Winthrop Department of English

06/16/2026

Check out this article in The Post and Courier York County highlighting Winthrop English major Joycelyn Davis who graduated this past May: https://mrf.lu/9Wrg. We are so proud of you, Joycelyn! 🎉

Jocelyn Davis, 86, graduated from Winthrop University as one of the school's oldest graduates ever. She talks about her classes and what kept her in school for so long. (Full story below.)

06/12/2026

Congratulations to English professor emeritus and Mark Twain scholar Dr. John Bird on the forthcoming publication of his book “Mark Twain’s 1884: A Pivotal Year in the Life”!🎉 Read more about Dr. Bird’s publication here: https://upress.missouri.edu/9780826223579/mark-twains-1884/.

06/11/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Amanda Hiner on the publication of her article “Critical Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and Cognitive Offloading: Implications for Teaching and Learning” in INQUIRY: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines. Thank you for your research on this relevant and important topic, Dr. Hiner! https://doi.org/10.5840/inquiryct202641342

05/14/2026

Winthrop English major Caroline Smith wrote this great article sharing her fun experiences on our department Spring Break trip to the American Shakespeare Center! Enjoy reading this blog and consider joining us next spring break on this exciting educational trip!

05/12/2026

Congratulations to all our May 2026 graduates! We are so proud of you all and wish you the best in your future endeavors! 🎉🦅🎓

05/08/2026

Congratulations to our English majors and graduate students who will be walking across the stage tomorrow! We are incredibly proud of you all! We also want to say a huge thank you to our donors J. Spratt and Sandra Hagler White for enabling us to gift Bartlett's Familiar Quotations books to our graduates. 🎓🦅

05/05/2026

Check out what English M.A. student Cody Byrdic has to say about our program! Cody’s testimonial highlights how the English department provides a tight-knit, supportive community and ample opportunities to grow as a writer and scholar.

Our M.A. program allows graduate students to expand their repertoire of literary, rhetorical, and pedagogical knowledge and develop close faculty-student mentoring relationships through small class sizes. Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in teaching, publishing, library science, and more.

We offer rolling admissions, so apply now for the Fall 2026 semester! There are assistantships available. Don't miss out on this opportunity to grow professionally and build community!

05/04/2026

Congratulations to our Department Chair, Dr. Devon Fitzgerald, on her promotion to Professor! This well-deserved promotion recognizes Dr. Fitzgerald’s accomplishments in her teaching, scholarship, and service. 🎉

04/30/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Jo Koster on her retirement! Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate with us! 🎉🦅💛

04/30/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Ephraim Sommers on the publication of his third book, Diabetic Gumdrops! His book is available for pre-order at https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/diabetic-gumdrops-ephraim-scott-sommers/. 🎉