Keynote Speakers & Guests
Dr. Maggie McDowell (she/her/hers) is a 2022 graduate of Duke English and GSF, where she wrote a dissertation about asexual representation (or the lack thereof) in American popular culture. She has worked as a writing tutor, college advisor, and community college instructor. Currently she is Instructor of Humanities and Writing Studio Coordinator on the Morganton campus of the North Carolina School of Science and Math, where she teaches a mix of American Studies, Gender Studies, Creative Writing, and Science Fiction. She firmly believes that everyone benefits from the interdisciplinary skills developed in Humanities classrooms and prioritizes a diversity of voices in her own classroom, including and perhaps most importantly an emphasis on student self-expression.
Frances Leviston is a poet, critic, and short story writer. Her first book of poems, Public Dream (2007), was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Her second, Disinformation (2015), was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Award. Her most recent book is The Voice in My Ear (2020), a collection of short stories. Her poems have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Poetry and The Nation, amongst others. She is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, UK, and the 2024/25 Blackburn Distinguished Artist in Residence at Duke.
LTC Trivius Caldwell is an active-duty Army Infantry officer of nearly 20 years. He earned a Bachelor of Art degree in English from Tuskegee University, he holds a Masters of Arts degree from Auburn University, and he is currently pursuing a PhD in Literature at Duke University. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor of English at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His most recent book, Tertium Quid (2024) is a collection of poetry detailing reflections from his military war experience. Trivius’s research interests include 20th century African American literature, Sound Studies, and Hip-Hop literature.
Student Presenters
Skye Taylor is an English and Comparative Literatures major with a minor in Spanish for the Legal Profession at the University of North Carolina. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, she came to UNC after two years of undergraduate studies and European exploration at the University of Edinburgh. An avid defender of romantic fiction as a reader and writer of the genre, she wanted to create work that championed the female empowerment to be found in a genre primarily for women, by women, but discovered that the genre’s progressive and feminist limitations are equally as thought-provoking. Her post-grad plans are murky, but she will continue writing and traveling as much as she can.
Amanda Davis is an undergraduate student at NC State University studying English with a concentration in teacher education. She currently serves as a pre-service high school teacher and is set to graduate next May. As part of both the English Honors and University Honors programs at NC State, Amanda has developed interdisciplinary skills that connect her diverse passions in literature, art, and education. Amanda’s literary research examines how writers and artists throughout history have used their work to respond to societal challenges; capturing both the beauty and horror of humanity in the process. Comparing adaptations of Dante’s Inferno, Amanda sheds light on how different forms of creative expression- epic poetry, sculpture, and music- serve as powerful mirrors of society that reflect socio-political issues. Through comparative analysis, she then connects these mirrors of society to explore what we can learn from how these artists comment on our past, present, and possible futures.
Quinn Errico is a senior UNC-CH student studying Global Studies, Biostatistics, and Hispanic Studies. This work was prompted by Quinn’s passion for reggaetón music and his curiosity for its cultural imprint in the United States. Quinn sees particular importance in reggaetón’s portrayal in media because it can reveal the progress made towards a United States that is inclusive of cultural forms outside of an Anglo-American model. He plans to pursue further education in a Master’s Program of Ethnomusicology or Urban Planning. He would like to thank the TULC for allowing him to present and wants everyone to listen to KAROL G’s album MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO on the way home.
Linda Garziera is a freshman at Duke University, currently pursuing a degree in Economics with a focus on politics, development, and cultural anthropology. In high school, Linda developed a deep interest in the relationship between art, literature, and culture, conducting research on how these fields interact to influence societal change. During her senior year, she wrote and published her debut novel, The Bejeweled Chameleon, which follows two young adults on a journey to reconnect with their families and their roots. Linda has embraced opportunities for leadership as a head editor for the literary magazine Trace Fossils Review, as well as Duke magazines The MUSE and Borderless. Her writing has earned recognition in the Atlantic Institute, the Kelly’s Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Scholastic Writing Awards. Driven by a curiosity about the world, Linda is eager to engage in research that bridges her interests, while continuing to grow as both a writer and an emerging scholar.
Bennett Evangelisto is a senior at NC State University, majoring in Business Administration and actively participating in the University Honors Program and the Business Analytics Honors Program. He has gained professional experience as an Investment Analyst, Financial Accountant, and Strategy Consultant. Most recently, he spent a semester living and studying in Italy to develop a global perspective. Driven by a deep passion for philosophy and literature, Bennett’s presentation delves into the intersection of enduring themes such as narrative meaning, free will, and metaphysical philosophy.
Haley Moore is a junior attending North Carolina Central University majoring in both English and Interdisciplinary Studies and minoring in Mass Communications. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Haley wants to obtain her master’s and Ph.D. in English. Her research interests include World Literature, African American Literature, Women and Gender Studies, and Mass Media. Haley is a member of the English honors society, Sigma Tau Delta. This is the first conference Haley will present research, but in the future, she plans to present more. Haley has a fierce passion for tutoring and has tutored children of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. She has volunteered with nonprofits such as Surrounded by Love and the M5 Foundation to empower and uplift the youth and the local community. In her free time, Haley likes reading Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, writing basic fantasy, volunteering with nonprofits, playing video games, watching anime, exercising, and spending time with her family and dogs.
Vivian Guo is a senior at Duke University double majoring in Global Culture & Theory and Computer Science. Her passion for philosophy began in high school debate and has since deepened through her exploration of literature, film, and critical theory. Her research focuses on the intersection of psychoanalysis, East Asian studies, and cinema as a cultural object. Outside of academics, Vivian enjoys traveling, trading, and performing as an active member of a Duke dance team.
Joseph England is a second-year student at UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in English literature and German language. He is particularly passionate about Virginia Woolf’s work and plans to complete a senior thesis analyzing her novels. Beyond Woolf, his interests span nearly every aspect of literature and its role as an artform–whether that be exploring its intersections with religion and politics or delving into the internal creative processes of writing.
Leah Dawson is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, pursing a Bachelor of Arts in Classics with a Latin emphasis. Within the field of Classics, her academic interests focus on Early Christianity and its interactions with the Roman Empire, as well as the roles and representations of women in antiquity. At this conference, she will be presenting on the interplay between Ovid’s Heroides and Ars Amatoria, specifically examining Ovid’s treatment of Helen in relation to Paris. Leah
plans to attend graduate school next year to pursue a master’s degree in Classics or Early Christianity. Outside of her studies, she enjoys baking for her four roommates, running, and exploring new cuisines.
Sophia Vona is a junior studying English, Biology and Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill. She is an undergraduate research assistant at HHIVE–UNC’s Health Humanities Lab–where she focuses on how narratives of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) influence AMR policy with Dr. Kym Weed. She aspires to pursue a healthcare career as a physician, leveraging her understanding of how language and culture influence science and health to address complex health challenges. Outside of her research interests, she is passionate about community engagement through her engagement in out in STEM, commitment to the crochet club, and dedication to tutoring K-12 students in reading comprehension, science, and math.
Esme Fox is a senior at Duke University from New York City studying Global Culture and Theory in the literature program, with minors in Visual Media Studies and Journalism. She is currently a reporter for the 9th Street Journal, with experience at papers like Bloomberg News and the Tampa Bay Times. Beyond journalism, she is fascinated with modernist literature and consciousness philosophy. She is an ambassador for the literature program at Duke as well as an associate editor for the undergraduate literary magazine Other. She is also involved with Duke’s theater scene through Duke Players, and She has both acted in and directed productions throughout her undergraduate experience. Next year, she hopes to either pursue journalism full time or attend graduate school for literature.
Jada Ennin is a freshman at Duke University studying Neuroscience and Global Health. A writing class she took fall of 2024 that had a profound impact on her was called “Literature and Medicine”, a seminar hosted by Elizabeth Apple, which discussed literary works ranging from all time periods in relation to medicine, society, and culture. The class helped her expand on her love for narrative medicine, introduced her to Susan Sontag, and helped her to understand how her race, disability, and gender all intersect in impacting and shaping her life and the millions of others alike. Her research interests are immunology, global health work in relation to West Africa or RMACH, and stories told through the eyes of patients. She is an avid reader who aspires to write more, and this is her first large literary research project.
Brennan Selcz is a Junior at NC State University studying English Literature and Political Science. He intends to pursue a Ph.D. in English Literature after his undergraduate degree, and his research interests broadly include postcolonial theory, political theory, and science and technology studies. He is particularly interested in how post-WWII novels represent and mediate cultural anxieties about globalization and technological development. At NC State, Brennan runs a philosophy club called Cavedwellers, and this semester he is also participating in a colloquy at the Folger Shakespeare Library on sovereignty in Early Modern English literature. In his free time, he enjoys reading, writing, running, and spending time with friends and family.
Lelani Williamson is an undergraduate sophomore at North Carolina State University majoring in English with a double minor in Africana Studies and Political Science. Her achievements include being an Honors College student, English Department Honors student, English ambassador, College of Humanities and Social Sciences ambassador, Caldwell Fellow, OAK Scholar, and Taco Bell Live Mas Scholar. She also serves as historian for the Black Student Union and is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated. Currently, Lelani writes for the online magazine Her Campus as well as serves as a writing consultant in the North Carolina State University Academic Success Center. She has served as a Team Lead for the non-profit organization Brown Kids Read and an interviewer for the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy team. Lelani enjoys doing research in the literary field on topics of African American culture.
Annabel Tang (she/her) is a sophomore at Duke originally from Richmond, VA. She is studying a Program II (individualized major) titled Storytelling as Resistance: Healing Cultural and Diasporic Trauma through Narrative. She is interested in narrative and storytelling as pathways for healing cultural and historical traumas—specifically in refugee, migrant, and diasporic communities—by invoking alternative conceptualizations of truth-telling. She studies how narrative can reimagine what a confrontation with the past looks like for diasporic communities, and how that reimagination can be a pathway for healing trauma that is unspeakable and irreconcilable with chronology. In her free time, she loves trying new coffee shops, running and hiking, and spending time with friends!
Alexis Mosu is a current third-year undergraduate at Duke University who majors in Biology, with minors in Spanish and Global Health. She plans to attend medical school after graduation, and her attention to gender in medicine is inspired by her exposure to women’s health both through her involvement with research on the female urogenital microbiome and through in-person clinical shadowing. This past semester, Alexis developed her research project on the cultural and religious influence on gender and health in response to a special topics writing course centered around literature and medicine. She hopes that by calling attention to this topic she can help identify ways to improve healthcare outcomes for women and ultimately become a better physician.
Shaun Loh is a sophomore at Duke University studying Economics and Political Science. He enjoys reading and writing, particularly in creative nonfiction and confessional poetry. His favorite authors since young are Joan Didion and Sylvia Plath, and has more recently developed a love for essays on Substack.
