Dear Mario, Carrie, et. All,

Every moment I’ve spent at the GC has been precious. I echo the sentiments in Stephen’s letter that size of the program is a strength, and I’ve felt nothing but supported by this large community since I’ve arrived. Of course, I can only speak from my own experience.

Rather than continue to echo any of the sentiments articulated thus far, I’d like to draw attention to a disconnect that’s my very specific to my experience, and that is how we might bridge the gap between earlier and later fields of study in our program. In the later theoretical courses I’ve been graciously welcomed into, as well as the early courses in my chosen “field” of study (early modern literature), I’d like to see more overlap in student enrollment. This also extends to Friday Forums, on-site conferences, and the area / writing groups. My recent work is indebted to taking courses outside of my comfort zone, so to speak, in the different points of entry this course work has inspired, and the different perspectives I now have when working with the seemingly impenetrable body of work on Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
I think this overlap / exchange of ideas in the early course-work stage of the degree can be facilitated by continuing to make sure the ESA conference topics are broad enough to allow for a wide range of papers (I remember how astonishing and important it was to hear the connections among my Minding the Body paper’s focus on abortive imagery in Lady Mary Wroth’s sonnet sequence and the other papers on the panel discussing seemingly disparate texts and contexts). I also wonder if more Friday Forums could be devoted to our own faculty’s work (in a way that does not increase their workload without compensation), with interdisciplinary / broader topic panels that allow students to get to know the work of faculty outside of the classroom, and bring together diverse audiences. For example, a panel on queer bodies / desire could easily include Steven Kruger, Will Fisher, Mario DiGangi, Robert Reid Pharr, etc. Rich McCoy’s recent work has been put into conversation with work done by faculty working in Romanticism, but might also work with a panel performance theory / religion. Many of our faculty write about comp rhet / and teaching from their own diverse perspectives, and I would love to attend a panel on this topic.

These are just a few examples off of the top of my head, grounded in my own experience. This is, admittedly, not an urgent matter compared to some. However, I do think that these more local, small-scale endeavors might help with Becky’s questions re: fostering a more inclusive, supportive, joyful sense of community within our own department.

Thank you all for your part in the strengths of this program.
Alicia