English studies symposium spotlights student success

Nipissing’s department of English Studies is pleased to host the English Studies Student Symposium, March 16, from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. in room A252.

The long-running annual symposium features fourth-year English students presenting their best student papers, with a question and answer session to follow, just as in a traditional academic conference.

Students presenting this year include:

• Amanda Reagan: ‘The race of men has failed’: Hobbits and Men in The Lord of the Rings
• Justine Splane:Understanding Failure: Examining Naomi and Piquette in Lives of Girls and Women and A Bird in the House
• Meagan Cooper:From Forests to Gardens: A Complementary Reading of Natural Spaces in The Lord of the Rings
• Chantal Sabo:The Paradox of Gothic: The Attraction of Horror in The Monk and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Grace Myles:The Journey to Nowhere in Nadine Gordimer’s What Were You Dreaming?

Each presentation runs for about 10 minutes. 

Participants are selected by their professors, who submit the best papers from the fall term to the English Studies department.

“The Student Symposium is an important event in our academic year. Students who do exemplary work are given the spotlight and a chance to shine. For students in earlier stages of the program, it highlights the level of work and achievement they can expect in their fourth-year," said Dr. Gyllian Phillips, Chair of the English Studies department.  “The symposium is a celebration of what we do best in English: read analytically, connect the texts within cultural or historical contexts, engage in dialogue with other scholars, and communicate our ideas clearly and with style.  It also provides students excellent public speaking practice, which is valuable preparation for the world beyond university.”