SDSU Department of English & Comparative Literature

07/21/2026

CONGRATS! Incoming MALAS graduate student and May 2026 ECL graduate, Natalie Gonzalez, took second place honors at the AGLSP annual conference!
AGLSP is the umbrella organization for masters in liberal arts and science programs across the U.S. and Canada. Thirty or so faculty and graduate students delivered presentations at the conference with representatives from Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth College, and the University of Exeter in the competition.

07/01/2026

Hiring of college grads is down across the board. But certain majors are able to access opportunities in a wider array of industries, new data shows. Learn more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtney-connley-hampton/2026/06/25/the-college-majors-most-likely-to-get-you-hired/?utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB

06/16/2026

Shout out to Professor Bill Nericcio who was featured in Pulitzer nominated LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano's newsletter!

On the San Diego State professorial genius

06/16/2026

CAL Alumni in Action

Bilal Bikile (‘20) began his academic journey at San Diego State University as a computer science major, but once he spoke to advisors in CAL, he determined that a degree in comparative literature aligned with his interest in people, social justice, writing, and art.

He was awarded a Mundt Peace Fellowship where he worked with the Cambodia Living Arts organization and he was recognized as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in comparative literature. Bikile was also involved in the Muslim Student Association, Poetry International, Poetic Youth, and the Henrietta Goodwin Scholars Program.

Today, he owns Deixis Gallery in Barrio Logan where he enjoys curating art exhibitions, hosting community meetings, and building diverse narratives while living a creative life.

05/18/2026

ICYMI: Congratulations to our various department award winners! 👏👏👏👏👏

Outstanding Graduating Senior: Amber Worden
Most Influential Faculty: Professor Joseph T. Thomas, Jr.
Outstanding Graduating MA Student: Coco Rosales
Outstanding Graduating MFA Student: Sam Yaziji

Outstanding Critical and Creative Work Awards ✍️💻🖼️
Creative or Digital Project: Raine
Poetry: Sam Yaziji
Fiction: Ben Bird
Graduate essay: Coco Rosales
Undergraduate essay: Ashley Sims

05/13/2026

Congratulations to ECL Professor Lashon Daley and TFF Professor Dani Bedau for their successful class collaboration, "Adapting Girlhood: Taking 'Merci Suarez' from the Page to the Stage."

This unprecedented collaboration brought ECL 502 (Adolescence in Children's Literature) students and THEA 510 (Creative Drama and Language Arts) students together to devise three vignettes based on the Newbery-winning novel, "Merci Suarez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina.

Students had the opportunity to meet Meg Medina during a Zoom call earlier in the semester.

The dramatic reading was performed in the Digital Humanities Center and included a brief talkback featuring the student actors, dramaturgs, and designers.

05/11/2026

Congratulations to Professor Tishna Asim and the Honors Students who presented their pieces last week: there were stories about twins, memoirs about troubled relationships, critical analyses of the use of "propagation" in Frankenstein and the tagging system for fan fiction, and excerpts from fantastical novels. The range of work was a real testament to the dynamic offerings available in our classes.

05/11/2026

Congratulations to Professor Jessica Pressman, Professor Lashon Daley, and the ECL students who participated in the Digital Humanities showcase on Friday morning, May 8. The works highlighted the crucial role that humanities scholarship should play in our engagement with emergent technologies.

Congratulations to Em Teaze, MFA student, who won this year’s e-lit competition and to Luca DaVersa, undergraduate ECL student, who received an honorable mention!

05/07/2026

Congratulations to Sara Canelon (left), Joseph Galvan (center), and Coco Rosales (right) for completing their Advanced Certificate in Children’s/Adolescent Literature!

The Advanced Certificate in Children’s/Adolescent Literature is a graduate-level certificate program focused on supporting emerging children's literature scholars. For more information about our children's literature program, visit childlit.sdsu.edu.

04/27/2026

Celebrate the 2026 MFA Poetry Graduates at a special reading on Friday, May 15, 7:00–9:30 p.m. in Scripps Cottage. We encourage all MFA students to attend and support your classmates on this accomplishment!