Exeter in the competition.

07/01/2026

Hiring of college grads is down across the board. But certain majors are able to access opportunities in a wider array of industries, new data shows. Learn more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtney-connley-hampton/2026/06/25/the-college-majors-most-likely-to-get-you-hired/?utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB

06/16/2026

Shout out to Professor Bill Nericcio who was featured in Pulitzer nominated LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano's newsletter!

On the San Diego State professorial genius

06/16/2026

CAL Alumni in Action

Bilal Bikile (‘20) began his academic journey at San Diego State University as a computer science major, but once he spoke to advisors in CAL, he determined that a degree in comparative literature aligned with his interest in people, social justice, writing, and art.

He was awarded a Mundt Peace Fellowship where he worked with the Cambodia Living Arts organization and he was recognized as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in comparative literature. Bikile was also involved in the Muslim Student Association, Poetry International, Poetic Youth, and the Henrietta Goodwin Scholars Program.

Today, he owns Deixis Gallery in Barrio Logan where he enjoys curating art exhibitions, hosting community meetings, and building diverse narratives while living a creative life.

05/18/2026

ICYMI: Congratulations to our various department award winners! 👏👏👏👏👏

Outstanding Graduating Senior: Amber Worden
Most Influential Faculty: Professor Joseph T. Thomas, Jr.
Outstanding Graduating MA Student: Coco Rosales
Outstanding Graduating MFA Student: Sam Yaziji

Outstanding Critical and Creative Work Awards ✍️💻🖼️
Creative or Digital Project: Raine
Poetry: Sam Yaziji
Fiction: Ben Bird
Graduate essay: Coco Rosales
Undergraduate essay: Ashley Sims