Faculty Achievements
January 19th, 2021
Kite Runner on Broadway! - Department Chair Matthew Spangler
Dr. Matthew Spangler's adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is heading to Broadway in the Summer of 2022! Originally performed at San José State in 2007, the show went on to be performed at San Jose Repertory Theatre, Wyndham Theatre in London's West End, and now to Broadway! We can't recommend flying to New York just yet, but if you happen to be in the area, make sure to catch a show. Read more in this New York Times article. Congratulations, Dr. Spangler!
January 10th, 2021
2022 CCCC Lavender Rhetorics Award for Excellence in Queer Scholarship's Article Award - Professor Josh Coleman
Congratulations to Professor Josh Coleman, English and Comparative Literature, for
winning the 2022 CCCC Lavender Rhetorics Award for Excellence in Queer Scholarship's
Article Award! The article "Restorying With the Ancestors: Historically Rooted Speculative
Composing Practices and Alternative Rhetorics of Queer Futurity" appeared in the 2021
issue of Written Communication—the Lavender Award will be presented virtually during the online 2022 CCCC Annual
Convention on Friday, March 11, 6:45–7:45 p.m. ET. Congratulations, Professor Coleman!
December 7th, 2021
Grammy Nomination for Live at Birdland - Professor Aaron Lington
The new Count Basie Orchestra album, Live at Birdland, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" category. The album features the track "Once in a While", arranged by our own Professor Aaron Lington! Read more about the album here. We hope it wins!
June 23rd, 2021
Rubles and Rhetoric - Professor Sara West
Sara West's much-anticipated, co-authored article, Rubles and Rhetoric: Corporate Kairos and Social Media’s Crisis of Common Sense has been published in Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society! According to the author, the article investigates "the platform politics and technological dynamics at play on Facebook that allowed Russian politically motivated advertisements to be purchased with Rubles during the 2016 election season." Make sure to give it a read! Congratulations, Professor West!
Also in Present Tense is a multi-contributor critical annotated bibliography of Non-Western rhetorics, An Annotated Bibliography of Global and Non-Western Rhetorics: Sources for Comparative Rhetorical Studies, which includes contributions from 7 current and former SJSU English graduate students. Congratulations to the following students: Brian Adam, Dan Dirilo, Abbie McGarvey, Michael Pfirrmann, Alexis Rocha, Amber Sylva, and Ben Vevoda!
June 18th, 2021
Covid Bubbles: Californians Dress For Emergence - Professor Robin Lasser
Professor Robin Lasser of the Department of Art and Art History has recently completed an art commission, granted by Governor Gavin Newsom, to represent the city of San José! This artwork will be installed as billboards along Highway 101(near the airport, en route to San José) for the community to see!
June 15th, 2021
The Confession of Copeland Cane - Professor Keenan Norris
Professor Keenan Norris of the Department of English has published his new novel, The Confession of Copeland Cane, a story that exposes the dangers of coming of age in America: miseducation, over-medication, radiation, and incarceration. Congratulations, Professor Norris!
Pre-order The Confession of Copeland Cane from Unnamed Press here.
June 12th, 2021
Reed Magazine earns first Pushcart Prize
Though it's not quite faculty news, we're excited to share that Reed Magazine, celebrating almost 155 years of literary excellence, has won a Pushcart Prize for the poem, "Father's Belt" by Kurt Luchs. Congratulations to the poet and to the Reed team!
Read a press release about the award here.
And don't forget to order your own copy of Reed 153 and pre-order Reed 154 here!
