General Advice

How to Get Involved

1. Committees

• There are many committees in the English department that graduate students can volunteer to participate in, including the Awards Committee, Composition Committee, Library Committee, Policy Committee, and Special Events Committee. Towards the beginning of each new academic year, an email is usually sent to the graduate student listserv detailing which committees you are eligible to serve on and giving instructions for how you can voice your interest in joining one or more. Of course it is also always a good idea to talk to senior grad students about their experiences on various committees to get a sense of the time commitment involved before making any decisions about how/if you'd like to perform this sort of service work.
• GEOC - If you are a grad employee, you can become a steward or a member of the bargaining team for the Graduate Employees Organizing Committee, the labor union representing graduate teaching assistants at Wayne State University

2. Student Organizations

• WEGO - every year the Wayne English Graduate Organization holds elections for organizational positions - President, Vice President, and Treasurer; WEGO also hosts many events that you may find fun and helpful, including a dissertation writing collective, "Final Fridays" social events every month of the academic year, and workshops on topics including CV writing, academic job interviews, writing cover letters, and so on
• GQWSU - GQWSU is the queer graduate student organization at Wayne State; the organization regularly hosts LGBTQIA+ friendly events on campus
• Visual Culture @ WSU - the Visual Culture organization hosts symposia and lectures related to visual culture topics
• Kino Club 313 - Kino Club 313 is the Wayne State student film studies organization; the group hosts monthly film screenings during the academic school year, as well as a yearly conference in February and other social events throughout the year; Kino Club 313 also operates a blog writing and mentoring program, in which undergraduate students and independent scholars are paired with graduate students who edit their writing and mentor them through the writing process, with completed articles, listicles, and film reviews published to the organization's website several times per week
• VGSIG - The Wayne State Video Game Scholarly Interest Group meets once monthly to play and discuss video games, which are curated by students in the organization and range from first person shooter games to puzzle games to retro side scrollers and more
• WSUCC - The Wayne State University Comics Collective is a reading group that meets once monthly to discuss comic books and graphic novels; in the past, the group has read and discussed Diary of a Teenage Girl, Black Panther, Paper Girls, The Vision, and much more
• Knit/Lit - Knit/Lit is a reading and fiber arts group that meets once monthly to discuss literature and knit, crochet, etc. Even if you aren't familiar with the fiber arts, there are always plenty of experienced members willing to teach newcomers! (It is also common knowledge that this is the student org with the best snacks at meetings, which is something to keep in mind)
• Warrior English - this student organization includes undergraduates, graduates, and faculty members with a passion for English, and plans social events including occasional theater outings and organizational meetings
• Wayne State Rhetoric Society - The WSRS occasionally hosts reading groups and other rhetoric-related events
• If you are interested in searching for other student organizations, or in starting your own student org, be sure to check out the Get Involved website! This is WSU's online hub for all student organizations to recruit members, share events, provide contact information, and so on. Wayne State has diverse and exciting student organization offerings, including religious, educational, and recreational groups that host free and fun events both on and off campus.

3. Campus Events

• Final Fridays - WEGO organizes monthly social gatherings that take place on the evening of the last Friday of each month throughout the academic year. This year's meetings will take place at Common Pub, located at 5440 Cass Avenue, from 5-7 PM on the following dates: Aug. 31, Sep. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 30, Jan. 25, Feb. 22, Mar. 29, Apr. 26, and May 31. Check out the WEGO Facebook page for details.
• WEGO workshops/events - Throughout the academic year, WEGO organizes workshops, presentations, and receptions for graduate students in the English Department. The best way to stay in the loop regarding upcoming WEGO events is to follow them on Facebook, and to regularly check the department calendar.
• GEOC meetings & events - both stewards and members of the GEOC are encouraged to attend organizational meetings, as well as recreational events (the GEOC regularly plans coffee dates and outings to Pistons games, shopping malls, bowling alleys, etc.). For an up-to-date events list, check out the GEOC Facebook page.
• Brown Bag Lectures - The Humanities Center organizes the Brown Bag Colloquium Series, which invites academics across the humanities to present their research on a wide range of topics. These lectures are always held from 12:30-1:30 PM in the Faculty Administration Building, Room 2339. Several faculty members from the English department will be giving Brown Bag lectures during the upcoming academic year; attending these events is a great way to show support for the department, and to stay in the loop regarding what your colleagues are researching.
• Humanities Center Fall Symposium - This once-a-year symposium features presenters from across the humanities, and typically focuses on current and pressing issues and topics in the field.
• Turner/DeRoy Lectures - each year, film professors Chera Kee and Steven Shaviro organize lectures delivered by some of the most interesting and prolific academic minds of today. Although the dates for these lectures vary from semester to semester, the events are heavily publicized on the English department Facebook page and through the email listserv. Lists of former Turner lecturers and DeRoy lecturers can be found here and here, respectively.
• Open Fields Reading Series - The Creative Writing department organizes multiple author visits each semester, wherein an author reads from their work and discusses it with the audience; more information about specific events and dates for the Open Fields Reading series is forthcoming.
• Knowledge on Tap lecture series - every other month, Wayne State and HopCat (bar and restaurant located at 4265 Woodward Ave.) team up to present an informal lecture from a Wayne State professor, followed by audience discussion. The topics of these lectures range across many disciplines, and these events are free and open to the public.
• Visual Culture Symposium - every academic year, usually about midway through the Winter semester, the Visual Culture group organizes a one-day symposium; graduate students from Wayne State and other area universities are encouraged to submit both academic and artistic presentations, and the symposia always feature interesting and exciting keynote speakers; the best way to learn more about this event is to follow the Visual Culture group on Facebook, and to check out the website for last year's symposium
• Kino Club 313 Conference - every academic year, usually in February, Kino Club 313 organizes a conference that is open to graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty members from Wayne State and beyond; the best way to stay in the loop regarding conference planning for Kino Club 313 is to follow their Facebook page and website. Last year's conference featured workshops, panels, film screenings, and lectures presented by academics from all over the United States and Canada.
• CORRIDORS/Teaching of Writing Conference - The CORRIDORS Conference is a regional Writing & Rhetoric Conference that will be held at Saginaw Valley State University on Saturday, September 39th, 2018. In years when the CORRIDORS Conference isn't being held at Wayne State, the Teaching of Writing Conference provides students and faculty with an opportunity to share and build knowledge about teaching practices. For more information on the 2016 ToW Conference, click here.
• Kino Club 313 film screenings - Kino Club 313 organizes film screenings throughout the academic year, generally from September-November, then January-April. These film screenings usually include a lecture from a faculty member or graduate student, and/or a Q&A session following the film. These screenings are held on campus, usually in the Student Center, and are always free and available to the public. The Kino Club 313 website has a calendar that lists not only film screenings, but other social and organizational events planned by the group.
• Group Fitness Classes at Mort Harris - The Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center offers group fitness classes at no charge to Wayne State students. All classes are drop-in, and there are a wide range of classes available over a range of dates/times to accommodate hectic student schedules.
• Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) workshops/presentations - BEST is an NIH-grant funded program dedicated to training graduate students for employment outside of academia; although most of the program is targeted towards graduate students in the STEM fields, there are occasionally panels and workshops hosted by BEST that would be interesting and informative for English graduates as well
• Festifall and Winterfest - Every semester, the Wayne State Dean of Students Office (DOSO) hosts a student org day where incoming and continuing students can explore tables set up by student orgs, departments, and programs from across the university. The fall semester student org day - Festifall - is typically held outdoors on Gullen Mall in late August. The winter semester student org day - Winterfest - is usually in the Student Center ballroom (2nd floor) in late January. These are great opportunities to explore student organizations *and* to pick up some fun, free swag in the process!
• Campus Events Calendar - the main events calendar for WSU can be a bit unwieldy, but the good news is that you can narrow down the calendar to search by type of event, intended audience, date, and so on.
• Departmental Events Calendar - the departmental events calendar shows events specifically organized by and for the English department; committee meetings, workshops, and more can be found on the linked Google calendar, and can be easily added to your own Google calendar with a simple click