Welcome Message from the Chair

"Hi everyone, my name is Ato Quayson and I am Chair of the Department of English.  I want to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the 2021-2022 academic year.  The past year-and-a-half have been very trying for all of us, with the COVID pandemic not only claiming the lives of loved ones near and far, but also sowing seeds of anxiety and confusion among the population in general.

For us at the Department of English, our task is to collectively establish the grounds of our individual and collective flourishing.  This means not just claiming access to the astonishing range of scholarly resources available to us at Stanford, but also paying attention to how we strengthen our community in whatever way we can.  There is no little that is too small, as they say in Ghana where I come from, and so our task must be to do whatever little we can to augment the feeling of being part of a wider intellectual community.

My colleagues, staff, and I are delighted to be part of this collective effort at building togetherness and strengthening one another in our pursuits.  

I wish you all a great year of flourishing and discovery.

To all good things,"

Ato