English

A DJ behind a sound mixing board creates music for a crowd of dancing people in a warehouse setting. Photo credit: Doug Coombe

Ask the Expert: How Detroit and Its People Are Integral to the Rise of Techno Music

May 19, 2025

The story of techno music often focuses on a global narrative without acknowledging that it began in Detroit, Michigan — a place where Black people for decades have harnessed sound and music to reflect their experiences. During the 1970s and 1980s, techno was explored and celebrated by Black and queer communities across radio waves and in warehouse spaces around the…

Alumni / English / Event / Featured Alumni / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News

English Alum Distills Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, and Spartan Spirit and Now the Spring 2025 Commencement Address

May 1, 2025

When Chad Munger graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in English, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his degree or career. But his willingness to take risks and to seek out and seize opportunities has propelled him to success as an entrepreneur and to becoming a transformative philanthropist. It also has led him to…

woman at a baseball park wearing short-sleeve shirt with a camera slung over her shoulder and a "staff" lanyard around her neck.

English / Excel Network / Excel Network Communities / Internship / News / Student / Student

Internship Gives Student Experience in Sports Photography

March 24, 2025

Last summer, Sloane Barlow, an English major, worked as a Photography Intern at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica, Michigan. She shared her experience with this internship in a Q&A that originally was published by the Excel Network.

Two women wearing black sit on a theatre stage that is lit in red. One woman is sitting and looking straight ahead. The other woman is more in the background of the left and sitting at an angle. A group of discarded chairs surround both women. Photo by Federico Sigillo.

Arts MSU / English / Faculty / Faculty / Italian / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Lecture Series / Michigan Impact / News / Performance / Theatre / U.S. Impact

U.S. Premier of Italian Play Addressing Themes of Sexual Violence Coming to MSU, Other Universities

February 24, 2025

In the U.S. debut, acclaimed Italian playwright, actor, and director Giuliana Musso will explore the traumatic effects of silence when sexual abuse occurs at home through her play “Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So.” The play is a dramatized account of real-life conversations, Musso’s research on the topic, and her own attempt to bring awareness to the…

English / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lecture Series / News / Religious Studies / Research / Scholarship

Lecture Series Showcases Strong Connection Between Religious Studies and MSU Libraries’ Special Collections

January 29, 2025

Religious Studies faculty will discuss how the MSU Libraries' Special Collections informs their teaching and research as part of the Collecting Religion Lecture Series offered this semester. Hosted by MSU Libraries and organized in collaboration with the Department of Religious Studies, the series will highlight how rare and historical primary sources bring Religious Studies to life. The series kicks off…

A composite image of three individuals. From left to right: A person with short, wavy dark hair, wearing a green blouse and bright magenta lipstick; a person with curly brown and blond hair, wearing glasses, a white blazer, and a colorful beaded necklace; and a person with short-cropped hair, wearing a burgundy shirt and a navy blazer.

Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

January 29, 2025

Three faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the university as recipients of 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU's Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize exceptional and innovative contributions that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Michigan State University through their teaching, research, programming, service, community…

A person with curly hair, gold hoop earrings, and a black shirt stands outside in front of green foliage.

Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Faculty / Grant / News / U.S. Impact

MSU English Professor Receives National Award to Support Book about South Asian American Experiences

January 23, 2025

Michigan State University Associate Professor Divya Victor received a national Creative Capital Award for literature to support development of her upcoming book of essays, “Kin.” Victor is part of the MSU Department of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program. Creative Capital awarded $2.45 million in project grants to 55 artists, including Victor, to support the creation of groundbreaking…

A picture of a woman with short, brown hair, and pink glasses. She wears a burnt orange sweat and grey scarf embroidered with red floral patters. In the background, there is shrubbery and a brick wall.

Donor / English / Faculty / Faculty / Fundraising / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

English Professor Emerita Celebrates Retirement with Endowment Supporting Early Modern Texts

January 16, 2025

In her 25 years at MSU, Jyotsna Singh, Professor Emerita in the Department of English, made certain her students recognized the importance of primary source materials in their studies of English literature. As she celebrated her retirement, she unveiled the Jyotsna G. Singh Endowment in Early Modern Studies: Race, Empire, and Global Connections, aimed at enriching the MSU Libraries’ collection of…

Two students with laptops sit on a cozy green couch in the MSU Writers' Studio on campus. In the background is a wallpapered wall showing trees and birds and two bookcases with books.

English / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Student / Student

New Writers’ Studio on Campus Gives MSU Students Space for Creative Work and Community

December 11, 2024

Michigan State University Associate Professor of English Divya Victor had long noticed that writing students didn’t have a space on campus where they could feel comfortable and centered to fully concentrate on their thoughts and words. “Writing is a somatic practice, which means it integrates the body, the mind, society, and the environment we live and work within,” Victor said.…

English / Excel Network / Excel Network Communities / Humanities-Prelaw / Internship / News / Student / Student

Student Gains Experience as a Legislative Intern

December 10, 2024

Marion Reilly, who is a senior majoring in English and Humanities-Prelaw, worked as a Legislative Intern with Senator Veronica Klinefelt at the Michigan Senate. She wrote about this internship experience in this Q&A that originally was published by the Excel Network.