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Applications for admission to the English Department’s graduate programs are submitted through the UNLV Graduate College. Official GRE results should be sent to the English department (institution code: 4861; applicants should not enter a department code).

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Department News

Check here for upcoming visiting speakers, details on semester deadlines, and other news of interest to our department.

Congratulations to English Honorees!

Posted 7.May.2012

Several graduate and undergraduate English nominees, nestled between Dr. Richard Harp (Chair, Department of English) on the far left, and Associate Dean Christopher Heavey, on the far right.

On April 26, 2012, the College of Liberal Arts held its Honors Convocation in the Blasco Events Center. The Convocation is held to recognize the extraordinary achievements of the college faculty and its most talented graduate and undergraduate students. Eighteen graduate students received various scholarships and awards, as well as 31 undergraduate students. Steve DeVito and Regina Dickerson both were honored with UNLV Outstanding Teaching by Part-time Faculty awards. Professor John Bowers was given the UNLV Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award. Professor P. Jane Hafen received the BMI/COLA Research Fellowship Award and the William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching. Professor John Unrue was honored as the recipient of the Rita Deanin Abbey Teacher of the Year! Congratulations to everyone who received awards!

Professors P. Jane Hafen and John Unrue, with Associate Dean Christopher Heavey

Modernist Studies Association Conference in October

Posted 30.Mar.2012

The Modernist Studies Association Conference, on “Modernism & Spectacle,” will be held at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas from October 17-21, 2012. Keynote speakers are J. Hillis Miller, Peggy Phelan, and Terry Smith. Special events include a poetry reading by the distinguished peot/scholar James Logenbach (co-sponsored with Black Mountain Institute), a modern dance performance produced by our own UNLV dance department, an architectural tour sponsored by the UNLV School of Architecture, and a cocktail hour at Bauman’s Rare Books. For more information please contact Beth Rosenberg.

Far West Popular Culture & American Culture Associations 24th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Feb. 24–26.

Posted 9.Feb.2012

The Far West Popular Culture & American Culture Associations cordially invite you to their 24th Annual Meeting. The conference will be held at Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 24-26, 2012. Papers on all aspects of Popular Culture worldwide and American Culture as well as readings by creative writers and round tables will be featured.

Contact Felicia Campbell, Department of English, UNLV for more information, or check out the conference website at farwestpca.blogspot.com.

Spring Events for Undergraduates

Posted 30.Jan.2012

The undergraduate committee is sponsoring a number of events this semester of interest to undergraduates. Wednesday, March 7th, we will be hosting back-to-back career events in SU 211. At 1pm Kate Nelson, campus recruiter for the Target Corporation, will be presenting on management opportunities with Target. At 2pm we will be hosting a panel of speakers discussing "Career Tracks for English Majors," including speakers from the areas of law, journalism, and politics. Thursday, April 12th 11am-3pm we will be holding an open house for English majors and minors in FDH 608. Faculty will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about summer and fall classes and department requirements. Refreshments will be served! For more information on any of these events please contact Anne Stevens or find us on Facebook.

—Prof. Anne Stevens

Prof. John Bowers honored with Distinguished Teaching Award

Posted 30.Jan.2012

Congratulations to Prof. John Bowers, who has been awarded a UNLV Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award for 2011–2012!

Congratulations New Alumnae!

Posted 18.May.2011.


Todd Huston, MA; Olivia Montgomery, MA; Jessica McCall, Ph.D.; Laura Breitenbeck, MFA and Laura Powell, Ph.D.

On May 14, 2011, during UNLV’s 49th May Commencement ceremony, the English Department proudly awarded four new alumnae the Master of Arts degree, four Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and six PhDs in English. Congratulations to new alumnae Olivia Montgomery (MA, English), Stephanie Taylor (MA, English), John H. Todd (MA, English), Stephen Weeks (MA, English), Laura Breitenbeck (MFA, Creative Writing), Michael Kroesche (MFA, Creative Writing), David C. Perkins (MFA, Creative Writing), Chris Seelie (MFA, Creative Writing), and to Dr. Juan Martinez, Dr. Jessica McCall, Dr. Andrew Nicholson, Dr. Alissa Nutting, Dr. Laura Powell, and Dr. Karen Kel Roop (PhD, English)!

Maile Chapman shortlisted for Guardian First Book Award

Posted 3.Nov.2010.

On October 29, The Guardian announced its shortlist of candidates for its coveted First Book Award. UNLV English Department alumna Maile Chapman has been selected for the shortlist in honor of her first novel, Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto (2010, Graywolf Press). The Guardian writes:

The Guardian's literary editor, Claire Armitstead, who chairs the judging panel, said: This brilliant shortlist reflects one of the year's big literary themes – how to tell stories in our new era. Each of these books provides its own very different answer, and it is thrilling that our judges and the Waterstone's reading groups have chosen five such rich and challenging works. [...] Maile Chapman's Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto, challenges convention with its seemingly obscure subject: a group of elderly female patients in a Finnish hospital in the 1920s. The story tells how the arrival of a new patient, a former ballroom-dance instructor with a bad temper, upsets the complex dynamics on the ward.

The winner of the prize will be announced on December 1. Congratulations and best of luck to Maile!

Maile Chapman recently completed a Ph.D. with the UNLV English Department, and currently holds a New York Public Library Fellowship in New York City.

UNLV English Department Announces 2010 Outstanding Teacher Award Nominations

Posted 22.Feb.2010.

The UNLV English Department is pleased to announce the following nominations for 2010 Outstanding Teacher awards:

Congratulations to Dr. Hafen and Dr. Becker-Leckrone!

Rebel Yell covers English Department Majors Mixer

Posted 2.Nov.2009.

The Rebel Yell editorial staff writes, Wednesday’s English department mixer was a perfect example of how campus leaders are working to make connections between UNLV’s academic strengths and its social and cultural traditions ... Not only was the event a huge success in terms of numbers, with dozens of undergraduate English majors and graduate students appearing throughout the afternoon to mix, mingle and learn, it made an important step toward building the public community of mutual learning and benefit that UNLV and the department strive for. [Read more...]

Vu Tran wins coveted Whiting Writers’ Award

Posted 29.Oct.2009.

On October 28, the Giles Whiting Foundation announced that UNLV English Department alumnus and instructor Vu Tran would receive the prestigious 2009 Whiting Writers’ Award, a national prize for writers of exceptional talent and promise in early career. Vu Tran was awarded a Glenn Schaeffer Fellowship by the UNLV English Department in 2003, and graduated with a Ph.D. in English in 2006. He is currently an instructor for the UNLV English Department, teaching creative writing, world literature, and composition. He is the author of multiple short stories and a forthcoming literary crime novel, titled This Or Any Other Desert. [Read more...]

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