English Dep't adds new tenured profs

Two new English professors will be joining the department in the fall, according to English Undergraduate Chairperson Al Filreis. Christopher Looby, a tenured associate professor at the University of Chicago, and Michael Awkward, a full professor at the University of Michigan, will begin teaching at Penn next fall, according to English Department Chairperson Wendy Steiner. But the appointments have to be approved by the Personnel Committee of the School of Arts and Sciences before an official offer can be made, Filreis said. The two new faculty members already have electronic mail accounts with the English Department and are part of the faculty listserv, Filreis added. Looby specializes in early American literature and will be teaching an intermediate English course on this subject next fall. "He is going to be teaching undergraduates every aspect of early American literature," Filreis said. Currently, the English Department does not have anyone that works in that particular field and Looby will be filling that void, Steiner said. "My colleagues and I are thrilled to have drawn him away from the University of Chicago," Filreis said. Looby has authored one book, entitled Voicing America: Language, Literary Form, and the Origins of the United States, and is currently working on several other essays and research projects. "He's very well known and visible in his field right now," Steiner said. Gay and lesbian studies is Looby's other field of concentration, Steiner added. Awkward was a graduate student at Penn and focuses his work in the field of African American literature. "Here is somebody who came through the system and now is coming home," Steiner said. This fall, Awkward will teach English 284, Narratives of the Harlem Renaissance, which is his area of specialty. "We will seek to understand what representations of this period have to tell us about the makings of a black race in America," Awkward said in his description of the course. He will also be teaching a lecture course -- Introduction to African American Literature. According to Filreis, Awkward's arrival will add to the University's reputation of having the strongest continuance of people working in the field in the country. "We weren't particularly weak in that area," Filreis said. "But we are trying to consolidate our strengths."