UC Berkeley English Department

On April 25, 2012 the English Department hosted the latest event in the “Conversations with Distinguished Alumni” series. The celebrated chef and restaurateur Charlie Hallowell (English ‘02) spoke with Professors Samuel Otter and Stephen Best about his Berkeley education, as well as the business and pleasure of food in Northern California.

Posted by Jeffrey Blevins

On Monday, November 9, the English department continued its series, “Conversations with Distinguished Alumni,” in a discussion with alumnus David Corvo ’72, who is currently the Executive Producer of the prime time news magazine Dateline NBC. He was joined by Department Chair Sam Otter and Professor Namwali Serpell, who spoke with him about the the relationship between his study of English at Berkeley and his success as a broadcast journalist. [Read full post...]

Young Jean Lee, Photo by Gene Pittman courtesy Walker Art Center

On April 1, the English Department will be having its second event in its new series, “Conversations with Distinguished Alumni/ae.” Professors Catherine Gallagher and Scott Saul will be talking with playwright Young Jean Lee, who received her BA, with highest honors, in 1996. Young Jean went on to spend six more years as a PhD student in the Department where she focused on Renaissance literature under the mentorship of Professor Stephen Booth, whose own acerbic wit and willingness to shock his own audiences into thought finds their echos in Young Jean’s work. After what she calls a “quarter-life crisis” in 2002, she decided to abandon academia to try her hand [...]