The modern city of Canterbury juxtaposes the medieval cathedral and its saint (the object of Chaucer’s pilgrimage) with contemporary buildings occupied by innovative high-tech corporations.
The English Department Canterbury Program honors this juxtaposition by offering English majors a bridge between traditional humanistic pursuits and twenty-first-century technological achievements.
In the joyous spirit of Chaucer’s clerk in The Canterbury Tales, the program provides opportunities for innovative collaboration in teaching and learning, enabling our students to explore the creative convergence of literary classics and current technology, written communication and corporate culture.
The Canterbury Program was established to
- support undergraduate research for English majors
- provide resources for faculty-student collaboration in Literature and Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, Professional Writing and New Media, and Digital Humanities
- encourage the study of early books, authors, and print media using both traditional and emergent research tools to promote student learning in traditional and innovative methodologies
- forge connections between undergraduate English majors and positions in business and industry.
Canterbury Travel Grants
A limited number of grants are awarded to allow English majors to:
- visit special collections
- travel to conferences
- attend special sessions
- present papers
Canterbury Scholars and students awarded travel grants will share their experiences and accomplishments with other students and faculty at a Spring quarter symposium. Student travel to a conference or for research is generously funded by the Reverend Theodore Rynes, S.J. Canterbury Fellowship.
Canterbury Scholars
Canterbury Scholars research and write a senior scholarly or creative project. Topics range from literature and cultural studies, book history and digital humanities, creative writing, professional writing, rhetorical studies, and pedagogy and teaching studies. Up to 10 units of upper-division credit within the English major may be earned during the senior year for work leading to the completion of the fellowship project (subject to the usual approval of sponsoring faculty, the department chair, and the College). Canterbury Scholars also agree to make their projects available on Scholar Commons at the SCU library and to present their work to the department at the Spring quarter symposium.
Application Process
English majors who have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 may apply for a Canterbury Fellowship. In April, applicants must submit to the Canterbury Council a prospectus describing the project, including a short discussion of their background reading and preparation, along with a preliminary bibliography in MLA form (samples of successful proposals can be found below). Applicants must also name at least one English department faculty member who has agreed to serve as the faculty sponsor.
The prospectus must also include a research budget that lists expenses necessary for the completion of the project. These expenses typically include travel to conferences or libraries, photocopying costs, and books. Additionally, applicants must arrange for two letters of recommendation from the English department faculty, one of which must come from a faculty sponsor. The Canterbury Council will review the applications and announce the fellowship awards in late April or early May.
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: project suitability - having breadth and depth significantly beyond a paper written for an existing English class; the proposal itself- significance, quality, originality, persuasiveness, focus and clarity; and the faculty recommendation letters regarding the significance of the project and candidate's intellectual promise, motivation, and ability to complete the work. Sample Proposals are available to view below.
Submission Requirements and Deadline
Manuscripts must be received by the Canterbury Program no later than Monday, May 6, 2024, by midnight. All manuscripts and correspondence should be e-mailed to Jessica Gopp. Please send the manuscript as an attachment, do not paste it into the body of your email.
2024-25 Canterbury Scholars
- Valerie Braylovskiy: “Poetry Manuscript Exploring Illness, Womanhood, and the Body”
- Faculty Mentors: Claudia McIsaac, Maggie Levantovskaya, Daniel B. Summerhill
- Ruby Gutierrez: “What is Left Unsaid: Reflections on Bilingualism as a Chicanx Woman”
- Faculty Mentors: Juan Velasco-Moreno, Kai Harris
Past Fellowship Recipients
2023-24 Canterbury Scholars
- Rhiannon Briggs: “The Disembodied Poetics of the Mad Woman: On loving her, being her, and killing her”
- Faculty mentors: Claudia McIsaac & Danielle Morgan
- Natalia Cantu: “The Labyrinth of Mexicanness, Identity, and Memoir In Latinx Literature: An intricate study of The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez and Canícula by Norma Cantú.”
- Faculty mentors: Juan Velasco-Moreno & Kirstyn Leuner
- Nadine Koochou: “If I Cannot Hear Us, How Do I Know We Are Here? A deep-dive into the trauma and beauty of growing up an Assyrian-American woman”
- Faculty mentors: Claudia McIsaac & Allia Griffin
2022-23 Canterbury Scholars
- Nate D. Metz: "Poetry Manuscript Exploring Nature, Language and Living Connection”
- Faculty mentors: Kirk Glaser & Miah Jeffra
- Octavio De Leon: “Teaching Writing Processes Equitably to ESL Students"
- Faculty mentors: Simone Billings & Denise Krane
2021-22 Canterbury Scholars
- Shenir Dennis: “Our Work Will Not End Here: Creating a Sustainable Change for Student Advocacy and Organizing at Santa Clara University"
- Faculty mentors: Allia Griffin & Danielle Morgan
- Emma Kuli: “Cultivating Creative Storytelling”
- Faculty mentors: Kirk Glaser & Miah Jeffra
2020-21 Canterbury Scholars
- Samantha Castillo: "Dual Immersion Programs: Are They Enough?"
- Faculty mentor: Julia Voss
-
Ryan Nazari: "Yearning, Searching, and Hoping for Home: Studies of Imagination in Assyrian-Iranian Archival Writings and Solmaz Sharif’s Look"
- Faculty mentors: Andrew Keener & Allia Griffin
2019-2020 Canterbury Scholars
- Erika Rasmussen: "A Poetry Manuscript Exploring Uncertainty, Family, and Translation."
- Faculty mentor: Kirk Glaser
- Nadia Yonan: "A Textual and Visual Analysis of the Healing Narratives in Beyonce’s Lemonade & Ntzake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf"
- Faculty mentors: Danielle Morgan & Allia Griffin
2018-2019 Canterbury Scholars
- Julia Joyce: “Mass Incarceration in Literature: To What Extent Can Literature Capture the Injustice of Mass Incarceration and What is the Potential Impact on Future Reform? An Analysis of Beloved, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, To Kill a Mockingbird, and King Hedley II”
- Faculty mentors: Danielle Morgan and Allia Griffin
- Riley O'Connell: “Creative Writing Therapy at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital”
- Faculty mentors: Kirk Glaser and Claudia McIsaac
- Leah Senatro: “Press Play on Composition: Transmodal Composing Across the Disciplines”
- Faculty mentor: Amy Lueck
2017-2018 Canterbury Scholars
- Shelley Valdez: “The Only Shape I'll Pray To”
- Faculty mentor: Kirk Glaser
- Gabby Deutsch: “Reconsidering, Revising and Reclaiming History: Neo-slave Narratives and Hamilton”
- Faculty mentors: Danielle Morgan, Amy Lueck, Allia Griffin
2016-2017 Canterbury Scholars
- Maeve McGeorge: "Perfecting a Novel"
- Faculty mentor: Michael Malone
- Giannina Ong: "Artists as Profiteers: Understanding William Shakespeare's and Walt Disney's Literary Remixes as a Product of Their Businesses"
- Faculty mentor: Tricia Serviss
2015-2016 Canterbury Scholars
- Natalie Grazian: "The Sword and the Dove”
- Faculty mentor: Cynthia Mahamdi
- Helena Alfajora: "The Story, the Art, and Story Telling”
- Faculty mentors: Stephen Carroll & Julie Hughes (Art & Art History)
2014-2015 Canterbury Scholars
- Sabrina Barreto: Fields of Splendor: A Poetry Manuscript. Faculty Mentors: Ted Rynes and Kirk Glaser.
- Sabine Hoskinson: Ojai, Ohio, Italy, Home: A Memoir. Faculty Mentors: Jill Goodman Gould and Diane Dreher.
- Jacob Wilbers: Gardens: A Collection of Short Stories. Faculty Mentors: Simone Billings and Cruz Medina
2013-2014 Canterbury Scholars
- Marissa Minnick: "A Voice for our Nonne: Italian-American Women Writers and Reclamation of Past Identities." Faculty Mentor: Eileen Elrod.
- Michael Savignano: "The Mythomodern Cycle in Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegans Wake." Faculty Mentor: Andrew Garavel
- Amy Thomas: "Conversations with Hemingway." Faculty Mentors: Michelle Burnham and Claudia McIsaac.
2012-2013 Canterbury Scholars
- Hallie McKnight: "Little Revelations." Faculty Mentor: Tim Myers.
- Joanne Santomauro: "Education and Equality: Tracking in English Classrooms." Faculty Mentors: Jill Goodman Gould and Jeffrey Zorn.
2011-2012 Canterbury Scholars
- Ainsley Kelly: "Wildfire: A Poetry Manuscript." Faculty Mentors: Claudia McIsaac and Kirk Glaser.
- Tanya Schmidt: "Shakespeare and Women's Agency: Gender Justice in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale Contrasted to the Pygmalion Story in Ovid's Metamorphoses." Faculty Mentors: Diane Dreher and Judy Dunbar.
2010-2011 Canterbury Scholars
- Hilary Titus: "In Search of Solidarity." Faculty Mentors: Simone J. Billings and Diane Dreher.
2009-2010 Canterbury Scholars
- Lindsay Mohundro: "Incorporating Multicultural Literature into High School Curriculum to Reflect Student Diversity." Faculty Mentor: Jill Goodman Gould.
- Stephanie Wilson: "Creating a Geography of Hope: A Literary Trail Guide for the Bay Area Ridge Trail." Faculty Mentor: Terry Beers.
2007-2008 Canterbury Scholars
- Austin Baumgarten: "'Temporary Suicide': Losing My Mind Without Losing Myself: Mental Illness on Campus." Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Black.
- Hilary Edwards: "Dream Imagery in Fantastic Literature." Faculty Mentor: Theodore Rynes, S.J.
2006-2007 Canterbury Scholars
- Mary Swift: "The Classics Revisited: A Feminist Analysis and Critique of Classic Modern American Male-Authored Novels." Faculty Mentor: Marilyn Edelstein.
- Lauren Karp: "A Crown that Seldom Kings Enjoy: Shakespeare's Exploration of Ethical and Problematic Leadership in the Midst of Political Conflict." Faculty Mentor: Judith Dunbar.
2005-2006 Canterbury Scholars
- Matthew Meyerhofer: "Novelistic Prepresentations of Islam." Faculty Mentor: John Hawley.
- Christie Genochio: "Postcolonial Pantomime and the Evolution of National Identity." Faculty Mentor: John Hawley.
2004-2005 Canterbury Scholars
- Emily Lewis: Faculty Mentors: Bridget Cooks (Art/Art History), Marilyn Edelstein, and Eileen Razzari Elrod.
- Neil Ferron: Faculty Mentors: Simone J. Billings and Paul Fitzgerald, S.J. (Religious Studies).
- Paige Chant: "Theorizing the 'Heterosexual Gaze': on Popular Magazine Print Ads and Heteronormativity." Faculty Mentor: Linda Garber.
2003-2004 Canterbury Scholars
- Jennifer Re: "The Business of Crossing the Border: Narratives Beyond the People Exchange Between El Salvador and the United States." Faculty Mentors: Simone J. Billings and Juan Velasco.
- Olga Kuskova: "Boris Pasternak's Translation of Hamlet." Faculty Mentor: Judith Dunbar.
2002-2003 Canterbury Scholars
- Geoffrey Rocca: "The Aesthetic Theories of Japanese Writer Yukio Mishima." Faculty Mentors: John Hawley and Maryellen Mori (Modern Languages/Japanese).
- Adam Lowry: "Dystopias in Literature." Faculty Mentors: Theodore Rynes, S.J. and Simone J. Billings.
- Shiaw-ling Lai: "A Comparison of Edith Wharton and Kate Chopin's Short Fiction." Faculty Mentor: Eileen Razzari Elrod.
2001-2002 Canterbury Scholars
- Kat McGuire: "Feminist and Postcolonialist Readings of The Color Purple and The Poisonwood Bible." Faculty Mentor: Michelle Burnham.
- Carrie Dodson: "Translation and Discussion of the Poetry of Central and South American Women Writers." Faculty Mentors: Juan Velasco and Diane Dreher.
- Joseph Caporale: "The Graphic Novel: Analysis of the Dark Knight and the Watchmen." Faculty Mentors: Simone J. Billings, Phyllis Brown, and Diane Dreher.
2000-2001 Canterbury Scholars
- Jonathan Wegner: "A Study of the Contemporary American Poet John Ashbery and His Works." Faculty Mentor: Marilyn Edelstein.
- Kara Thompson: "An Exploration of the Constructs of Power, Culture, and Gender." Faculty Mentor: John Hawley.
- Katie Colendich: "An Exploration of American Women Writers Working in the Fields of Nonfiction and Photojournalism in the Years between World War I and World War II." Faculty Mentors: Jeanne Gunner and Simone J. Billings.
1999-2000 Canterbury Scholars
- Gareth Lee: "The House of Fame: A Portfolio of Poems Written in Emulation of Poets from the Classical Period to the Present." Faculty Mentor: Ed Kleinschmidt Mayes.
- James Duncan: "A Modern Retelling of Cinderella." Faculty Mentor: Ron Hansen.
1998-1999 Canterbury Scholars
- Mike Riese: "Early American Captivity Narratives." Faculty Mentor: Michelle Burnham.
- Shannon Nessier: "The Tie that Binds: An Examination of the Recreation of the Central Valley in the Work of Frank Norris and Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel." Faculty Mentor: Terry Beers.
1997-1998 Canterbury Scholars
Sample Proposals
Sample 1 of 2020 Ryan Nazari Canterbury Proposal
Sample 2 of 2019 Julia Joyce Canterbury Proposal
Sample 3 of 2019 Riley O'Connell Canterbury Proposal
Sample 4 of 2019 Leah Senatro Canterbury Proposal
Sample 5 of 2018 Gabby Deutsch Canterbury Proposal