Literatures in English Concentration
Explore the power of words, narratives, and imagination as you engage with the diverse literary traditions that shape our world.
Through close reading, critical analysis, and interpretive inquiry, students gain insight into their own cultural moment by engaging with the literary legacies of the past and present.
View British, Irish, & Anglophone Literature Concentration Requirements
In the British/Irish/Anglophone concentration, students immerse themselves in the literature of these regions, exploring texts that reflect the cultural, social, and political dynamics of their respective epochs. From the rich heritage of the British Isles to vibrant postcolonial and diasporic literatures, students embark on journeys through time and space, engaging with a multitude of voices, perspectives, and narratives.
View American Literature Concentration Requirements
The American Literature concentration exposes students to the vibrant and multifaceted legacy of creative expression originating from what is now known as the United States of America. From the complexities of pre-contact indigenous narratives to the nuances of contemporary American literature, students trace the evolution of American identity and expression through various historical epochs and cultural movements.
Concentration Highlights
- Ramon Guerra, PhD; Chicano/Latino Lit, Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century American Lit
- Charles Johanningsmeier, PhD; American Regionalist Lit, Immigrant and Multicultural Lit, Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century American Lit, Willa Cather
- David Peterson, PhD; Early American Poetry, Irish Drama, Native American Lit, Gender Studies
- Barbara Robins, PhD; Native American Lit and Art, Veterans Lit
- Lisabeth Buchelt, PhD; British and Irish Medieval Lit
- Robert Darcy, PhD; Shakespeare, Critical Theory and Methods, Sixteenth-Century Lit, Early British Survey
- Tanushree Ghosh, PhD; 19th Century Lit and Culture, Popular Culture, Women and Gender Studies, Visual Culture, Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures
- Kristin Girten, PhD; Eighteenth-Century Lit, Women’s and Gender Studies
- Lucy Morrison, PhD; Director of Honors Program; Romanticism, Victorian Period
For more information and bios, please visit our Faculty & Staff Directory.
Tell All The Truth Project
Designed to inspire, harness, and promote expressions of literary imagination, the "Tell All the Truth Project" (TATP) aims to foster social justice in the metropolitan community of Omaha, Nebraska. Learn More
Faces of War
This podcast series, created in 2022 by Barbara Robins, Ph.D., an associate professor of English, and graduate student Jessie Stewart, focuses on experiences of war and how it shapes people’s lives. Learn More and Listen Now
Baker Lecture Series
The UNO Department of English's Bruce and Karen Baker Lecture Series supports conversations and events that elevate the humanities and literary studies. This series highlights the deep and enduring significance of literature and creative writing, and the ways in which both can foster meaningful connections within our communities. This series was made possible through a generous bequest from Dr. Bruce Baker and his wife Karen several years ago, and it continues to support conversations and events that elevate humanities and literary studies.
Service-Learning Courses
Literature Concentration courses regularly offer the opportunity for students to earn service learning transcript designation through service learning courses, students in our concentration have collaborated with community partners such as the Bluebird Cultural Initiative, Omaha Public Library, Women's Center for Advancement, and more.
Students who participate in Service Learning may be interested in UNO's Community Engaged Scholars Transcript Designation. Learn more today!
- Guilty Pleasures: Genre Studies
- Renaissance Satire
- King Arthur Through the Ages
- Frankenstein
- Bringing the War Home: Depictions of War Veterans in Literature and Film
- The American Nightmare
- Chick Lit
- Queer American Wests
- Latino Literature
- Native American Literature
- The Susan Naramore Maher Best Research Essay Awards were established in 2017 in honor of a previous department chair, Susan Naramore Maher, who established the English Honoring Fund. The selection committee consisting of departmental faculty has selected student work worthy of recognition for the past six years. Students are awarded up to 700 dollars that they may use towards their tuition or books.
- Our department annually recognizes outstanding undergraduate students (overall and concentration-specific) with awards as well as Helen Basler Anderson, Marian Basler, and Horsch Scholarships for Excellence in the Major and Outstanding Writing in the Major. These awards and scholarships are the department’s way of recognizing student academic achievements and engagement.
- Our faculty have been active with conference presentations and similar creative and scholarly activities. These 248 and counting presentations underscore the depth and breadth of academic scholarship within our department. From conference presentations exploring Indigenous Wisdom and Scientific Knowledge to seminars on anti-LGBTQ+ speech, from post-screening talk-back sessions at the Film Streams, our faculty members are at the forefront of shaping conversations in their respective fields.
Publications
- Dr. Lucy Morrison’s co-edited anthology, Continental Tourism, Travel Writing, and the Consumption of Culture, 1814–1900 (2020)
- Dr. Robert Darcy’s book, Misanthropoetics: Social Flight and Literary Form in Early Modern England (2021)
- Dr. Charles Johanningsmeier’s edited collection, Reimagining Realism: A New Anthology of Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century American Short Fiction (2022)
- Dr. Kristin Girten’s co-edited collection, British Literature and Technology, 1600-1830 (2023)
- Dr. Kristin Girten’s book, Sensitive Witnesses: Feminist Materialism in the British Enlightenment (2024)
Student Research
In just 2023-24, our students presented their research at the...
- Willa Cather Conference
- Iowa State University Women’s and Gender Studies Student Research Conference
- Literature students also publish their work in journals, such as Modernist Review
Grants
Internal Grants- Between 2018 and 2024, several faculty members received numerous internal grants for various educational initiatives, such as developing online courses and curricular innovation. The trend shows a strong focus on digital learning and dual-enrollment course development, with substantial funding for enhancing course offerings in English.
- Among other notable grants, the Mellon Foundation's $500,000 grant for Dr. Kristin Girten and Dr. Tanushree Ghosh’s Tell All the Truth Project highlights the department's commitment to impactful educational and community projects.
Awards
- Isaacson Professorship and the Jefferies Chair for Excellence in Research
- Dr. Charles Johanningsmeier, Dr. Lisabeth Buchelt, and Dr. Kristin Girten
- UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award
- Dr. Ramon Guerra, Dr. Kristin Girten, and Dr. Robert Darcy