Greetings from Padelford Hall, where I have been settling into the role as department chair. It is truly an honor – and an awesome responsibility – to lead a department that is as large, multi-faceted, and dynamic as English. I left New York – along with the bone-chilling winters and the humid-sticky summers – to join the UW English department over 18 years ago. In 2006, I arrived as an early-career scholar of contemporary African American… Read more
It is with sadness that we convey that Professor Emeritus Thomas Lockwood passed away on September 2, 2024. Professor Lockwood taught in the English department from 1967 to 2015 and was department chair from 1992 to 1997. His research focused on eighteenth-century satire, print culture, and the history of the novel. He is best known in his field for his three-volume edition of Henry Fielding’s plays and his 2023 book, The… Read more
With bittersweet emotions we announce the retirements of outstanding professors John Griffith, Rick Kenney, and Henry Laufenberg. We honor their work and want to take a moment to thank them for their years of contributions to our students, profession, and community.
John Griffith
Professor Griffith is a scholar of American literature, children’s literature, and the Bible as literature, teaching courses in all these areas during his… Read more
Recognizing the power of stories, Assistant Professor Cristina Sánchez-Martín and PhD candidate Taiko Aoki-Marcial created a storytelling workshop and course for community members learning English as a second language (ESL). Grants from the Simpson Center for the Humanities in the UW College of Arts & Sciences, and Humanities Washington, supported the project, titled “Translationships: stories, languages, and communities." … Read more
The UW Alumni Magazine, Viewpoint, published an article about the 50th anniversary of Shawn Wong's anthology, Aiiieeeee! along with 50 years of UW Press publishing Asian American writing, mentioning many English Deptment graduates who published books as well. To read the article click here:… Read more
Promotion, Retention, and New Leaders
The English Department would like to extend special congratulations to Candice Rai and Jesse Oak Taylor for their promotions to the rank of Full Professor.
Additionally, congratulations are in order for… Read more
This year's crop of faculty books is nothing to sneeze at! Exploring themes from the Middle Ages to the present day, from the page to the stage to the screen to the classroom, these books are timely and thought-provoking. Each, of course, adds richness not just to the fields to which they contribute, but also to our department life. Congratulations to all our faculty authors!… Read more