Making Modern Maternity

“Making Modern Maternity” – A Podcast Preview of an Upcoming Medical Humanities Special Issue

The English department’s Dr. Heather Love and PhD candidate Jerika Sanderson are part of a team of co-editors for a soon-to-be-released special issue of the journal Medical Humanities on “Making Modern Maternity.” The editorial group, which also includes Whitney Wood (Canada Research Chair, Vancouver Island University) and Karen Weingarten (Professor, Queen’s College CUNY), was featured on a recent episode of the journal’s podcast. Take a listen to hear about the genesis of this special issue and to get a sneak preview of some of the fascinating content that will be appearing in the special issue’s (seventeen!) research articles. 

Sanderson and Love are also co-authors for one of those articles, a piece titled “‘The highest in each class was a Twilight baby’: Scientific Motherhood, Twilight Sleep, and the Eugenics Movement in McClure’s Magazine”; so stay tuned for a future announcement when the full special issue is out in June. In the meantime, feel free to check out their previously published work from this SSHRC-funded research project, which appeared in December 2022 in Feminist Modernist Studies (“Modern neurotic women” and the pains of childbirth: staging medicalized maternity in Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal”).

Waterloo Bookfest 2024

It’s that time of year: Waterloo Bookfest! On Saturday, May 25^th from 2-8pm you can swing by Waterloo Square in Uptown Waterloo to meet authors, browse and buy books, and listen to readings. Participating local authors of adult fiction include Vincent Anioke (winner of the Austin Clarke Fiction Prize), Kimia Eslah (featured by CBC and Ms. Magazine), and Brian Van Norman (winner of an International Impact Book Award). Dr. Katie Mack, author of the New York Times Notable Book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), will be participating in the author signing, as will English’s Dr. Jennifer Harris, whose latest children’s book, The Keeper of Stars, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Other local children’s creators include Emily De Angelis, a YA author, and Holly Hatam, the illustrator of the New York Times best-selling book Dear Girl.

Family story hour runs from 2-3:30; adult readings run from 3:45-8pm. Bookfest is organized by the Grand River Writers and KW Writers Alliance.

Silent Synecdoche: Grad student Thomas Hanson

On Thursday, May 16th from 3-4pm, UWaterloo English MA Student Thomas Hanson will be sharing his research in a talk titled “Silent Synecdoche: Humanity and Nature in Marx’s 1844 Manuscripts.” The event is both in person (HH232) and online (see the event page).

Abstract: Working at the intersection of rhetoric, Marxism, and ecology, this lecture examines Karl Marx’s conception of “species-being” in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Specifically, it analyzes the synecdochal relation between humanity and nature imagined in species-being. It suggests this synecdochal vision may be relevant to current debates on Marx’s value as an ecological thinker.

Thomas Hanson is partway through his MA in the Rhetoric and Communication Design Program. He’s interested in rhetorics of decolonization and the links between rhetoric and Marxism. He can’t wait to start his PhD in Waterloo’s English Program in the Fall.

Dr. Fraser Easton on Poetry

When was the last time you read a poem? For some of us, that might be minutes ago. But for the average person on the street, the answer would probably be very different. UWaterloo English’s Dr. Fraser Easton was recently interviewed by CBC on the importance of poetry–you can listen here. As CBC writes: “Taylor Swift’s new double album continues to burn up the pop charts. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department.  Since its release a lot of ink has been spilled about where Swift fits into the history of lyrical poets. Does she compare to the likes of Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison and Patti Smith? The release of the album happens to coincide with National Poetry Month. All of this got CBC’s Blair Sanderson wondering about the state of poetry in today’s culture.”

Congratulating PhD candidate Chris Martin

Congratulations to UWaterloo English PhD candidate Chris Martin, one of two recipients of the Warren Ober Award for Outstanding Teaching by Graduate Students! The annual award is granted to graduate students who have made significant contributions to teaching within the Faculty of Arts. As the Award page states:

Chris is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English Language and Literature. His research examines the formation of ideological communities on YouTube, focusing on the interactions between content creators’ rhetorical techniques and the platform’s recommendation systems.

“Chris has an extremely sincere and passionate style before students that transforms the tone and energy of the class,” says Dr. George Lamont, who nominated Chris for the award and observed Chris in his roles as a teaching and graduate assistant. “His excitement about the potential for the study of rhetoric to inform our observations about culture and history was infectious.” Students would often wait after classes to consult with Chris about their research, and many expressed an interest in studying rhetoric because of his inspiring pedagogy.

In the past year, Chris has taught Intro to Academic Writing and Science Communication, using his background in rhetoric to create compelling courses where students from across disciplines could apply their knowledge to complex political, economic and technical issues. He embraced the challenge of teaching courses that are a degree requirement for many, incorporating extensive, discipline-specific materials and receiving high praise in his student evaluations. Chris stands out as an instructor for his passion, enthusiasm and dedication to his craft

English 294: Introduction to Critical Game Studies

If you’re looking for a spring course, what about English 294: Introduction to Critical Game Studies? According to the calendar, “This course introduces students to the field of humanities-based game studies. Topics may include the debate between ludological (rules-based) and narratological (story-based) approaches, procedural studies, platform and software studies, gamification, games and adaptation studies, and games as rhetorical objects.”  But for a bit more insight, we asked the instructor, Aleksander Franiczek, five questions about this offering.

WIP: What would surprise people about this course?
AF: Students might be surprised to learn the many ways that videogames convey meaning and values through the interactions between player and game.

WIP: Is it true you get to play games? What kind of games?
AF: You sure do! Each lecture features two videogames we’ll discuss through the lens of its topic and readings. They include landmark single-player games with creative and interesting narrative and design elements.

WIP: What makes this course innovative?
AF: The course is innovative for offering students the opportunity to build the digital literacy, critical thinking, and practical skillset of a narrative designer. You won’t only study how existing games offer interesting experiences; you’ll get to apply this knowledge to your own design work.

WIP: What do you think students will like best?
AF: I think students will enjoy getting first-hand design and development experience in the course’s workshops and final project. That, and the opportunity to write critically about the games they find interesting. 

WIP: What do you think you’ll like best?
I will enjoy having discussions about the course’s many topics and games with my students and guiding them through the interesting work they come up with throughout the term.

Dr. Sarah Tolmie to read

If you’re coming out of your winter shell, looking forward to spring and social events, UWaterloo English’s Dr. Sarah Tolmie is one of those participating in the Riverside Reading Series. The reading takes place April 27th at 3pm, at the Dog-Eared Cafe in Paris, Ontario.

How to Govern AI

Congratulations to Kem-Laurin Lubin, who recently appeared on the MIT Panel “How to Govern AI.” Kem is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Waterloo, where she focuses on AI Rhetoric. She is also the 2021-2022 OGS/QEII-GSST Scholarship (2021-2022) as well as President’s Graduate Scholarship (PGS) 2021. She is also the founder of Human Tech Futures.

You can watch the panel here.

Our students win awards!

The 2023-2024 University of Waterloo Department of English Language and Literature Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, April 5, 2024. Congratulations to all our award winners!

Undergraduate

Albert Shaw Poetry Prize: I. S. Bashirah, Honourable mention: Nadia Khan 
Andrew James Dugan Prize in Literature: Andie Kaiser
Andrew James Dugan Prize in Rhetoric and Professional Writing: Jillian Franz
Award in American Literature and Culture: Jared Cubilla
Canadian Literature Prize: Hanna Freitas
Co-op Reflective Report Award: Vyshnavi Rajeevan
Diaspora and Transnational Studies Prize: Naomi Francis
Donald R. and Mary E. Snider Literary Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction Writing: Anna-Maria Brokalakis
Emerging Scholar Award: Alicia Sheppard
English Society Creative Writing Award for Poetry: Kassandra Lynne Attwood
English Society Creative Writing Award for Prose: Sara Funduk
Janice Del Matto Memorial Award in Creative Writing: Sebrina Bank Joergensen
Olive Carrick Scholarship in English: Nadia Khan
Rhetoric and Digital Design Award: Aidan de Villa-Choi, Yingying Huang, Vade Lail, Emma van Weesenbeek
Rhetoric and Professional Writing Award: Amaya Kodituwakku
The G.R. Hibbard Shakespeare Prize: Patricia Fagan
Walter R. Martin English 251 Award: Chloe Shantz

Graduate

Beltz Essay Prize, MA: Varsha Thulasi Pillai
Beltz Essay Prize, PhD: Sarah Casey
David Nimmo English Graduate Scholarship: Shannon Lodoen, Anna McWebb
English Rhetoric Essay Award, MA: Sophie Morgan, Chinye Obiago
English Rhetoric Essay Award, PhD: Carolyn Eckert, Honourable mentions: Sarah Casey, Omnia Elsakran
Gladys Srivastava Graduate Scholarship: Kasturi Ghosh, Melissa N.P. Johnson, Alexi Orchard, Christopher Rogers
Graduate Co-op Work Report Award: Ariel Fullerton
Graduate Creative Writing Award: Maab Al-Rashdan
Graduate Professional Communication Award: Alyssa Clarkson
Independent Graduate Instructor Award for Excellence in Teaching: Chris Martin
Jack Gray Graduate Fellowship: Fatima Zohra
Lea Vogel-Nimmo English Graduate Professionalization Award: Kellie Chouinard, Kasturi Ghosh, Rency Luan, Humaira Shoaib, Fatima Zohra
TA Award for Excellence in Teaching: Damilola Adebajo
W. K. Thomas Graduate Scholarship: Jin Sol Kim, Dakota Pinheiro, Sabrina Sgandurra, Humaira Shoaib, Valerie Uher

Award for Dr. Ken Hirschkop

Congratulations to Dr. Ken Hirschkop, who has won The Sebeok-Love Award for the Best Article in Language Sciences 2023. Dr. Hirshkop was recognized for his contribution “Inference and indexicality, or how to solve Bakhtin’s problem with heteroglossia” (Language Sciences, Volume 97, 101544). For more information, see their website.