English | CAS Majors Fair
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09/29/2020
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Academic advisor Kathleen Lacey talks about the English major.
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- [00:00:00.248](upbeat music)
- [00:00:07.580]Hello everyone. My name is Kathleen Lacey
- [00:00:09.830]and I am the academic advisor for English.
- [00:00:13.080]I just like to go over a little bit about the majors,
- [00:00:15.480]some opportunities for you in terms
- [00:00:17.170]of internships and research, as well as
- [00:00:19.480]what one can actually do with an English major
- [00:00:22.108]and there are lots of things for you to do.
- [00:00:24.217]But the degree itself is pretty broad.
- [00:00:27.070]Students study anything from on your classic Shakespeare
- [00:00:31.110]and Chaucer to more contemporary work on
- [00:00:34.320]in African American literature, LGBTQ lit and women's lit.
- [00:00:38.820]We've got some really, really fun and great offerings
- [00:00:41.270]that are also part of the major like literature
- [00:00:44.130]in the environment and women in popular culture.
- [00:00:46.660]Sometimes we have some special topics courses
- [00:00:49.118]that are specific to the creative industries.
- [00:00:51.880]So if you're interested in working in film or in publishing
- [00:00:55.410]or creative writing, that those classes
- [00:00:58.020]can be really, really beneficial
- [00:00:59.490]and it open your eyes to other types of things
- [00:01:01.493]I want to do with an English major besides just teaching,
- [00:01:03.530]which I'm sure if you're considering an English major,
- [00:01:05.540]you've gotten that comment a lot.
- [00:01:07.590]Now, before I get into what can one can actually do
- [00:01:10.400]with an English major, you should also know
- [00:01:12.710]that we're not going to send you off into the world
- [00:01:14.500]without having some sort of experience as to
- [00:01:17.020]how you can use this in the work world.
- [00:01:19.630]So we have a number of internships within the department.
- [00:01:24.960]You can intern with HD Literary
- [00:01:26.780]which is a boutique literary agency in New York city.
- [00:01:30.030]So even though you're working more remotely,
- [00:01:31.790]most of the time, you do get to spend
- [00:01:33.720]a week in New York, rubbing elbows with famous people
- [00:01:36.670]in the publishing industry
- [00:01:38.820]and learning about the work of literary agents.
- [00:01:42.320]We also have internships set up
- [00:01:44.010]with University of Nebraska Press
- [00:01:45.280]which is more solidly publishing,
- [00:01:46.720]and you can do a number of things there,
- [00:01:49.920]anything from working with editors on acquiring new work,
- [00:01:55.710]to looking at manuscripts.
- [00:01:57.230]You designing manuscripts, manuscripts and how they look.
- [00:02:02.260]We also have an internship with Prairie Schooner,
- [00:02:04.840]which is an internationally recognized
- [00:02:06.300]literary journal here in Nebraska.
- [00:02:09.260]And you can, as an undergraduate,
- [00:02:13.380]kind of have a say in what gets published in there
- [00:02:16.850]and what doesn't, which actually quite a bit of power
- [00:02:19.060]for an undergrad to have and it's kind of cool.
- [00:02:21.680]Other kinds of internships that we offer
- [00:02:23.650]are working with youth.
- [00:02:25.960]So we have some writers camp where students work with
- [00:02:30.400]students in grades seven through 12.
- [00:02:32.870]Students also work with high school students
- [00:02:35.610]with Louder than a Bomb.
- [00:02:37.270]And then we have other types of internship opportunities
- [00:02:39.410]that come up every so often.
- [00:02:40.800]A lot of times students find these on their own.
- [00:02:42.520]So you're not just limited to what we offer
- [00:02:44.810]from the English department.
- [00:02:46.620]You can go out on your own and find things.
- [00:02:48.260]For example, I have a student right now,
- [00:02:49.650]who's interested in Library Science and Archiving,
- [00:02:52.130]and she is working for the National Museum
- [00:02:53.900]of Roller Skating at Lincoln.
- [00:02:57.310]In addition to internships,
- [00:02:58.700]there's also plenty of opportunities for research.
- [00:03:01.510]So I've got a number of students who do UCARE,
- [00:03:04.870]which is a really cool research program
- [00:03:06.900]where you get to work with professors on their projects.
- [00:03:09.430]In the English department,
- [00:03:10.263]we have the George Eliot archive,
- [00:03:12.940]which is the brainchild of Dr. Bev Rilett
- [00:03:16.610]and she has the team of students every year
- [00:03:20.490]and they are dedicated to getting the work of George Eliot,
- [00:03:25.070]involved to all scholars and readers
- [00:03:26.990]and not just those who have
- [00:03:30.390]special access to various collections.
- [00:03:32.210]So the point is for a lot of those archives
- [00:03:36.070]is to get information out to everybody.
- [00:03:39.200]Another really cool research opportunity
- [00:03:40.880]that students can take advantage of
- [00:03:42.189]is through the Center for Research
- [00:03:44.010]and Digital Humanities or the CDRH,
- [00:03:47.490]which is an emerging field that actually combines
- [00:03:49.679]Literary Studies and Computing.
- [00:03:53.360]And finally, what does one do with a BA in English?
- [00:03:57.370]I'm sure you get that question a lot
- [00:04:00.280]if you're considering this, a kind of side eye
- [00:04:02.860]that's really saying, what are you gonna do with that?
- [00:04:05.430]Well, the good news is, is that you can do quite a bit.
- [00:04:07.679]The English degree is very broad and there's no linear path
- [00:04:11.070]which can be really, really scary to some students
- [00:04:12.980]but it actually can be really, really freeing
- [00:04:15.170]because we prepare you to do a whole host of things.
- [00:04:18.680]And we give you the skills that you need
- [00:04:20.640]that are adaptable to jobs that
- [00:04:23.540]we don't even know that will exist 10 years from now.
- [00:04:27.560]So if you want to contact me further
- [00:04:29.870]and talk a little bit more about English,
- [00:04:31.990]you can find me on English Department's website
- [00:04:34.090]as well as the website for the College of Arts and Sciences.
- [00:04:36.870]Thanks and I hope you give English
- [00:04:38.867]some serious consideration.
- [00:04:40.684](upbeat music)
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