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Welcome Newcomers
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the newest member of our advising group, Maggie Weimer. Maggie is an alum of our department (she earned her bachelor’s degree in English, with teaching licensure) so really we’re welcoming her back. Maggie comes to us after a number of years teaching high school language arts, then working as an advisor in FAA (architecture). Maggie also has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science (with a focus on collections and archives). We’re very happy to have her here and I hope you’ll all get to know her in the fall semester.
While I’m at it I’d also like to welcome our new incoming English and creative writing majors! Some of you have already registered for your fall classes and some have yet to do so, but we’re looking forward to seeing you all here in August. This blog will serve as a virtual notice board where we post information about upcoming events, opportunities, and resources, so please get in the habit of checking it each week.
There isn’t much news at the moment, but following are just a few reminders.
Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative
The Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative (INI) is a program of supports including academics, mental health, social community, and employment for University of Illinois students who identify with a neurodivergent condition. If you identify with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, or any other learning disorder, or even suspect that you do, you may benefit from the many supports offered by the INI!
If you would like to apply to be admitted to the INI or would like more information, you can visit ini.illinois.edu.
If you apply to the INI over the summer and are accepted, you will be eligible to register for one of the INI courses offered for the Fall 2025 semester:
- HSFS 102: Academic Strategies – Stress, frustration, and difficulty surrounding academic work? Students will learn executive function strategies that can be applied directly to assignments for their current classes. These strategies will promote student success this semester and in their future academic and professional career. Discussion time will be used to complete course assignments, build social networks, and provide a quiet study space with structured accountability. This course is for students who have or suspect they have a neurodiverse brain.
- HDFS 204: Living on Your Own – Neurodivergent students will learn and apply essential skills for independent living. Topics include problem-solving strategies, effective communication, money management, navigating the community, home maintenance, interpersonal skills, and healthy relationships. Through interactive discussions, activities, and practical exercises, students will develop the necessary skills to thrive independently.
Free Little Library
Check out the ESA Free Little Library outside EB 200. We have a rotating stock of donated books (thanks to all our anonymous donors) and you’re always welcome to stop by and pick something up. If you want to leave a book as well of course you can, but it’s not expected. If you feel like it, you can sign the sheet on the top shelf and tell us what you picked and why!
Save the Date for the Humanities Video Challenge!
The University Library, the Humanities Research Institute, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are hosting the first-ever Humanities Open House on October 4, 2025.
Come and see all that the Humanities at Illinois has to offer! In connection with the upcoming open house, we are eager to show off what’s going on with students and faculty across all the departments doing the work of the humanities on campus.
The Challenge
To help us broadcast all the amazing things humanists are doing—and why they matter—we are sponsoring a video contest for humanities majors and minors. We invite you to submit an up to 90-second video that answers your choice of ONE of the following questions:
–What draws you to the humanities as a major or a minor?
–What’s your most memorable experience in a humanities course or a humanities event at Illinois?
–Why are the humanities needed more than ever in 2025?
–What do the humanities look like to you?
Who’s Eligible
To participate, you must be an actively enrolled University of Illinois undergraduate in FA25 with a declared College of Liberal Arts and Sciences humanities major or minor.
The Winners
The winners (first, second and third place) will be notified one week prior to the Humanities Open House, with the winning videos publicly announced and prizes awarded at the Humanities Open House on October 4. First Prize will receive $500; Second Prize, $250; and Third prize, $125, deposited to the winner’s student account. The competition will open at the start of the 25–26 academic year (specific deadline TBD). Visit this page for updates/competition details.
Summer Session II Courses of Interest
ENGL 117: Shakespeare on Film
ENGL 206: Enlightenment Lit & Culture
ENGL 378: Fairy Tales and Gender Formation
A New Way to Share Good News
Do you have good news to share? Have you published something? Won an award? Taken on a new role or had an adventure? If so, please let us feature you and your news on the department’s website and/or social media. Just send a message to engl-news@illinois.edu with whatever information you’d like to share. This is a great way for other students to learn about opportunities so please don’t be shy!