Biography:
Ռոզեթ Սիմիթյան
Pronouns she/her
I study contemporary and 20th-century American literature through the lens of film, photography, and other media. My research explores how displaced communities use intermedial memory-work to act as sites of social and environmental empowerment. My current project explores the intersections between migrant narratives, haunting, film/photography. I am a first-generation college student from an immigrant family.
Research Interests
Environmental Humanities, Eco-Media, Film and Media Studies, Cultural Geography, 20th-Century American Literature, Critical Refugee Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Armenian Diaspora Studies
Education
PhD English. University of California, Davis. 2021 - present. (In progress)
MA English Literature. San Francisco State University. 2020. (Master’s thesis: “Storied City: Disenchanting and Re-Enchanting the Myths of Los Angeles”)
BA Literatures in English and BA History, summa cum laude. University of California, San Diego. 2015.
Teaching Experience
Associate Instructor
ENL 003: Introduction to Literature, Fall 2024-present
UWP 001Y (hybrid): Introduction to Academic Literacies, Fall 2023 - Summer 2024
UWP 001: Introduction to Academic Literacies, Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Teaching Assistant
ENL 182: Literature of California, Fall 2021
ENL 10B: Literatures in English II: 1700-1900, Winter 2022
ENL 155B: 19th Century British Novel, Spring 2022
ECS 188: Ethics in an Age of Technology, Summer 2022
Awards
English Department Professor Jack Hicks Award, Rated Podcast, Spring 2023 (with Stacey Baran and Jeremy Freeman)
Davis Humanities Institute Working Group Award, Wide-Angle Conversations Podcast, 2023-2024 (with Stacey Baran)
Publications
“Didion’s Los Angeles: Dis-Enchanting the California Dream,” Interpretations: Journal of the SFSU Graduate Literature Association, May 2020.
“From Idol to God: Feminine Apotheosis in Mina Loy's ‘Parturition’,” Interpretations: Journal of the SFSU Graduate Literature Association, November 2019
Presentations
“Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire: the (Eco-)Horror of California Carceral Geographies.” ASLE 2023 Biennial Conference, Portland, OR, July 2023
“Selves, Shelves, and Shells: The Supermarket as an Echo-Chamber of Postmodern Anxieties,” Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) Conference, November 2019.
“From Idol to God: Feminine Apotheosis in Mina Loy's ‘Parturition’,” SFSU English Department Conference, May 2019.