English Department News

Humans of the English Department

A Distanced Introduction to the Freshman Cohort

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This past year has been a challenge for us all—navigating a pandemic so isolating, nerve-wracking and labyrinthine it seems impossible to capture its essence in words while still in the midst of it. Instead of writing about an experience we’ve all endured, I thought it more important to try and build some semblance of the community we have temporarily lost at UP this year, especially the Freshman who have not yet been able to partake in the full college experience. Instead of welcoming the Freshman cohort to campus in typical fashion, more removed and distanced forms of communication will have to do for the time being, with conversation through Zoom being a decent compromise. I had the pleasure of speaking to Freshman English majors Janea Melido and Mia Tierney about their specific interests in the humanities, how they’re coping with online classes, and what they’ve been up to with all of this free time dropped in our laps for the better part of this year. The following is the transcript of our chat, lightly edited for the sake of trimming repetition.

How has school been so far? How do you feel about starting college at a distance?

Janea: It’s definitely different, and kind of overwhelming. Everything is pretty much homework, so it ends up feeling like a lot more work than it actually is.

Mia: I feel the same way. I wish I was on campus, but all my classes are pretty small so I still feel like I’m getting to know my professors and some of my classmates.

Are you planning on coming to campus next semester?

Janea: I’m considering it because I’ve made a lot of friends and I want to see them face to face, but I’m waiting it out to see what COVID cases end up being like.

Mia: The one thing I’m struggling with is that it’ll be hard to see everyone hanging out on campus if I decide to stay home, but I don’t know how safe I’ll feel. I’m kind of waiting it out too. I think there’s going to be a big spike.

What specifically draws you to English? What are your specific interests within the field?

Janea: When I was applying to colleges I had no idea what I wanted to major in, and obviously I was looking through the lists at things I could potentially go into—and nothing felt right except English for me. It was as if I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Even now, I don’t really know what I want to do after college, but I really like writing and want to incorporate that into whatever I do in the future.

Mia: I went into applications as a communications major and after a while I was like, “Why am I majoring in communication?” My interest was in topics that being an English major would cover, that would lead me to my career aspirations more than being a communications major would be. So, I changed and I’m really happy so far.

How’s Zoom? Are you having fatigue with it yet?

Mia: It’s so bad.

Janea: Definitely, because after class you just leave, but you’re still on your computer because that’s where all your work is.

Mia: It’s so much harder to communicate over Zoom too, it feels like it’s more work just to talk to people.

Are you looking forward to being on campus, or are you ok with online schooling now? Is it more of a matter of when it’s safe to go back?

Janea: At the very beginning, when we found out we weren’t going on to campus at all, I was really bummed out—I was looking forward to meeting my roommate. But, as we got settled into school I’ve been kind of indifferent to it. I thought about what it would be like to go back, but I wouldn’t be super bothered if we stayed home the rest of the year because I’m used to it. I kind of got over the initial disappointment I had when I found out we weren’t going to be on campus.

Mia: Ya that’s kind of the way I feel, it was disappointing at first, because I was looking forward to being on campus and meeting everyone. I just feel I would be a lot more stressed on campus. Everything’s just so out of my control, and I have a routine at home. I’d also be fine with the rest of the year online. I just would hope that by next year I could be on campus.

Have you been able to stay focused with everything going on? For me it’s been tough, especially the last few weeks where your phone is buzzing every five seconds with some ridiculous news headline.

Janea: It’s definitely been hard to focus on school because it doesn’t feel like school usually does. I think for me it’s been more of learning to prioritize things—I want to focus on everything at once because there’s a lot to do, but obviously you can’t multitask everything like that.

Mia: That’s the same way it is for me. One thing that’s helped me is that I make myself wake up at 8AM every day and try and get as much done as I can before my first class.  Because once my classes are over I feel so drained. That’s when I’m just the most unproductive. So, I try and get as much as I can done in the morning, but it’s still really hard to focus.

What have you been up to during quarantine? Read any good books?

Janea: I tried to do some reading. I feel like ever since high school my attention span has gone down, but quarantine definitely was a good way to get back into the process of just sitting down and reading a book. I asked my Lit. teacher for a couple recommendations and he gave me a long list. The books I really liked were The Catcher in the Rye ( J.D. Salinger), Siddhartha (Herman Hesse) and 1984 (George Orwell). So that’s what I read over quarantine.

Mia: For me, I read Enders Game, which I’ve been meaning to read and it was so much better than I thought it would be. Also, I’m reading this book called The Map of Salt and Stars. It’s a dual story, so part of it is focused on this Syrian girl who becomes a refugee and the other part is set in the past about a girl who dresses as a guy to become an apprentice to a mapmaker.

This brief conversation was refreshing and inspiring—a reminder that though many aspects of the world are on pause, students are readily adapting to the new circumstances of distance learning, warts and all. While the Freshman cohort are separated at the moment, I’m confident the eventual return to campus will see them continue the long tradition of the Liberal Arts education with enthusiasm, each bringing their own strengths and specific interests to help consolidate and rekindle a strong sense of community at UP.

Humans of the English Department

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Jordan Ducree ’23

“I had an ‘aha!’ moment about a different major when I was really little—I’m a double major in biology and English. When I was little I would watch documentaries about forensic science, and I wanted to do work like that, so I knew I needed to study biology in order to pursue that. But in the background, my love of writing and reading was always there, and in high school I became more passionate about it. So that was something I was really into and wanted to study as well.

English was something I wanted to learn more about and participate in that conversation alongside studying what I wanted to do as my career. I think both of my majors study the more interesting parts of life. I wanted to do biology to study the human body and eventually work in forensic science. And I think writing is also focused on learning more about humans. I get to write about life in English and then see how it gets put together in biology.

I’ll write literally anything. It makes me so excited to get my words out on the page. It’s funny because I’m usually known as more of quiet person, but when I’m on a topic that I’m interested in, I’ll talk a mile a minute. But sometimes talking to other people stresses me out, so I’ll write about those things I’m passionate about. And then I can bridge that gap and not worry about being eloquent enough. I remember reading through the Narnia series with my mom, and those were the first books I remember really loving. After that, I was always the one who would go to the library and check out five books at once. Now I’m more passionate about nonfiction. But it’s always been there. I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t fond of reading.”

In the style of Brandon Stanton’s popular photoblog Humans of New York, our Humans of the English Department series introduces you to the real-life people involved in English at UP–majors, minors, alums and faculty alike–who have studied or are currently studying or working at the University of Portland. In their own words, we hear their stories, perspectives, and unique experiences that have led them to make the study of English an integral part of their lives.

Humans of the English Department – Alum

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By Wes Cruse

Happy Tuesday, my friends! If you’re a senior English major (like me) who’s eyeing graduation with more than a pinch of anxiety surrounding that dreaded ‘what’s next?’ question, this post is especially for you.

For the third profile of the Humans of the English Department series, I caught up with Laura Misch, an alum who recently graduated with a BA in both English and Psychology this past May. Laura is a UP English success story; stories like hers quell my fretful thoughts of graduating college only to take up residence in a van down by the river (side note: if you didn’t catch that reference, do me a favor. Stop reading this right now and go watch this famous SNL bit). Originally hailing from Henderson, Nevada, she’s now in Virginia at William & Mary Law School, pursuing her JD (juris doctorate, the degree that makes one an attorney). I found her reflections on her time spent as a UP English major to be particularly poignant.

“Before college, I already had this amorphous idea of going to law school. (I think it was somewhat Atticus Finch inspired.) But, the idea didn’t go far beyond that initial thought. I was prepared to have this plan change in college, but it never did. Actually, I found that my English major helped shape my legal interests. Literature really exposes you to issues of social inequality—whether they pertain to gender, race, sexual orientation, SES, etc.—and many of them still persist today. And especially with first-person narratives, this exposure becomes very personal, as you live vicariously through these characters and indirectly experience the same social obstacles that they do. Thus, the English major further developed my sense of empathy, and this heightened empathy made me want to represent the underprivileged and those “outsiders” that we read about and love so dearly. I am not so naïve as to think that I can single-handedly change the world, but I hope to better someone’s life in even a minuscule way.

More practically, the skills you use and foster as an English major transfer over to law school really nicely! I write, read analytically, think critically, and always look out for the finer details.

The English major has played a big role in my life, so don’t let anyone tell you it’s useless or unimportant.”

As a bonus for those of you who read this entire post, here’s a book and some music recommendations based on what Laura has been reading and listening to:

-Book: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

-Music: the soundtrack from A Star is Born (my comment: go see the movie before listening!); Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois album, particularly the song “Casimir Pulaski Day”; and “Scott Street” by Phoebe Bridges.

Cheers to the week, lit lovers!

(Photo courtesy of Laura Misch)

Humans of the English Department – Faculty

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By Chris Lee

Hello readers! This post should appear familiar—and if does not, then you definitely need to catch up on the work Cameron Beasley and Wes Cruse are doing. That said, my post will differ slightly. While Cameron and Wes are focusing on our wonderful English majors and minors, I will focus on the people who directly guide us through the discipline: our faculty members.

Dr. Hiro will be in the spotlight for this particular post, and while every reader would—logically—expect me to have asked her literary-related questions, I went in a completely different direction. Why? Although we rely on our professors’ expertise and are always interested in their thoughts regarding literature and writing, have we ever stopped to ask ourselves, “Exactly who is my professor?” Thus, my goal is for us to see our English professors as not just educators but as the regular humans they are—people with stories to share. And, for this post’s case, the story Dr. Hiro will share focuses on the lives that make ours a little easier: pets! 

Question 1: One type of story that intrigues me is pet stories–or the lack thereof. So, do you have a pet? If so, what is their story or perhaps a specific adventure you have had with them?

I do not have a pet! I grew up with tons of cats and a few dogs, but in my adult life and with my husband and family, I’ve never had pets.

Question 2: If you do not have a pet, that in of itself is a story in my view. Why don’t you have a pet? Do you want a pet but are simply unable to care for one?

My two school-aged daughters (now 14 and 11) have asked for pets many times over the years. From the beginning I was sure I didn’t want a pet in a cage—so while their friends had gerbils or guinea pigs or lizards or turtles or fish, and thus they’d come home asking for animals like these, I just had to say no. It makes me too sad to think of housing an animal who lives its life in a 2×2 box. For the last several years, we’ve been talking about getting a dog (I grew up with cats but was always allergic—this was in the day of “outside cats” but obviously we can’t do that anymore…). Three of four of us want one (my husband and fellow English prof. Dr. Larson is not a huge animal person). But, I’m cautious because our lives are already full, and we’ve had these amazing opportunities to travel for long periods the last several years (two summers in Europe and a half-year in India) that would have been much harder if we had a dog to worry about. That said, I’m now regularly monitoring sites like “Street Dog Hero” and the Humane Society to see if the perfect rescue dog pops up to make us finally take the plunge…

 

(Photo courtesy of Dr. Hiro)

Humans of the English Department – Students

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Hi all! I’m Cameron Beasley and I want to welcome you to our first Humans of the English Department post, where Wes Cruse and I will be reporting monthly on of your fellow English majors and giving you insight into their literary worlds.

This month, I had the opportunity to sit down with Brendan Foley, a junior English and Communications Major, to talk with him about his journey as both a reader and a writer. He and I have had the pleasure of sharing several English Surveys together, first Dr. Orr’s American Literature I, and now Dr. Larson’s American Literature II. He and I love to swap papers before they’re due to give advice and feedback on our writing. I chose him for this first post of Humans of the English Department because I think his incorporation of his communications major into his literary analysis is incredible, and can be a lesson for all of us studying literature. I prompted him with a few questions, asking why he chose to study English, and how he views himself as both a reader and a writer. Here is Brendan’s response:

“I love how I can find connections between different realms of my life, especially between video games and literature. I have always found myself deeply affected by both mediums, and can identify with characters in both. I became a Communications major so that I could learn more about unique mediums and how their messages can span to others. I chose English in order to hear more stories that inspire me, and to learn how to maybe inspire someone else one day. I always call myself the “worst-read” English major, because I feel like my wheel-house of reading is so different from my peers, but I often find myself reading in order to be social with other people. Being able to talk about a communal piece of literature not only helps me connect with others but also helps me to see what interests other people. As a writer, I aim to hold both academic integrity and merit, while still being entertaining for my readers. I remember in high school struggling with dry and monotonous readings, and I want to be the kind of writer that can be informative as well as enticing.”

 

(Photo courtesy of Cameron Beasley)