Neil Hultgren

I'm currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at the University of Virginia. My dissertation examines the intersections between imperial melodrama and providential plotting in late Victorian British fiction. I am also the Director of the University of Virginia Writing Center and a Fellow at Hereford College. I’ve taught accelerated academic writing, English literature surveys spanning from Beowulf to Walcott, introductory English courses, film short courses, and specialized literature seminars on topics ranging from contemporary global fiction in English to British colonialism in India. In the past, I served as chair of UVa’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center Operating Board and volunteered in the Center.

While at Augustana, I majored in English and French with a minor in geology. I took classes in many different areas both inside and outside the English department. English classes allowed me to study texts in a small seminar setting while working closely with professors outside of class. Since outside knowledge provides a valuable context for literary study, Augustana courses in French, philosophy, foundations, anthropology, music, and geology still provide me with valuable background even in the specialized environment of graduate school.

Outside the classroom, I worked in the Reading and Writing Center, played trombone in the Augustana Symphonic Band and Symphony, wrote for the Observer newspaper and the Augustana Web Clique, and was an active member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity. I also worked as an Augustana Ambassador and as a peer mentor. While my newspaper writing and tutoring helped me grow as a writer, music ensembles provided an exciting and rewarding environment for artistic expression and group interaction.

The personal education I received both inside and outside the classroom at Augustana still helps me in my work today. I'm thankful for the firm foundation of my Augustana education.