Community Engagement
The Department of English sponsors a wide variety of outreach programs that support the greater Knoxville community. Many of these efforts are made possible in part through the generous support of the John C. Hodges Better English Endowment, established by Professor John C. Hodges before his death in 1967, to enhance the offerings of the department. Others are collaborative projects by the Division of Access and Engagement, the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, community-based institutions such as the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Knoxville Writers’ Guild, and by local public schools.
Give to the Better English Endowment
The Flagship Schools Admissions Essay Tutoring Program
A powerful collaboration with Austin-East High School to make sure that every senior who wanted a private tutor for their college admissions personal essay could have one.
Frederick Douglass Day
The English department is the main sponsor and organizer of Frederick Douglass Day events each year on February 14. We are in a partnership with other universities across the country, including Princeton, Penn State, Washington University, and Howard University, with live-feed events and in-person activities.
The Brian M. Conley Young Writers’ Institute
For the past twenty years, UT students and faculty members have inspired area high school students and their teachers to write prose and poetry. More than 1,300 students have attended the annual daylong writing workshop.
The Creative Writing Visiting Writers Series
This series sponsors regular visits by distinguished creative writers. The public is invited to these readings, and the writers often visit schools and other community sites as well.
The Stokely Writing Conference
This conference takes place each summer and brings together local high school teachers for several days of workshops. Participants learn techniques and strategies to help teach writing to high school students.
Other Engagement
Faculty members and students in the Department of English perform extensive community outreach and public service. Many, for example, have lead discussions of literary works or given public readings at schools, bookstores, places of worship, and other community venues. They are regular participants in the UT Humanities Center’s Public Books Circle, in Knox County Schools In-Service Days, at in collaborative efforts with The Bottom and The Change Center.
Many have also been active in the Knoxville Writers’ Guild, an organization of local authors that provides a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers and that seeks to promote writing and creativity in the wider community through education, publication, and sponsorship of writing-related public events.