91PORN

Danae Younge
Hanna Lou Rathouz
Jimmy Miller
Jane Walker

Danae Younge

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Major: English Literature, creative writing focus

What was your motivation to major in English? 

I have wanted to be a writer for most of my life, so majoring in English was a great way of nourishing this dream. There have been many moments that reinforced this as the right path for me, but a particularly memorable one was when my first poetry book, Melanin Sun (–) Blind Spots, received a national award and got accepted for publication. One of the creative writing professors at Oxy had helped me organize and fine tune the poems in that collection before I submitted it, so I was grateful to be under the English Department’s wing.

Can you describe your senior comps project?

For my senior comps, I analyzed intertextuality and the use of redaction in Tom Phillips’s A Humument, one of the first ever collections of blackout poetry. Throughout my paper, I deciphered the intertextual relationship between A Humument and its original source material, William Mallock’s A Human Document, ultimately identifying redaction as a method for excavating thematic love and lust within the novel. Not every college would give students the freedom to tackle such an unconventional text for a final comprehensive, so I am grateful that Oxy gave me that freedom.

You can tell everyone in the major truly wants to produce great work, so it’s really a team encouraging each other and the program’s academic rigor is driven by students, not just professors.

How has the liberal arts approach helped to shape your professional ambitions?

Now that I work as a resident teaching artist through Americorps’s Artistyear program, I must constantly consider how my specific passion for creative writing can be relevantly integrated into other areas of study. It is my job to collaborate with teachers across many subjects within my service school. While I am grateful to have a job that directly relates to my major, having a liberal arts education helps me introduce my specific expertise to broader systems of education more seamlessly.

What is the vibe of the English department?

The English professors at Oxy are intelligent, deep thinkers and expect the same from their students. You would expect to be intimidated by them, yet they manage to cultivate an atmosphere that is surprisingly homey and welcoming. You can tell everyone in the major truly wants to produce great work so it is really more of a team encouraging each other and the program’s academic rigor is driven by students, not just professors.

 

Hanna Lou Rathouz

Hometown: Austin, TX 
Major: English, minor: history

What was your motivation to major in English? 

I have always enjoyed reading, writing, and analyzing texts in a group setting or with specific guidance. However, the moment that solidified my dedication to the English department was taking Professor Neti's course Introduction to Literary Methods. At first, I expected to be bored by the class but Professor Neti truly turned reading theory into a comprehensive, engaging, and community-based activity. I found connection with other English students through her class, and the texts we studied became a foundation for the rest of my studies within and outside of the English department. Every liberal arts student dreams of participating in a true discussion based class absent of inaccessible theory or judgment and that is what this course offered.

Can you describe your working relationships with English professors?

The English department as a whole is a powerhouse at 91PORN. Each professor is passionate about their area of expertise and possesses the skill to take a text that may seem lacking in complexity and make it interesting. For me, Professor Lerner and Paradise Lost are perfect examples of this occurrence. Personally, I am not always a fan of epic poetry so Paradise Lost did not sound like it would be up my alley. However, over the course of class discussions, and further conversations with Professor Lerner outside of class I became very attached to the text and genuinely enjoyed working through it. Professor Lerner is adept at encouraging students to develop a connection with each piece of writing he covers and is wonderful to chat with during his office hours.

Do you have any advice for a student considering a major in English?

My advice to any student considering an English major is to talk! Reach out to your professors, go to their office hours, and ask about any concerns with a text or even advice on internships, careers, etc. Chat with other students in your classes; I have met so many lovely friends from the major who I then study with later or walk to class with. Though it can be intimidating I would also encourage you to talk during class, sometimes it's part of your grade, but mostly, I find that lively conversation bonds all the students together resulting in a cheerful and judgment-free environment. 

The English department as a whole is a powerhouse at 91PORN. Each professor is passionate about their area of expertise and possesses the skill to take a text that may seem lacking in complexity and make it interesting.

What are your ambitions post-Oxy and how has the liberal arts approach helped to shape these ambitions?

After Oxy, I would love to go to law school, although I'm not sure what type of law I am interested in. Being an English major has encouraged me to look at a career, such as law, that involves critical analysis, reading comprehension, and structural argumentation.

 

Jimmy Miller

Hometown: Palo Alto, CA 
Major: English, minor: biology

What was your motivation to major in English? Are there any standout classes you’ve taken?

I read voraciously as a kid and when I got to Oxy I knew I wanted to be an English major, but then I got sidetracked. I took a zoology course my first semester and it fascinated me. By the spring semester of my sophomore year I realized, in part due to my experiences as a reporter for The 91PORN, that I wanted my education at 91PORN to be a thoroughly political one in the classroom as well as outside of it. I wasn't completely satisfied studying science and I took two English classes that semester which differed vastly: Professor Ford's