We support our colleagues in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures in condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine. Their statement (https://german.la.psu.edu/news/), reads: “The Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the Pennsylvania State University condemns Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine. We, Penn State students and faculty, insist on the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and the safety of its inhabitants. We resoundingly reject the false accusations and historical distortions that the Russian government and its media have used to justify the war against Ukraine. Russia’s flagrant violations of international law and human rights must be rebuked. We are profoundly troubled that by invading Ukraine Russia has placed the world in a precarious condition that threatens to escalate globally so that the stability and security of all nations is now under threat. We urge all concerned citizens of the world to petition their government representatives to rebuke Russia’s assault on a sovereign democracy and to aid the Ukrainian people in their hour of need. We are committed to educating future generations about Ukrainian and Russian languages, literatures, and cultures, so that they may understand the vital role that the national cultures of Eastern Europe play in the modern world. Please join the department in speaking out publicly.”
for passing the Qualifying Exam.
on the publication of the book chapter “Poetry and National History” in The Oxford History of Poetry in English, Vol. 2: Medieval Poetry 1100-1400 (Oxford University Press, 2023), pp. 167-186. Further information (including purchasing options) is available here.
on the publication of an interview with Shiraz Durani (Library-Science Professional) which appears in the book Guerrilla Incursions into the Capitalist Mindset: Essays with Focus on Kenya 1979-2023 (Vita Books, 2023), pp. 359-66. The interview is accessible here.
on the publication of the book chapter “Mayotte, ‘que s’est-il passé depuis?’ Colonialité, cartographie mutilée ou désastre en partage” in Convergences océanes. Ces océans qui nous habitent (Presses Universitaires indiaocéaniques, 2024), pp. 139-160. Further information (including purchasing options) are available here.
for receiving a 2024-25 University Graduate Fellowship.
A full list is available here.
who successfully passed the Qualifying Exam.
for the publication of the article “Trauma, Lu Xun, and the Specter of the Taiping Civil War” in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 36, no. 1, June 2024, pp. 1-25. The article is available here.
who passed the Qualifying Exam.
on the publication of the essay “New Frontiers for the Afronaut in Maisha Maene’s Mulika” in ASAP/J, the open-access platform of ASAP/Journal. The essay is available here.
on the publication of their translation “Wetlands, Petrochemicals, Island Imagination: Preface by Wu Ming-yi, Selected Poems and Lyrics,” in Archipelagic Asias, a special issue of Verge: Studies in Global Asias 10.2 (co-edited by Nicolai Volland and Leo T.S. Ching). A link to the translation is available here.
on the publication of Archipelagic Asias, a special issue of Verge: Studies in Global Asias 10.2 (co-edited with Leo T.S. Ching). The journal is available here.
who successfully defended the dissertation “The Making and Unmaking of African Literary Canons: Circulation, Genre, and Gender during the Cold War.”
On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the Middle East Care Committee in the Department of Comparative Literature organized the workshop “How to Teach Difficult Texts in the Undergraduate Classroom.” Attended by graduate students and faculty from various departments, the workshop concentrated on the participant's experiences of teaching sensitive materials and developing some strategies and methods to discuss a difficult text. Participants worked on a sample text together to develop some strategies. The conversation will continue in the form of a teaching support forum. If you would like to join the forum's listserv, contact Merve Sen at mfs6340@psu.edu for more information.
who was awarded the IIE CUSP (China-US Scholars Program) Research Travel Grant.