Presenting at the MacEwan University Undergraduate English Conference

The story of how I ended up presenting at the MacEwan University Undergraduate English Conference begins months before, in a sun-dappled quad underneath the shade of eucalyptus trees.

I was on a semester abroad at the University of Newcastle, taking a course in Australian Literature. After lectures, I’d often linger behind to ask questions or further discuss the texts. Over time, these exchanges evolved into a weekly ritual where my professor and I would settle onto one of the many benches in the quad and chat. Every once in a while, we’d be interrupted by the piercing laugh of a kookaburra perched in the trees. Our conversations spanned a wide range of topics—some related to the course, and others transcending the syllabus.

It was during one of these conversations that I proposed an alternative piece for my final assignment—a formal paper that I could submit to a journal. With his support, I ended up writing a paper exploring the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin—a Russian philosopher and literary critic—how the presence of multiple perspectives in a literary work (also termed heteroglossia) can be used to analyze social tension within a text. Armed with this framework, I set out to write a paper on Loaded—a novel by Greek-Australian novelist Christos Tsiolkas.  

At the time, I had no plans for the paper, but I was eager to engage more substantially with the course texts and Bakhtin’s theories. An opportunity to share my work with the academic community came to me unexpectedly in November, when I came across a call for submissions to the MacEwan University Undergraduate English Conference.  

The two-day conference boasted various undergraduate presentations, panels, and a keynote presentation on feminist comedy across 350 years of literary history. Being passionate about presentations and public speaking, I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to pass up. With the help of professors, classmates, and friends, I put forward a proposal for my piece and was invited to attend the conference as a presenter. I was especially grateful to have received the Scholars Academy Career and Professional Award to support my attendance at this event.  

After a month of preparation and a three-hour journey by bus, I arrived at MacEwan University on a frigid February afternoon, unsure of what to expect, having never attended an academic conference before. As the first presentation in my panel, I was nervous, but once I stepped in front of the crowd and got into the flow of my script, everything fell in its place. Being able to share my ideas—ones that I had spent months refining—in front of a crowd was an incredible experience. I was especially delighted that my theories were well-received by the audience and how thoughtfully people engaged with my work during the Q&A period.  

Beyond the experience to share my work, I was also exposed to equally impressive panels that covered a broad range of texts from the 17th-century poetry to the contemporary novels like Annihilation. From a wonderful keynote lecture to great conversations with like-minded students during lunch and between presentations, I left the MacEwan University Undergraduate English Conference feeling inspired and with enough book recommendations to last the summer. From the sun-dappled bench in Newcastle to a lectern in Edmonton, this journey has shown me just how far afternoon conversations under the shade of eucalyptus trees can take you.