Department News

Highlights from the Lit Studies Alumni Panel

On February 18th, 2022, Professor Jennifer Firestone welcomed back five Lit Studies alums—Jaye Elizabeth Elijah, Hilina Da Costa Gomez, Shulokhana Khan, Colin Marston, and...   Read More

2021 Literature Faculty Salon

Please join us for our virtual Literature Faculty Salon on March 11th, 2021. Time: 5-6 PM (EST) RSVP: HTTPS://BIT.LY/2PHCNPV

All Together: Quarantine Studies

A collection of inspiring student work, faculty writing, and more from the Literary Studies department at Eugene Lang. Even though the Lang community might...   Read More

Reading for Writers Featured on Medium

Stephanie Leone, Literary Studies Alum, wrote an exciting feature about our course Reading for Writers: the Contemporary Short Story that we wanted to share with...   Read More

The Epiphany Machine

Faculty member David Gerrard has published The Epiphany Machine, a book that has been called “hilarious” and “razor-sharp” by The Washington Post, a “wildly charming, morally...   Read More

Juan DeCastro steps up as chair of literature

The Department of Literary Studies welcomes Juan De Castro as co-chair, Literary Studies and Chair, Literature. Juan De Castro is the author of The Spaces...   Read More

vale neil gordon

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Professor of Literary Studies, Neil Gordon. Read his obituary here.

Paul Kottman’s new book – Love as human freedom

Associate Professor of Literary Studies Paul Kottman’s latest book, Love As Human Freedom is available now!  Rather than see love as a natural form of...   Read More

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On February 18th, 2022, Professor Jennifer Firestone welcomed back five Lit Studies alums—Jaye Elizabeth Elijah, Hilina Da Costa Gomez, Shulokhana Khan, Colin Marston, and Jasveen Kaur S.—to share their thoughts on life after college and the creative ways that their Literary Studies degrees propelled them onto their current personal and professional paths. 

You can watch the entire video here or read the transcript here

Their paths have all differed greatly, ranging from publishing to journalism school, from an MFA in Poetry and to work in Film Production. They all agree that the breadth and interdisciplinary focus of classes offered by Lang’s Literary Studies department were incredibly formative. 

  • “There were all these opportunities I had to enhance my facilitation skills, my teaching skills, and think about how I would want to be more equitable when it comes to teaching.” —Jasveen Kaur S.

  • “No experience is ever wasted. Within all the classes that you take there is really always something to be mined… Anything that you’re doing is going to help you move on to the next thing.”—Shulokhana Khan

The panelists gave concrete, practical advice on what to look for when applying to jobs and internships, without sugar-coating the reality of the creative job market.

  • When applying to internships, “be clear-sighted about your objectives and also hold them accountable. They should pay interns. The system is exploitative and if it’s not for academic credit, get paid.”—Colin Marston

  • “Don’t be afraid to leave, as well, if you feel like you’re being mistreated… The right people will understand why you left.”—Hilina Da Costa Gomez

Overall, the panelists helped set clear, honest expectations of life after college: it’s hard and competitive. But the tools they acquired from their many experiences in Lit Studies and The New School at large have helped them remain flexible and creative in their pursuits.

  • “There’s a lot of possibility and I think there’s a real emphasis on having a book, or having the most beautiful idyllic publishing job, or going straight into a program right after graduation, and none of that is required… don’t get caught up in the myth of ‘prodigy’ and needing to have it all figured out. So I would say let yourself fail and fail hard and it’ll come together eventually.”  —Jaye Elizabeth Elijah

  • “The jobs that I got look pretty neat on paper, but there are a lot of rejections in between, a lot of ‘I don’t know what I’m doing!’ ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to get anything!’”—Shulokhana Khan