Student & Faculty Research
As a Department, we’re especially excited by the collaborations between students and faculty that are an essential part of our educational pedagogy. Central to our collaborative practice is our Annual English Department Conference, where student presentations—both research and performance-based—form an integral part of the day’s proceedings. Below you will find links to the programs for previous conferences. We are, of course, also proud of the strength of the numerous honors theses our students have produced (and the diverse topics explored in them) under the guidance of individual faculty mentors. Again, below you will find a list of recent honors students and the topics they examined. As illustrated by the performances put together by students in both Dr. Ray Conlon and Dr. Rachel Wifall’s courses, our collaborations go beyond the written “page” and on to the “stage,” as students not only read and analyze but perform classic dramatic works. Indeed, the department is always seeking new ways to broaden our collaborative horizons, whether it be new study abroad opportunities (like our spring break “Literary London” program where students walk in the footsteps of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf, and get a taste of contemporary theater in London’s West End) or service-learning collaborations (where Saint Peter’s students share their work with a cohort of international students working on their own senior projects).
The English Department Annual Conference
Modernism – 2010
Ireland (1880-1920) – 2011
The Renaissance – 2012
The Gothic – 2013
Mystery Fiction – 2014
Southern Literature and Culture – 2015
Fantasy – 2016
Literary Influences and Adaptations – 2017
Dr. Rachel Wifall and students from her Literary London Spring Break Travel class in front of the Globe Theatre.
Honor Theses Presenters and Topics
“This Tongue Is Not My Own: Study Of the Consequences Of Writing Native Literature In A Non-Native Language”
Mindy Wang ‘11
“Titus Andronicus: The Staging of Shakespeare’s Goriest Play”
Lisette Santiago ‘14
“Teaching Shakespeare at an Elementary Age: A Look at How Studying Shakespeare’s Works Enhances Literary and Social Skills”
Jillian Colasurdo ‘14
“Sherlock Holmes: A Great Man Born of a Greater One”
Jeffrey Munguia ‘14
“Manderley: a House of Mirrors; the Reflections of Daphne du Maurier’s Life in Rebecca”
Michele Gentile ‘14
“Edith Wharton: The Original Gossip Girl”
Aimee Schnecker ‘14
“The Amalgamation of the Character of the Britomart in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene: A Study of Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Influences on the Knights of Chastity”
Stephanie Danis ‘08
“Gates of Horn and Ivory: The Works of Russell Banks”
Jeffrey Kane ‘08
“Lights! Camera! Magic!: Staging Shakespeare” The Faerie World of A Mid Summer’s Night Brought to Life
Elizabeth Lodato ‘09
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Political Correctness Battles Racism”
Deirdre Theresa Power ‘09
“The Fools and Nerds in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice”
Dimana T. Neykova ‘11
“Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Challenging Gender Roles Through Utopian Fiction”
Olivia Russo ‘11
“Harry Potter: A Modern Epic”
James Driscoll ‘12
“Where Ignorance is Bliss, tis Folly To be Wise: Attempted Censorship of Brave New World”
Michael Kenneth Krohn ‘12