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Research Groups & Collaborations

Research Groups

Departmental Research Groups

Research groups (or “subfields”) are informal, extra-curricular associations of professors and graduate students devoted to special interests within the Department of English. Research groups typically meet once or twice a month, on or off campus, for discussion of classic texts, recently published works, or faculty and student works in progress. Many students participate in more than one group. If a group is not formed that suits your interests, the graduate office can help you start one! Some currently active research groups include the following:

Medieval and Early Modern Research Group

The Medieval & Early Modern Research Group is a student-led interdisciplinary forum for graduate students and faculty interested in medieval and early modern Europe and the spread of European colonialism. We entertain a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, and we organize discussions, presentations, and events on topics concerning the scholarship, teaching, and critical theory relevant to work in the medieval and early modern fields. Contact Lindsay Craig for more information.

Medieval Research Group

The Medieval Research Group is a multi-disciplinary group with members from several departments, including English, History, and Classics, and from several local universities in addition to the University, such as Hamline, St. Katherine’s, and the University of Minnesota, Morris. Though members represent a variety of disciplines and methodologies, all share a common interest in the Middle Ages. We meet three times each semester with the goal of providing a friendly atmosphere in which to share and discuss members’ research and current projects and to practice conference presentations. For more information, contact Lindsay Craig.

Nineteenth Century British Subfield

This research group of graduate students and faculty members meets monthly to discuss works-in-progress. We are not limited to one school of thought or method of research, and our interests span the long nineteenth century. Recent discussions have centered on diverse topics including women’s travel writing, masculinity and imperialism, and cross-writing (writing that addresses both adults and children). The papers we discuss may be seminar papers, conference papers in progress, potential articles, dissertation chapters, or even sections of book projects. Contact us at nineteen@umn.edu for more information.

Poetry Subfield

The Poetry Subfield is dedicated to promoting poetry in the English Department, the University, and in the Twin Cities community. We intend to help create more poetry-related events (readings, lectures, etc.) at the University, either through our own efforts or in collaboration with other literary groups in the community. We gather several times during the school-year to discuss poetry and poetics, and to provide support for each other's critical projects about poetry. Our group is open to all graduate students in the English Department, including MFA students. For more information, please contact Becky Weaver.

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Subfield

Our group provides a network for students and faculty interested in matters of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We organize discussions and presentations on topics concerning scholarship, teaching, and critical theory relevant to work in the fields of twenty and twenty-first century literatures and cultures. Contact us at ttonec@umn.edu for more information.

grad research

Paper presentation at the Nineteenth-Century British Subfield's graduate student symposium