The English Department's Dr. Laura Murphy and Dr. Timothy Welsh have each received a Marquette Faculty Fellowship to support full-time research over the summer of 2013.

Dr. Murphy will continue work on The New Slave Narrative, the first book to consider the genre of the slave narrative as it has been reborn and reshaped in the late 20th and early 21st century. Through an analysis of the literary, political, and personal impulses that have encouraged the genre's reemergence, Dr. Murphy's research draws attention to the persistence of slavery in the modern era. Her book will provide an analytical framework for understanding the narration of first-person experiences of slavery.

Dr. Welsh will use his award to complete his first book, Mixed Realism: A Theory of Fiction for Wired Culture. His research explores the expanded role of media-generated virtuality in contemporary life. Combining literary criticism and theory with digital media studies, Dr. Welsh's book draws out social, political, and ethical issues bound up with the digital. In doing so, it updates discussions concerning relationships between art and life, media and mediation, and representation and responsibility for a wired world.

Marquette Fellowhips are awarded to support full-time research and/or creative work over the summer. The President and Provost select the Marquette Fellows upon the recommendation of the University Committee on Internal Grants.