Tag: Undergrad

Undergrad Kate Irwin reviews TDPS production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard

Published date November 17, 2015

From October 23rd to November 1st, Cal’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies staged a production of Anton Chekhov’s last play The Cherry Orchard, adapted by Libby Appel and directed by Lura Dolas. English Major and Daily Cal columnist Kate Irwin had the opportunity to attend closing night; here is her review of the final showing. Losing everything, starting over, moving on: Discarding...

Reflecting on Berkeley Connect

Published date May 19, 2015

Berkeley Connect, a mentoring program connecting graduate-student mentors with small groups of undergraduates, began in the English Department in 2010 with a gift from Peter Chernin (’73). This year will mark the fifth anniversary of the program, which has recently expanded to other departments.

Coloring Outside the Lines

Published date May 7, 2015

Amy Clark is a graduating senior, and was recently awarded the Charlene Conrad Liebau Library Prize for her English honors thesis, “More than Meets the Eye: Cultural Color Resonances in Old English Literature.”

The History of Pirates and Novels

Published date April 13, 2015

Samuel Diener is a senior finishing an Honors thesis this year on the General History of the Pyrates and the early seafaring novels of Daniel Defoe. He will go on to a Ph.D. program in English at Harvard this fall, where he hopes to continue to study the novel, the eighteenth century, and voyage narratives in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

From the Western U.S. to Western Europe: Running the Archive Gauntlet

Published date February 21, 2015

Dennis Velasquez (‘15) was given the opportunity to pursue independent research through the McNair Scholars Program and the Haas Scholars Program (the only student awarded both research fellowships for 2014-15). His project is a comparative study of strategies of literary defiance of English Linguistic Imperialism across disparate temporal and geocultural locations.

Exploring the Archives on Martha’s Vineyard

Published date February 8, 2015

Charlotte Hull is a fourth year, double major in English Literature and History. Her academic interests include community building in Colonial New England, the impact of space and environment on society, and the ways in which stories shape and reflect our own histories.

On Teaching in the English Department

Published date January 24, 2015

In Spring 2014, Rebecca Solnit taught a course in prose nonfiction at Berkeley. This is her account of some of the joys and difficulties encountered in teaching the course.

David Adam Getman (1992-2014): In Memoriam

Published date November 23, 2014

David Adam Getman, a brilliant writer, artist, son, brother, and friend, died in a traffic accident in the early morning hours of August 25th, 2014. David, who was a 2010 graduate of the Milken Community Schools in Los Angeles, is survived by his three sisters and his parents.

“Homesick for Horror”: Introducing the Winner of the R1B Essay Prize

Published date September 8, 2014

Every year, graduate students in the English department teach numerous sections of R1B, an introductory reading and composition course. At the end of the year, teachers submit their best students’ papers to be considered for an essay prize. This year’s winner was Celina Maiorano, whose essay, “Homesick for Horror: The Gothic of Nostalgia,” was written for Katie Fleishman’s course “American Beauties.”

“Two Ways to Sell Children”: Meet the Winner of the R1A Essay Prize

Published date August 18, 2014

Every year, graduate students in the English department teach numerous sections of R1A, an introductory reading and composition course. At the end of the year, teachers submit their best students’ papers to be considered for an essay prize. This year’s winner was Clare Kim, whose essay, “Two Ways to Sell Children,” was written for Jesse Cordes Selbin’s course “Narratives We Live By.”

Lure of the Archive (VII): Caitlin Lowe (’15) Seeks out the Bubonic Plague in Early Modern Books

Published date July 31, 2014

Caitlin Lowe is a current student in the English Department at Cal (class of ’15). This summer, she was given the opportunity to pursue independent research through the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grant. SURF is a campus-wide award that supports student research under the supervision of a faculty sponsor.

Undergraduate Research: A Diegetic

Published date April 26, 2014

In the following article, Emily Doyle (’14) considers the subject of her summer 2013 undergraduate research fellowship concerning Henry James and the phrase, ‘As if’. Emily will graduate from Berkeley this spring and is currently in the final stages of developing her research into an honors thesis focusing on the specific ways elements of fiction, grammar, and philosophy converge upon the...

“Show don’t tell”: The Founding of The Folio

Published date September 20, 2013

Lauren Mueller details the founding of the English department’s first undergraduate academic journal, The Folio.

Robot Anatomy: Bonnie Kim’s Adventures with Isaac Asimov

Published date July 22, 2013

Below is a reflection from Bonnie Kim (’13), finalist for this year’s Bronson Prize, on her work with Isaac Asimov’s robot novels.

Why Milton?: Reflections from the Winners of the Bertrand H. Bronson Prize

Published date July 5, 2013

At the end of every spring semester, the English Department awards the Bronson Prize to the graduating senior, whose thesis is deemed the best that year. In 2013, it looks like we couldn’t choose: both Stephanie Ranks and Lily Rosenthal received the prize. Remarkably, both wrote on 17th-century poet John Milton. In separate reflections, Stephanie and Lily discuss the pleasures and difficulties of reading and writing about Milton.