English and Modern Languages
Here’s How Students Get to Know Us and We Get to Know Them:
- First-Year Composition Classes
- Foreign Language Classes and Activities
- Creative Writing, Literature, and Other Upper-Division Classes
- Affiliated Programs (Gender and Women’s Studies; National Writing Project)
- Upcoming English Classes
- Upcoming Spanish Classes
Grounded in the Humanities: Our Mission and Vision
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Alumni Spotlight: Paige Wenner (2019)
Program News
The Rude Mechanicals will present performances of a medieval play, Hrothsvita’s The Conversion of Thaïs, and three plays written by students from Dr. Carrie Messenger’s Creative Writing: Drama class. Those student-written plays include Earth Boys Are Easy by Rachel Carroll, The Galathea Effect by Caitlin Carson, and Blood and Garlic by Hannah Tinsman. Performances will be April 4th and 5th, as well as April 9th through the 12th, at 7:30 p.m. Two additional performances are scheduled for April 6th and 13th at 3:00 p.m. English, History, or Spanish majors or minors in the cast or crew are Jacob Collins, Gabriella DiPomazio, Evan Engle, Belle Erikson, Jill Martin-Hitchcock, Makenzie Kuhn, Hannah Tinsman, and Melissa Viera.
Shepherd University English majors were well represented at this year’s Sigma Tau Delta convention. Dr. Heidi Hanrahan and Dr. Timothy K. Nixon escorted a group of seven students to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from March 20th to March 22nd for the annual conference. Taylor Beam, Caitlin Carson, Heather Gilman, Britney Huntley, and Hannah Tinsman all presented papers at the event. Taylor’s paper was on William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, which was written for Dr. Nixon’s English 313 course, and Caitlin’s, Heather’s, Britney’s, and Hannah’s papers were all written for Dr. Hanrahan’s seminar on Emily Dickinson. Sigma Tau Delta is an international English honor society, and Shepherd’s chapter is especially vibrant. Way to go everybody!
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch will hold its next meeting on Friday, March 21st. The gathering will be at 5:00 p.m., and it will be held at the home of Daan and Evelyn Vreugdenhil. They are frequent participants and live here in Shepherdstown. Stammtisch is open to all faculty, staff, students, and community members, and people with all levels of German proficiency—from beginners to native speakers—are welcome to take part. For more information, including the address of Daan and Evelyn’s house, contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
On Tuesday, March 4th, Dr. Betty Ellzey and Dr. Timothy K. Nixon escorted a group of Shepherd students to the Folger Theatre in Washington, DC, to see a performance of A Room in the Castle by Lauren M. Gunderson. The drama is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet from the perspective of three female characters: Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, and Anna (Ophelia’s handmaid). Gunderson is the author of some of the most produced plays in the USA over the past ten years; her works include the award-winning dramas I and You and The Book of Will. A Room in the Castle had its world premier in this joint production of The Folger Theatre and The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Students from Dr. Ellzey’s English 421 (Shakespeare) course and Dr. Nixon’s English 215 (The Art of Literature) had dinner at DC’s Union Station and then walked over to tour the Folger Library’s exhibitions before enjoying the show. Across the board, students reacted enthusiastically to the play and its cast and seemed to enjoy themselves quite a bit.