December 22, 2023: Fall Semester Finds: Douglas Stuart from an MA Thesis

[For myannual Fall semester reflections series, I wanted to share some of the newtexts and ideas I encountered this semester. I’d love to hear things youdiscovered or rediscovered this Fall in comments!]

Two yearsago, at the start of the Fall 2021 semester, I took over as the Chair of our GraduateEnglish Program at Fitchburg State, in the midst of the crises ofenrollment and sustainability about which I wrote inthis post. We’ve worked throughout those two years to address those issuesand grow our program and continue to do so this Fall, and I’d certainly lovefor you all to help spread the word to anyone who might be interested incompleting an online English Studies MA (and/or our newly created CreativeWriting Certificate). I have lots of selfless reasons for wanting theprogram to survive and grow, but also selfishly I learn so much from our gradstudents, and perhaps especially from the many with whom I’ve been able to workon their MA Thesis. I’m advising one such Thesis this semester, from thephenomenal student and teacher Heather Ferguson who’s working onrepresentations of LGBTQ+ identities in the works of William Shakespeare and Douglas Stuart. I had never heard ofStuart before Heather began this work, and have greatly appreciated the chanceto connect with his two novels, which do indeed portray LGBTQ+ identities inthoughtful ways but are also and especially just great 21st centuryliterary works. Want to explore such works in your own graduate studies, or knowsomeone who does? Maybe FSU’s Graduate English program is the spot for you!

Springpreview post this weekend,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think? Other Fall finds you’d share?