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English Celebrates 20 Years of Canterbury Program, Names 3 Student Scholars

Joyce, Senatro, O’Connell tackle research projects with faculty support

Joyce, Senatro, O’Connell tackle research projects with faculty support

Ally O’Connor ’20

In May 2018, Santa Clara University’s Department of English celebrated the 20th anniversary of its signature Canterbury Program by naming three SCU students as its 2018-19 Canterbury Scholars. Nine months later, Canterbury Scholars Julia Joyce ‘19 (English), Leah Senatro ‘19 (English), and Riley O’Connell ‘19 (English) are well into their research projects, which they will present in May at the annual Canterbury research symposium.

Inspired by the spirit of Geoffrey Chaucer’s clerk in The Canterbury Tales (c. 1400), the Department of English established the Canterbury Program in 1998 to support and provide resources for SCU senior English majors interested in researching and writing a scholarly or creative project at the mentorship of English Department faculty. Project topics include literary and cultural studies, book history and digital humanities, creative writing, professional writing and rhetorical studies, and pedagogy and teaching studies.

Students selected as Canterbury Scholars receive grants for their research that help the students access special collections, travel to conferences, attend special sessions and present papers. At the end of the academic year, the Canterbury Program hosts a symposium where the Canterbury Scholars present their final products to the department.

The chair of this year’s Canterbury Program board, Prof. Aparita Nanda (English), notes that the topics and approaches students propose for their work varies every year. “That variety is the real strength of the program,” she adds. Prof. Kirk Glaser, a former Canterbury Program board member, says the program allows senior English majors the ability "to follow their passions, delving deeply into creative, intellectual work in ways not possible in a class or even thesis project.”

The work of the current Canterbury Scholars illustrates the diversity of issues and methodologies the program supports. Joyce’s research focuses on the representation of mass incarceration in literature. Collaborating with Prof. Danielle Morgan and Prof. Allia Griffin, Joyce is analyzing how incarceration is presented in several books, including  Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and To Kill a Mockingbird. Joyce is interested in literature as a potential mechanism for prison reform. The project has given her “the chance to conduct my own independent research on a topic that really interests me, in addition to giving me the chance to see if this is something I want to pursue in the long term. I'm really grateful to have been given the time and space to find my own voice in my writing, as well as receiving support from my professors and advisors.”

Senatro’s work examines using new writing technologies to help students engage with classroom content and their own writing processes. Working closely with Prof. Amy Lueck, Senatro hopes to bring engagement back into the writing classroom by creating sample assignments that promote participation. “By encouraging students to think about how they can engage other readers, they think more deeply and critically about their own work, as well,” she says. Her Canterbury fellowship gave Senatro the opportunity to present her research at the Association of Writing and Rhetoric Seminar in Austin, Texas.

O’Connell linked her project to her personal life,  in particular, her seven-year-old brother’s death when she was nine. During this challenging time, she said writing was “immensely therapeutic.” To that end, O’Connell is studying creative writing therapy in hospitals as a palliative care tool. Glaser and Prof. Claudia McIsaac helped O’Connell craft a project that conducts her research while teaching creative writing at Stanford Medical Center/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The project is supported by Healing HeARTS, a school and arts magazine published by LPCH, as well as the LPCH Department of Palliative Care. O’Connell is grateful for “this amazing opportunity to give these kids not only an outlet, but a space to amplify their voices, as well.”

The Canterbury Program has afforded many students the opportunity to craft unique research and creative opportunities while working closely with their faculty mentors.  Student scholars and faculty mentors agree that the program allows students to connect and engage in ways not afforded in the typical classroom. Within this special design, students can be free to learn, grow, and explore future goals.

 

student story

2018-19 SCU Canterbury Scholars (l-r) Riley O'Connell, Leah Senatro, and Julia Joyce