About the GSE

The Graduate Students in English (GSE) committee is elected annually by graduate students in the English Department at the University of Arkansas. All graduate students in English are considered members of the GSE. The goal of this committee is to offer information to help English graduates succeed academically, professionally, and personally. These goals are met by providing helpful information, organizing workshops, planning conventions, and creating social events.

A sense of community in the English Department helps students connect with other graduate students and faculty to ensure long lasting professional relationships and high quality academic projects. This newsletter is just one platform for creating that community. To stay informed follow our Twitter and Facebook feeds.

If you would like to see news about your awards, publications, research projects, conferences, posts about issues in the department in this newsletter, or have any questions or concerns about the newsletter, please email the editor at gsearkansas@gmail.com with “editor” in the subject heading. To contact the officers of the GSE, email us at gsearkansas@gmail.com.

Your 2015-2016 GSE commitee:

President: Christy Davis studies 20th and 21st century U.S. southern literature with a focus on Caribbean connections. Her current project examines southern women and their depictions of the Caribbean islands, particularly Cuba and Jamaica. She looks forward to being your GSE President and hopes that you will come to her with any questions or concerns. She hopes the community of the graduate students in English encourages productive academic and social lives!            

Vice President: Megan Vallowe is working on her PhD in English, focusing on Indigenous Studies of North and Latin America. She is committed to helping GSE become an integral part of the English department’s community and helping graduate students succeed in all aspects of their respective careers. As vice-president, Megan is excited to work on growing our annual conference and increasing student involvement in the GSE. Megan also serves on the Graduate Student Congress and will work to communicate the concerns of graduate students within the English Department to the rest of the graduate student body and the university at large. In her spare time, Megan enjoys hiking through the Ozarks and watching as many British Sitcoms as possible.

GSE Secretary/Treasurer: Alicia Troby is a second year master’s student in English studying rhetoric and composition. She graduated with her B.A. in Anthropology and English in 2010. Her current research focuses on the pedagogical implications of teaching adaptations of literary works.

PhD Liaison: Hashintha Jayasinghe is in her 2nd year of PhD in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Her focus is on Third World Feminism and Postcolonial literature in the South Asian region. She enjoys teaching Freshmen Composition and is committed to help graduate students balance their academic and teaching careers.

MFA Liaison: Molly Rector is a poet entering her third year in the MFA program. Her goal is to help build stronger connections between MFA students and the English department as a whole, especially when it comes to readings, conferences, and other public/professionalization opportunities. She likes to think of herself as a good listener, and she is looking forward to hearing what ideas and concerns MFA students have for the GSE.

MA Liaison: Sally Ferguson is currently pursuing a MA in Literature with a focus on adaptations. She plans to graduate, completed thesis in hand, in May of 2016, and she hopes to continue her education alongside teaching (because both are quite fun). Though a Texan, Sally must admit that living in Fayetteville is pleasant, primarily because she nearly wept tears of joy upon seeing the Fayetteville Public Library for the first time. She is eager to help any MA student that should approach her and is open to good conversation over good coffee to meet the needs of her fellow graduate students.

Student/Faculty Liaison: Zach Hester is in the second year of his MFA candidacy in poetry. Secretly, when no one is looking, he obsessively creates lists and reads fiction. Like his hands while speaking, he is unsure of what to do with commas. Zach is very much looking forward to another year in Fayetteville, a place he has grown alarmingly fond of. As faculty liaison he hopes to be both a repository for any concerns amongst graduate students and a contributing link between student and faculty.

the Sapient Pig Editor: Michelle D. Myers is a third-year MFA in poetry. Her goals for the Sapient Pig are to increase readership and exposure to the newsletter by making it more relevant to student’s interests and concerns.