MA SSHRC Workshop
Led by the Graduate Advisor, this workshop is for all MA students and prospective MA students who are preparing SSHRC scholarship applications (due December 1st). Come for help, answers, and guidance on polishing your application.
Wednesday, October 13th, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Zoom (email englgradsec@uvic.ca for link)
PhD Job Market Workshop
Led by Dr. Ross and Dr. Sayers, this workshop is especially important for advanced PhD students and recent PhDs who are beginning to navigate job markets and preparing job applications. All students interested in learning about post-degree job markets are welcome to attend.
Thursday, October 14th, 10:00am-11:00am
Zoom (email englgradsec@uvic.ca for link)
PhD SSHRC Workshop
Led by the Graduate Advisor, this workshop is for all PhD students and prospective PhD students who are preparing SSHRC scholarship applications (due October 2nd). Come for help, answers, and guidance on polishing your application. Bring questions and drafts!
Please read the FGS Doctoral SSHRC Information Slides if you were unable to attend the workshop on Wednesday 4 September.
Wedneday, September 22nd, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Zoom (email englgradsec@uvic.ca for link)
Graduate student Saba Pakdel's work has been featured on the Poetry in Canada website:
https://www.poetrycanada.org/digital-library-archive/saba-pakdel
A huge congratulations to recent PhD (English & CSPT) graduate Carol Linnitt for receiving an Emerging Alumni Award! This award recognizes the outstanding professional achievements and/or contributions of recent alumni to the community. Read more about Carol and the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awards here:
https://www.uvic.ca/alumni/awards/home/2022-da-winners/carol-linnitt/index.php
PhD candidate Saba Pakdel's poem "Un-" is featured in Rob McLennan's Spotlight Series #72. Read it here: https://robmclennan.medium.com/spotlight-series-72-saba-pakdel-870c0a7bfca7
PhD candidate Saba Pakdel's composition, "lullaby", has published as Dusie Press's Tuesday poem. Read it here: https://dusie.blogspot.com/2021/11/tuesday-poem-450-saba-pakdel-lullaby.html
Read the new article by MA candidate Lucas Simpson, “Prayer Book Communion and The Spanish Tragedy” accepted for publication in the very prestigious journal Renaissance and Reformation. The article will be available for viewing this spring.
Read the new article by PhD candidate Lucie Kotesovska, “Immanent Spirituality and Legitimacy of Poetry in Seamus Heaney’s ‘Squarings’ in the pages of Postgraduate Studies
Read the new article by recent MA graduate Ashley Howard, Lettuce Entertain You: Floral Agency in Ralph Knevet’s <i>Rhodon and Iris</i>. Performance Philosophy, 6(2), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.21476/PP.2021.62334
Congratulations to Talia Greene, one of our former MA students, who has been accepted into UBC's MLIS program.
Read the new article by MA Candidate Farhad Poordakan, "Baudrillard, Hyperreality, and the Evil in Othello and The Hateful Eight" in the journal Cinej, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2021).
Incoming PhD student, Saba Pakdel, has been offered a place in Summer Writers Session 2021 (online) at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. It is a 7-day writing program instructed by Jordan Abel and Kaie Kellough from August 7 to 13, and her work will be published in Banff annual catalogue by the end of the program.
Saba has also had three of her poems published at periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics, edited and lovingly maintained by Rob Mclennan!
https://periodicityjournal.blogspot.com/2021/08/saba-pakdel-three-poems.html
Congratulations to recent PhD graduate Denae Dyck on her amazing accomplishment in winning the Governor General’s Gold Medal for the most outstanding academic record at the doctoral level at UVic. Her dissertation, entitled "Forming Wisdom: Biblical Criticism, Creative Interpretation, and the Poetics of the Victorian Sage" was supervised to completion by Lisa Surridge.
Read the new article by MA Candidate Jamie Zabel, “'This can't be the scene': Nostalgia and Representations of Mod in Quadrophenia and Absolute Beginners” in the journal Moveable Type, Vol. 12, ‘Nostalgia’ (2020).
Read the new article by PhD Candidate Stephanie J. Lahey, “On the Origin and Provenance of Victoria, McPherson Library, Doc.Brown.4: Sir Thomas Mowbray’s Care of Newnham Priory,” in a special issue on medieval manuscripts in Canada for the journal _Florilegium_ 33 (2019): 63–91. James Kendrick and Lynnea Ness (MAs, 2016) have co-authored a piece with Dr. Adrienne Williams Boyarin in the same issue, featuring work developed through their courses in Special Collections and Archives.
PhD Candidate Tracey El Hajj has won an inaugural President's Fellowship in Research-Enriched Teaching. As a President's Fellow, Tracey will teach ENGL 395 (Special Topics in Cultural Studies) in Spring 2020 on the topic of "Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life."
More information about the fellowship can be read here.
PhD Candidate Yan Tang had her article, "Atmospheric Violence: Samuel Beckett's Aesthetics of Respiration," featured in journal LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory 30.2 (2019): 103-119.
The article can be read here.
UVic Libraries' exhibit "Volatile Attractions: Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash, and Managing a Music Legend," curated by recent PhD graduate Dr. Samantha MacFarlane, wins the prestigious 2019 RBMS Leab Exhibition Award.
Read more about the RBMS Leab Awards here.
The exhibit can be found here.
Dr. David Oswald, recent PhD graduate, happy to be featured in The Matter of Disability: Materiality, Biopolitics, Crip Affect (U of Michigan P, 2019).
A blurb from the article can be found here.
Graduate Welcome Back and New Student Orientation
Please join us for our annual Graduate Welcome Back Party. This will provide a chance for current students and faculty to catch up and meet our new cohort. We will be serving snacks, coffee, and tea.
When: Tuesday, 7 September
Time: New Student Orientation- 2:00-3:00pm, Welcome Back-3:00-4:00pm
Location: DSB C130
Spring Welcome Back (Pandemic Version) January 29, 2:30-3:30pm
Please join the Graduate Advisor, Dr. Adrienne Williams Boyarin (just back from sabbatical), for an informal welcome-back Zoom gathering. Bring your snacks and drinks, your kids, your comfy clothes, your pets—with cameras on or off, or on and then off (whatever you like). Meet the Graduate Advisor, check in with each other about how we’re weathering this academic year, share what’s working and what’s not, and brainstorm strategies for coping better going forward. It’s a tough time for many reasons, and this session is “professional development” because it aims to renew our professional and scholarly community—important to our workplace(s) and shared professional endeavours. Looking forward to seeing all of you there!
January 29, 2:30-3:30pm
Zoom link to be sent out the day before.
Preparing for Your MA Essay/Project (ENGL 598)
Led by the Graduate Advisor, this one-hour Zoom session is aimed primarily at first-year MA students (who must submit their MA Essay/Project Proposal Form by 30 April 2021), though second-year MA students who are currently working on their ENGL 598 essay or project—and need some updates, pointers, or camaraderie—are also welcome. We will discuss how to plan for and complete the proposal, along with the goals, expectations, and completion process of ENGL 598.
February 5, 2:30-3:30pm
Zoom link to be sent out the day before.
UVic Career Services
Joy Andrews, Career Educator with UVic's Co-op Education Programs and Career Services, will provide information on the resources and supports UVic offers for graduate students seeking post-degree employment. This Zoom workshop will include activities to help you translate your academic skills into career opportunities. It is aimed especially at MA students who will not (or may not) pursue doctoral studies and anyone interested in pursuing a non-academic humanities career—especially recommended for anyone worrying about how COVID19 affects career prospects or changing academic plans in response to the pandemic. Outside of the Department of English, UVic can provide a lot of support. This session will make you aware of what’s offered and how to access it.
March 5, 2:30-4:00pm
Zoom link to be sent out the day before.
Academic Conferences
Led by PhD candidate, Jonathan Nash, this one-hour Zoom workshop aims to make the idea of the academic conference accessible to any young researcher. It will give helpful advice for applying to and navigating everything from the Grad Conference to the larger International Conference. Jon will discuss proposal writing strategies and how to turn a paper into a presentation, as well as talking about how conferences fit within your own research and writing goals.
March 19, 2:30-3:30pm
Zoom link to be sent out the day before.
Academic CVs
Celebrate the end of the spring term and this weird online academic year by putting it on the record! All graduate students must submit an updated Curriculum vitae (CV) to the Graduate Secretary by 30 April of each year. Why not work on (or create, or complete) yours with the support of the Graduate Advisor and peers? This Zoom workshop will begin with a discussion of academic CVs, their uses, typical formats, and variations—with samples provided—and will then proceed to quiet work on CVs with Q&A. On Zoom, we can make use of chat, breakout rooms, and/or other tools for collaboration and support (no cameras necessary). After one hour, we’ll disconnect, but anyone who wants to, especially those trying to check this CV requirement off their to-do list on the same day, can come back to the Zoom meeting an hour later for consultation.
April 23, 2:30-5:00pm
Zoom link to be sent out the day before.
PhD Turning Points: Candidacy Exams & Dissertation Prospectus
This two-part session is intended for doctoral students in their first years of the PhD program: those preparing for or writing candidacy exams, and those preparing for or writing a dissertation prospectus. Led jointly by Dr. Williams Boyarin and Dr. Stephen Ross, with added wisdom from ABD PhD candidates Janice Niemann and Natalie Boldt, participants can expect information on exam and prospectus processes (logistics), along with discussion and Q&A about expectations and strategies for success.
The exam and prospectus components of this session (each one hour) will run consecutively on Zoom, during the week of 19 April. The Graduate Secretary will reach out to PhD students in early April to find a schedule that works for those who should attend.
Graduate Welcome Back Party.
Please join us for our annual Graduate Welcome Back Party. This will provide a chance for current students and faculty to catch up and meet our new cohort. We will be serving cake, coffee, and tea.
When: Tuesday, 17 September
Time: 2:45-4pm
Location: CLE C344 (meeting room) and C351 (faculty and staff lunchroom)
Institutional Structures and Budgets: A Primer
Ever wonder why teaching assignments are made as they are? Confused about the what and how of funding decisions and funding sources? Do you want to know more about how the graduate program functions within the university? Led by the Graduate Advisor, this workshop will provide an overview of how the university, the Faculty of Humanities, and the Department of English manage graduate studies (both MA and PhD), with transparent attention to budgets and funding models. Bring your questions: straightforward answers promised! Snacks provided.
Monday 27 January 2020
12:30–2pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Preparing for the MA Essay or Project (ENGL 598)
Led by the Graduate Advisor and Dr. Misao Dean, this workshop is aimed at first-year MA students (who must submit their MA Essay/Project Proposal Form by 30 April 2020) and second-year MA students who are currently writing and need some updates or pointers. We will discuss the proposal, as well as the goals, expectations, planning requirements, and oral defence of the MA Essay or Project. Snacks provided.
Friday, 14 February 2020
2:30–3:30pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Publication Workshop for English Graduate Students
Offered by Dr. Leighton and Dr. Surridge, this writing workshop focuses on how to prepare an essay for publication—but it also doubles as a strategy for writing an excellent seminar/research essay whose argument readers can follow and appreciate. It includes advice on titles, introductions, roadmaps, transitions, structure, framing other critics, clarity, plain vs specialized language, and conclusions.
Monday, 24 February 2020
11.30 am- 1.00 pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Academic Conferences
Led by PhD candidates Denae Dyck and Amy Tang, both experienced presenters at academic conferences, this seminar will discuss the process of applying to and attending academic conferences, with a focus on delivering successful presentations. There will be time set aside for a casual conference proposal draft workshop. Snacks provided.
Friday, 28 February 2020
2.00 – 3.30 pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
UVic Career Services Workshop
Joy Andrews, Career Educator with UVic's Co-op Education Programs and Career Services, will provide information on the resources and supports UVic offers for graduate students seeking post-degree employment. This workshop will include activities to help you translate your academic skills into career opportunities and is aimed especially at MA students who may not pursue doctoral degrees, or anyone interested in pursuing non-academic humanities careers. Snacks provided.
Friday, 6 March 2020
2.30-3.30 pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
PhD Candidacy Exams (Part I) and the Dissertation Prospectus (Part II)
This two-part session is intended for doctoral students in their first years of the PhD program: those preparing for or writing candidacy exams, and those preparing for or writing a dissertation prospectus. Both parts will be run by Dr. Williams Boyarin, at least one other faculty member with significant doctoral-supervision experience, and at least one advanced PhD student. Students should expect information on exam and prospectus processes (logistics), along with discussion of related expectations and time management strategies. Part I: Candidacy Exams will run from 10:30–11:30, followed by a 30-minute break (with opportunity for continued casual Q&A); Part II: Dissertation Prospectus will run from 12:00–1:00. Snacks will be provided.
Wednesday 8 April 2020
10.30 am–1.00 pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Academic CV Workshop
Celebrate the end of the term by putting your accomplishments on the record! All graduate students must submit an updated Curriculum vitae (CV) to the Graduate Secretary by 30 April of each year. Why not work on (or create) yours with some light catering and peer support? This workshop, run by the Graduate Advisor, will begin with a 30-minute discussion of academic CVs, their uses, typical formats, and variations—with samples provided—and then proceed to quiet work on CV updates with coffee, danishes, fruit, and help from a few old pros.
Thursday 9 April 2020
12.00–2.00 pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
PhD SSHRC Workshop
Led by the Graduate Advisor, this workshop is for all PhD students and prospective PhD students who are preparing SSHRC scholarship applications (due October 2nd). Come for help, answers, and guidance on polishing your application. Bring questions and drafts! Snacks provided.
Please read the FGS Doctoral SSHRC Information Slides if you were unable to attend the workshop on Wednesday 4 September.
Friday 20 September 2019
1.30 – 3pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
PhD Job Market Workshop
Led by the Graduate Advisor and at least one other faculty member with knowledge of current job market conditions, this workshop is especially important for advanced PhD students and recent PhDs who are beginning to navigate job markets and preparing job applications (emphasis on academic jobs). All students interested in learning about post-degree job markets are welcome to attend. Snacks provided.
Tuesday 24 September 2019
2.15 – 3.30pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Candidacy Exam help/question session
Update: Doctoral Candidates Amy Tang and Natalie Boldt will be leading this discussion. New students are encouraged to read section 5.4 of the Graduate Handbook.
Led by the Graduate Advisor, one other member of the Graduate Committee, and at least one post-exam student, this workshop makes space for casual discussion and Q&A about PhD Candidacy Examinations in the Department of English. It is aimed at students currently preparing for Candidacy Examinations, though new PhD students who want to get a sense of the second-year candidacy process are also welcome to attend. Snacks provided.
Tuesday 8 October 2019
2.15 – 3.30pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Academic Conferences
Led by PhD candidates Denae Dyck and Amy Tang, both experienced presenters at academic conferences, this seminar will discuss the process of applying to and attending academic conferences, with a focus on delivering successful presentations. Snacks provided.
Tuesday 29 October 2019
1.30 – 3pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
MA SSHRC Workshop
Led by the Graduate Advisor, this workshop is for all MA students and prospective MA students who are preparing SSHRC scholarship applications (due December 1st). Come for help, answers, and guidance on polishing your application. Bring questions and drafts! Snacks provided.
Tuesday 5 November 2019
1.30 – 3pm
Clearihue Building, room C344
Please read the FGS MA SSHRC information slides if you were unable to attend this ProD session.
UVic's Sexualized Violence Prevention Workshop
The Office of Student Life will facilitate the Tools for Change workshop. This workshop will teach attendees about what sexualized violence is and how to challenge the attitudes and beliefs that lead to it.
Students that attend will still earn a certificate of completion, co-curricular record through Co-op and Career, and are entered to win $250 of tuition credit, drawn at the semester.
Tuesday 19 November 2019
2.30-5.30pm
Clearihue Building, room A307