By Dr. Rick Taylor
MTL grew out of the profession-wide challenge to the traditional literary canon and to growing interest in postcolonial theory, feminism and its intersections, and the “transnational turn” in literary studies.
At ECU, Professor Gay Wilentz embodied this transformation in her writing about diaspora, her dynamic teaching, and her commitment to Ethnic Studies, Women and Gender Studies, and multi-ethnic literary studies. She was instrumental in bringing the MELUS Conference to ECU in the late 1980s and in bringing visibility and coherence to “MTL” as it developed at ECU.
Associate Professor Emeritus
The department dedicated positions for Native American Literature and African American Literature, and the additions of Professor Seodial Deena and Professor Ellen Arnold brought new areas of professional expertise and also crucial organizational skills. They forged fruitful connections with the University of Belize, a vital cultural exchange for the department for years to come. With the vision and perseverance they brought—and against considerable resistance—they established in the 1990s a graduate certificate program, a graduate concentration, a departmental area, and a great deal of new coursework, roughly divided between Ethnic American and transnational literatures.
When Gay became ill—she ultimately passed away from ALS in 2006—Rick Taylor and Julie Fay officially joined the concentration. Julie added her genius as a poet and her knowledge of women’s writing throughout the world, and Rick brought experience as a departmental administrator. Since the beginning of this century, the program has matured and grown.
Retired Associate Professor Su-ching Huang developed our offerings in Asian/Asian American studies, while Associate Professor Marame Gueye has sparked considerable interest in African literature and culture. Professor Andrea Kitta has made folklore an essential ingredient in the program, and she has been a vital area representative as a departmental leader. Associate Professor Anna Froula and Professor Amanda Klein bring expertise in film that has been and will be of great interest to our students.
The area has benefited from its many interdisciplinary alliances, both at the university and beyond, including important contributions in the areas of LGBTQ literature, children’s literature, cultural studies, and literary theory. Area members and associates have also contributed to successful study abroad programs enriching our students’ experiences beyond the confines of online education.
In its two-plus decades, MTLFF has benefited from the service of some of the profession’s most talented scholars and teachers. As Gay wrote in a book of this title, we are about “binding cultures,” and that work has never been more important.