Literature and Languages
The Department of Literature and Languages is home to the
Degree Programs
English
Roosevelt University's English Program offers degree-seeking students programs for a B.A., an M.A. or an M.F.A. Undergraduates may also elect to concentrate in creative writing or pursue a minor in English, while graduate students (in English and in related disciplines) may complete our four-course Graduate Credential in the Teaching of Writing. See http://www.roosevelt.edu/English for details.
Creative Writing
The Roosevelt University Creative Writing Program offers a Master of Fine Arts degree. The MFA program strives to provide its students with the best in creative teaching provided by instructors with strong credentials both in the classroom and in their respective literary fields. For more information on the program, degree requirements, events, and more: http://www.roosevelt.edu/creativewriting
Spanish
Undergraduate Minor in Hispanic Studies
Department Chair
Bonnie Gunzenhauser
Email: bgunzenhauser@roosevelt.edu
Faculty site: http://sites.roosevelt.edu/bgunzenhauser/
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Chicago phone: 312-341-2074
Chicago room: AUD728
Chicago fax: 312-341-2156
Literature and Languages News
Roosevelt MFA is a top sponsor for AWP 2012
Roosevelt University’s Master of Fine Arts(MFA) in Creative Writing Program is a top sponsor of this year’s Association of Writers and Writing Programs’ (AWP) annual conference, being held Feb. 29 through March 3 in Chicago.Featuring writer panels, readings and a book fair with 400 literary presses, the conference is considered to be the world’s largest professional gathering of creative writers.
During the conference, Roosevelt’s MFA program will be co-hosting a Chicago Originals reception where dozens of Chicago writers will have a chance to network. The University’s Creative Writing Program also is hosting the conference keynote address by renowned fiction writer Margaret Atwood at the Auditorium Theatre on March 1. Read more.
Faculty Interview: Janet Wondra - English and Film Studies
Janet Wondra discusses her latest book of poetry, "Bad Attitude" with graduate student James Orbesen. Topics include "snotty poems," poem structure, prose poems, and doing readings. She also discusses how being on the poet side during the publishing process has influenced her work on the editor side of Roosevelt University's literary magazine Oyez Review.
Interview with Roosevelt's Writer-In-Residence, Kathleen Rooney
This was recorded at the Chicago Book Expo in November, 2011. The Expo featured a pop-up bookstore with over 40 Chicago presses, as well as literary events where writers read from their work and conducted writing workshops. Kathleen Rooney (shown at the Chicago Book Expo in the unfortunately blurry photo, right side of the table), Roosevelt's Writer- in-Residence, was there as the co-founder of Rose Metal Press, and also as the leader of the flash fiction workshop.
Jan. 12, 2012 - MFA in Creative Writing Students win Chicago Reader Fiction Award
Stories written by two Roosevelt University MFA in Creative Writing students - Tovah Burstein and Timothy Moore - were selected by the Chicago Reader for their Pure Fiction 2012 issue. Burstein (the author of Moving On at the Hipster Gym) and Moore (author of Thank God for Facebook) won two of the five spots in this annual issue.
Regina Buccola, a Roosevelt University associate professor of English and scholar in residence at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is co-editing a book of essays about the theater’s first 25 years. Buccola joined Roosevelt in 2000 and teaches a variety of courses on Shakespeare and other early modern British writers, including women who have been overlooked. While at Roosevelt, she has maintained her close relationship with the theater. She presents academic lectures for teacher workshops designed to support the main stage productions and the Short Shakespeare series, and she lectures before select matinee performances. Read more
Scott Blackwood, assistant professor of literature and director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Roosevelt University, has received a $50,000 2011 Whiting Writers’ Award given annually to emerging writers based on their accomplishments, exceptional talent and promise. Blackwood is the author of the award-winning 2009 novel, We Agreed to Meet Just Here, and the short story collection, In the Shadow of Our House. He is one of 10 writers, including four fiction writers, four poets, a nonfiction writer and a playwright, who each received $50,000 and the prestigious award. Read more
