February English Department Highlights

by Chloë Moore ’24

Welcome Professor Klippenstein!

As we kick off the spring semester, we are delighted to have a new face in the department: Professor Cody Klippenstein! Joining us as a visiting Assistant Professor this semester teaching Intro to Creative Writing, Prof. Klippenstein received her MFA from Cornell University, where she also taught fiction classes on topics like gothic horror and literary monsters. On joining the English Department, she said, “The students and faculty at Macalester have been warm and welcoming as I’ve gotten to know my way around campus this first week of the spring semester. I’m grateful to be part of this community and am looking forward to getting to know the brilliant minds behind all the fantastic creative writing produced here!”

Uncommon Bodies Goes to the MIA!

Professor Penelope Geng, despite being on sabbatical, is still bringing communities on and off campus together! Her disability studies working group, Uncommon Bodies, will be heading to the Minneapolis Institute of Art on February 3rd to hear a paper by Nick Jones, have a working lunch and workshop, and view some prints by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya. The paper and workshop will deal with constructions of Blackness on the Iberian peninsula. Photos to come!

Capstones Getting Started!

With a new semester comes new capstones! Our wonderful seniors are setting off on their literary adventures with Professor Dawes, and their creative endeavors with Professor Prior. We are so proud of all of our seniors for taking on these projects, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with. As always, we’ll have a very exciting round of presentations in the spring, so stick around to hear what they’re up to!

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In short, as we come out of our first full week of classes, Old Main 2 is practically exploding with energy. Apart from these little tidbits, we’re also full of the normal goodies: classes, Coffee Houses, Keurigs, Bagel Mondays, etc. And, we’re also in the midst of an exciting job search, so keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to interact with the candidates. There’s a lot going on and we’re all ingesting perhaps more caffeine than the recommended amount to keep up, but we’re also full of hope and excitement for the present and future of the department, and mostly for you, our wonderful readers, who make us what we are.