Understory 2022

From the Faculty Advisors and Project Liaisons

Now in its sixth year, the Understory Project provides opportunities for students in English Studies to engage in scholarly and creative conversations across the department’s interrelated fields of Literary Studies, Writing & Composition, Creative Writing, and Literacies & Linguistics. The contributions in this anthology are, of course, an obvious part of that—each one is an example of the work that students have done in one (and sometimes simultaneously more than one) of those fields. In addition, in a more “behind the scenes” fashion, student interns do the work of putting it all together, bringing to each volume a distinct vision while acting as editors for layout and design. In addition, the student interns coordinate the selection of creative works for the volume, while English faculty select the works of scholarship from work in their courses. The annual product is a book-length print edition with a companion digital online edition. The interns coordinate its launch to the campus community and while, ideally, the launch takes the form of a symposium and in-person celebration, during these pandemic years such a presentation has been scaled back by necessity. Even so, the interns these past two years have set up online events and other means of getting the word out about the good work being done in the field of English Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

As the faculty advisors, we are pleased that the Understory Project continues to demonstrate a high degree of efficiency and sustainability even in the face of substantial fiscal constraints and a multi-year pandemic. More than that, we are proud that once again this year, there is another volume of Understory to present to the university community and beyond as a testament to the resilience of our students and colleagues.

Professors David Bowie and Ronald Spatz
 

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