Student Profiles
I’m
interested in historical mass-marketed romantic fiction, which is the academic
term I use when I don’t want to admit I’m studying trashy romance
novels. These books aren’t generally accepted as exemplary
literature, but, as cultural artifacts, they reveal a lot about Western
(particularly American) norms, desires, and expectations. Pulp romances
rack up massive sales in the U.S. and England, and the books occupy a distinctive
role in the lives of millions of predominantly female readers. Because
the genre is essentially market-driven, romance novels are simultaneously
products and sculptors of the contemporary female psyche. I’m
trying to investigate the ways in which these novels manifest and influence
women’s desires. | more |
Alek Duerksen
When Charlottesville resident Alek Duerksen graduates in Spring 2010, he will be able both to design a safer support system for a coal mine and write a poem about it. Double majoring in Mining & Minerals Engineering and Creative Writing might strike some folks as odd, but for Alek the decision brings the best of both worlds together and plays on his major strengths. | more |
Kristin Allen
Although South Boston native and Pre-Education Major Kristin Allen says that she comes from a typical family -- two parents, two kids, plus a dog and two cats – she says that her extended family is “fairly large, and we are a pretty close bunch. We’re from a rural area, which makes us traditional and conservative, if not slightly old-fashioned at times.” | more |
Emily
Mook
Literature major Emily Mook is the third woman in her family to attend VT, following in the footsteps of her mother and older sister. Although she initially decided on Tech due to its proximity to home (Salem, Virginia), she has since come up with what she calls “better” reasons for being a Hokie, namely the school’s “unbreakable spirit, community support and teamwork, and [its] most remarkable English Department.” | more |
Kathleen Cooperstein
Some English majors come to the field by circuitous but nonetheless interesting
routes, pursuing a variety of potential careers along the way. Take Pre-Law
major Kathleen Cooperstein, for instance.
When she was a child, for example, Kathleen was determined to be a detective. “In order to hone my detecting skills,” she reports, “I kept a notebook full of profiles of everybody I knew or met, down to the cashier at Taco Bell. I wrote down every detail of them, making myself notice things like wedding rings, scars, mismatched socks, or nicotine stains on their fingernails.” | more |