Faculty Remarks:
Caitlin Buteau I remember Caitlin as a sharp and highly engaged reader, who spoke with humor and passion during seminar. In one of my favorite memories, Caitlin described a moment of sheer frustration with Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant in which she threw the novel across her bedroom because Ishiguro refused to write a satisfying ending. That’s stuck with me not only because it was characteristic of Caitlin’s humor, but because that sort of passionate investment in literature is so rare. Caitlin brought that same passion to everything she read in my classes from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to Game of Thrones to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And I hope Caitlin keeps throwing books far into the future. – Jessica Hines
Dear Caitie,
We’re sorry not to be able to congratulate you in person on your graduation. But we want to take the opportunity of the wonderful occasion of this milestone—wonderful, despite the circumstances in which it is happening–to tell you how much we enjoyed working with you in the Environment in Literature, Law, and Science class. We admired your determination to grow as a thinker and a writer, your persistence, your spirit, and your interest in the world, from your highly-regarded skill as a foil fencer (and we’re very glad you chose Duke over all of the schools that were fighting over you!) and your enthusiasm as a traveler to your commitment as a writer invested in making sense of her own experience in relation to others and in the context of broader issues. We were especially impressed with the commitment to social justice you demonstrated in your essays and with your desire to use your writing to give others insight into your concerns and the issues with which you struggle. Your willingness to be honest, open and vulnerable so others may benefit is, to our minds, the definition of generosity. We thank you also for your work as a digital media intern, for all that you did to share your own experience on the department website, and for the curiosity and compassion you showed in getting to know others and in amplifying their stories and successes. So, we congratulate you on the occasion of your graduation confident that you have the determination and skills to succeed at whatever you decide to do, and that you will be among those people who make a positive difference in the world.
Wishing you all the best,
Priscilla Wald and Saskia Cornes
