Eastern Student Kamila Nowak of Berlin Presents Senior Seminar Project

2015 Dec 21

Five star students majoring in English at Eastern Connecticut State University presented their senior seminar projects at "English Night." At the fall 2015 semester-ending event, students either presented excerpts from the novels they have been writing or individual research on the unassuming reality of the Middle Ages.

Kamila Nowak '16 of Berlin presented her research titled "The Real Housewives of the Fabliau: Attempted Gender Role Reversal and Upended Marital Expectations in 'The Stupid Knight and The Fisherman of Pont Sur-Seine,'" which was completed in Professor Meredith Clermont-Ferrand's seminar "Dirty, Sexy Middle Ages."

"I felt that giving students an opportunity to write a novel would be extremely valuable," said Professor Torockio, one of the fall semester's two seminar instructors. "Writing a novel is difficult and draining and self-doubt can become a constant part of the writer's life. However, by having faith in their stories, their characters and themselves, these students persevered and turned out an end-product that I can't be more proud of."

For Professor Meredith Clermont-Ferrand's seminar: "This seminar was designed to undermine the received tradition of the Middle Ages as being dry, boring and church-oriented. Contrary to popular belief, humor was a huge part of life in the Middle Ages. The average person often turned to humor and entertainment to push back against authority and the ever-changing religious doctrines of the time."

All English majors at Eastern Connecticut State University must complete a senior seminar in order to graduate.