Welcome Back from Professor Lopez
Dear English Department students,
Welcome back to campus and to the 2023-2024 academic year, with a special welcome to first-year students and newly declared majors and minors! I’m delighted to greet you in my role as new department chair.
I join an amazing group of English staff and directors on whose behalf I also bid you welcome: Taylor Dent, office administrator; Chirstine Dunn, finance administrator; Professor Jonathan Hsy, Director of Undergraduate Studies; Professor Lisa Page, Director of Creative Writing; Professor Alexa Alice Joubin, Director of MA Program; and Professor Holly Dugan, Director of Graduate Studies.
Our faculty offices and administrative suite are located on the sixth floor of Phillips Hall. Please come by anytime and say hello. My own office is in 643A, and my email address is amlopez@gwu.edu. I’m always happy to meet with students, talk about your studies, and hear your thoughts on what’s happening in the world.
I also want to remind you that Phillips 620 has been set aside by the department as a special lounge for English students! Please visit while you wait for office hours or just drop by and hang out with your friends. Sixth-floor Phillips is also where we’ll have our holiday party in December, so stay tuned for details on that.
English faculty in literature and creative writing continue to do outstanding work in the classroom and in our research and creative endeavors. We write and teach about every aspect and period of literature and culture, and we publish poems, fiction, and creative nonfiction, bringing that creativity to the classroom with you.
This semester, you might be in one of our introductory literature courses, an advanced poetry workshop, or a seminar in our graduate program. Maybe you’re starting an undergraduate honors thesis, taking a doctoral qualifying exam, or preparing to present your work in public. Whatever you’re doing, we’re here for you, and we know you’ll do great! Thank you for being a part of the English Department.
I end by mentioning the fantastic events we have lined up for the fall. We hope to see you there!
Sept. 14: Kiki Petrosino, Creative Nonfiction, Zoom, 5:30 pm, Jenny McKean Moore Reading Series.
Oct. 19: Thea Brown, Poetry, Textile Museum, 5:30 pm, Jenny McKean Moore Reading Series.
Oct. 20: Tonee Moll, Textile Museum, 3:00 pm, Woven Words Reading Series.
Oct. 26: Patricia A. Matthew, “‘Attendant with pearls’: Abolition, Portraiture, Agency, and the Properties of Benevolence,” 4:00 pm, location TBD, Wang Endowed Lecture.
Nov. 2: Carol Mitchell, Prose, and Fred Pollack, Poetry, Gelman 702, 6:30 pm, Jenny 2 Reading.
Dec. 7: Melinda Moustakis, Fiction, Zoom, 7:00 pm, Jenny McKean Moore Reading Series.
Check your email regularly for messages from us on the English majors listserv, and reach out to me if you’re not on the list. See us on our blog (gwenglish.org), Facebook (@GWUEnglish), Twitter/X (@gwengl), and Instagram (gwuenglish).
Have a great year!
All best,
Antonio López
