Featured Faculty

Our English literature and creative writing faculty describe their recent research and publications.

On left, head and torso of person with grey short hair and light skin, wearing glasses and blue collared shirt and green jacked, arms crossed; on right, book cover with color photo of fruits and white text: The Farmer, the Gastronome, and the Chef

Daniel Philippon: The Literature of Sustainable Meals

The professor’s new book explores the impact of food writers and advocates Wendell Berry, Carlo Petrini, and Alice Waters in theory and in practice.

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Professor John Watkins Retires

The award-winning teacher and esteemed early modern scholar joined the English faculty in 1994.

Person with dark hair drawn back and light brown skin wearing colorful gown and holding statuette, in front of blue wall with yellow logos of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Upper Midwest Chapter

Jessica Horvath Williams Part of Emmy Win

The assistant professor co-hosted, wrote, and researched for the Twin Cities PBS award-winning special Art + Medicine: Disability, Culture, and Creativity.

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Remembering Professor Gordon Hirsch

Known for his kindness and insight, the Victorian scholar was dedicated to student development both as a teacher and administrator.

V.V. Ganeshananthan and her book, "Brotherless Night"

V.V. Ganeshananthan explores the complexity of Sri Lanka's civil war in her prize-winning novel

Associate Professor V.V. Ganeshananthan speaks with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation podcast Bookends about her novel's characters, historical background, and more.

VV Ganeshananthan, a woman with brown skin and black hair, smiles in front of trees

‘Don’t read just one book about Sri Lanka’: V. V. Ganeshananthan on her civil war novel

Associate Professor Ganeshananthan speaks to The Guardian about her novel "Brotherless Night," which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

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Ganeshananthan Wins Major Literary Prizes

The professor's second novel Brotherless Night is honored internationally.

Head and shoulders of person with short brown hair and light skin, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and grey suitcoact with blue shirt and tie; on right, colorful book cover with text Early Modern Improvisations

A Festschrift for John Watkins!

The literary and cultural historian is honored with a new volume of essays on the early modern world, co-edited by Professor Katherine Scheil and alum Linda Shenk.

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AI or Not AI?

A professor, lecturer and graduate student analyze two versions of the same paragraph-length Shakespeare biography, one written by AI and the other by a student.

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Siobhan Craig Wins Top Teaching Prize

The professor is the recipient of the 2023-24 Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education for her…