Career Transitions
Q&A with incoming and outgoing faculty and staff
Incoming Faculty
Xavier Lee
Professor Xavier Lee was hired as part of a 2021-22 department search for new faculty in Global Black Literatures. He will join the English Department in Fall 2023 after completing a Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellowship at Emory University this past year.
Tell us about your scholarly interests.
In my current book project, I’m trying to explore how the lived experience of slavery as a kind of heritage might inform our understanding of how histories are written and what aims they serve. I think a lot about how black writers from the Atlantic world have used ‘literary’ forms to write a kind of ‘history’ of slavery’s lived experience. Considering that this experience has been lost to memory and the passage of time, black writers since 1960 have generally used the fictive to write this history. My book attempts to question what divides the fictive from the nonfictive, or what constructs the ‘real’ or the ‘true’ as exclusive properties of the historical.
So in a nutshell, I would say my scholarly interests at the moment dance around the question of history, blackness, slavery, experience, and epistemology. My work might best be described as the intersections of historical studies, philosophy of history, and literary theory.
What types of classes are you looking forward to teaching in the English Department?
I’m excited to teach courses that expose both me and my students to new perspectives. I like to include texts from a variety of different world contexts in my courses, so many of my students will likely be reading an author or engaging a particular kind of ‘world’ literature for the first time. Each time I teach a text, it feels like I, too, am reading it for the first time. Students bring attention to parts of the novel or essay I might otherwise skim too quickly or hop over, and this enriches my understanding of the text, despite being “the instructor.” These moments — which are rather common for me, as a young instructor finding his way — remind me of how important teaching is to research, and vice versa.
Where do you think the field of Global Black Literatures is or will be heading in the next five years? Or, alternatively, where would you like it to be?
I am not quite sure where the field will be. To me, it feels like “global black literatures” is still a novel concept. I’m aware of scholars and writers who have tried to make African, African American, Afro-European, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Brazilian literatures, etc. speak to one another, but very rarely is this done in a ‘totalizing’ perspective or large-scale perspective. It would be very exciting if a book or edited volume were to appear that tries to make these literatures speak to one another, perhaps through the enduring vogue of ‘world literature.’ A text that could bring together all the various -phone blacknesses and try to think about them together. Scholars have attempted this in other fields (one noteworthy approach is Deneise da Silva’s Towards a Global Idea of Race), but none have succeeded, in my opinion, in literary studies.
I will not write this book. At least, not within the next five years! I do hope to make a significant name for myself and to perhaps edit a volume or special edition of a journal on the subject, as well as include my book project on the growing list of ‘canonical’ monographs. But I’m simply happy to see the field come into existence; when I was in my first years of graduate school, I had felt responsible (in a way that was, in fact, irresponsible) to create this field myself. I’m very glad that’s no longer necessary!
How do you envision the work you’re doing in your current postdoctoral fellowship shaping the work you will do at Davis?
I have taken this year to relax. I encourage anyone else who has the luxury of a postdoctoral fellowship and a tenure track job waiting for them to similarly relax and enjoy life. I have not been sitting around, though. I have been working on my writing, trying to develop an authoritative but enjoyable prose style, and better familiarize myself with these things on which I (as a Ph.D.) claim ‘expertise.’ Because I did not need to look for jobs or worry about where I would be in the next year, I could take advantage of my year off and really deepen my scholarly knowledge and my writing practice. I’m profoundly grateful for this experience and to the people who have made my year of “leisurely writing” possible.
Is there anything about your life that you would want people to know as you're joining the English Department?
I like to cook for people, so it’s possible that I might bring cookies or other snacks to seminar. Especially if I’m trying out a new recipe!
Do you have a website / a place where we can see more of your work?
You can learn more about my research on my personal website: xavierlee.notion.site.
Akua Banful
Professor Akua Banful joined the department in the fall of 2022, having been hired as part of the Global Black Literatures search that year.
Tell us about your scholarly interests.
Broadly speaking, I’m interested in how ‘climate’ is as much a cultural construct as it is an ecological and meteorological one. What that looks like in my current research project is a persistent focus on “contact zones” where that’s especially visible. That’s a long-winded way of saying I’m preoccupied with how cultural understandings of climate are shaped by empire. I’m also interested in oceans, political theory and philosophy, and epistemology.
Where do you think the field of Global Black Literatures is or will be heading in the next five years? Or, alternatively, where would you like it to be?
Global Black Literatures is by definition a transnational, interdisciplinary, and multilingual field. The interdisciplinary turn in the ecological realm is already quite robust and will continue to grow. That excites me. The emergence of what I’d describe as the Afropean turn, which brings in diasporic experiences from Italian, German, Swedish speaking diasporas for instance, adds a textural depth to stories of identity, diaspora, and migration, that will continue to grow and complicate the field in intriguing ways.
How has the UC Davis community shaped your work since you’ve been a faculty member here?
Davis has a distinct intellectual culture that will likely take me some time to fully describe. In my teaching and my writing, I can already sense an orientation towards being both grounded and complex at the same time – I consider that to be a great strength of this intellectual community.
Is there anything about your life that you would want people to know as you're joining the English Department?
In addition to being intellectually intrigued by food, I am also very curious about plants and gardening.
Outgoing Staff
Vicki Higby Sweeney
Human Resources Supervisor Vicki Higby Sweeney is retiring from her position after 10 years of working with our department.
How has the department changed since you first started at UC Davis?
Growth! It has expanded with faculty, graduate students, and lecturers.
What role does writing or communication have in your life beyond your job as an HR Supervisor?
Communication is a huge part of my personal life as well as my professional life. I volunteer within the deaf, deaf-blind community and am passionate about the communication needs of deaf. I am committed to removing barriers and empowering individuals. And of course, communication is critical in my line of work. I have considered writing a book! Working here has inspired me to do so!
What advice do you have for a student just starting out at UC Davis?
Never be afraid to ask questions and be proactive about communicating. It will enhance the experience of being a student and enhance the staff’s experience working with you across campus.
What will you miss most about the UC Davis community?
You said it, the UC Davis community! There are special colleagues that I will miss especially like our analyst at our dean’s office, and co-workers within the Voorhies Administrative Unit. Everyone, across the board, has had a significant impact on me.
What are you looking forward to most about retirement?
I am already a hands-on grandma, but now I can really be! Travel is big on my list and continuing to work within the Deaf and Deaf-blind community as a volunteer. The deaf community is my culture. American Sign Language is my native language.
Mary White
Administrative Assistant to the Chair Mary White is retiring this spring, 2023, after 25 years in this position.
How has the department changed since you first started at UC Davis?
I first started with the English department in 1997. Since then, it has been my pleasure to work with nine different chairs. Computers most likely have made the biggest change to the way I do my job now versus how I did it many years ago. I would say the biggest change to my job would be how I currently do the merit and promotion actions in the department. It used to be that everything was created as a Word document and printed out in hard copy form. The faculty would schedule a time to come and view the hard copy files in a room designated as the Reading Room. Now, with everything uploaded into the MyInfoVault system, the merit and promotion files are easily viewed online.
Can you share with us a particularly memorable moment working with the chair or another member of the department?
Looking back on my time here in the department, the one thing that I hold dearest to my heart is the friendship and working relationship that I had with Janie Guhin who retired as the Graduate Program Coordinator in 2013. She was an amazing friend and co-worker. After her retirement and passing a short time later, it made me often reflect back to the good ‘ol days with her and all the faculty and staff who have come and gone in all the years that I have been here.
What role does writing or communication have in your life beyond your job as an Administrative Assistant?
I think by being around great writers and communicators in this department, some of it may have rubbed off on me over the years to influence my life beyond this job. I know my knowledge of using a computer has improved over the years due to the great help and assistance that I have gotten from our wonderful techs here in the department. I could not have made it this far without them. Thank you, Ron and Kevin!
What will you miss most about the UC Davis community?
I believe I will miss the day-to-day interactions with my co-workers. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many wonderful people over the years and will be sorry to not see them on a daily basis. Darla Tafoya has been a great friend and mentor to me. She always had time to listen and talk about the day. I will miss that.
What are you looking forward to most about retirement?
What I am most looking forward to when I retire is not having any more deadlines. I want to just take it one day at a time and enjoy the slower pace of life.
Incoming Staff
Sarah Yunus
Sarah Yunus joined the department this spring as a Graduate Program Coordinator.
Before joining the English department, what did you do?
This is my first time on the UC Davis campus, and it’s been a lot of fun getting to know everyone and the best spots! Before I started here, I worked as an Administrative Assistant to the Registrar at California Northstate University. Working at the Registrar’s office was an incredible experience, and I’m super proud that I can bring the knowledge I’ve learned there to my current position here! Having a career in Higher Education has always been a dream of mine. After receiving my MA in English, I was granted that opportunity to do so, and I couldn’t be happier! Being a Graduate Program Coordinator for the English department and helping students who are in the position I was in about a year ago is such a rewarding experience! So, trust me when I say, I know how you feel!!!
What would you like people to know about you as you join the department?
I think there are a lot of things, besides just one, that I’d like people to know about my life! But, if I had to narrow it down, it would be that all I really need from life is tea, a good book (fantasy books are my guilty pleasure at the moment), and some sun! One thing I need people to know about ME is that I’m a super passionate person and really love the things I love. And one of the things I love is you guys, so my door is ALWAYS open to every conversation you think needs to be heard. I HEAR YOU!
Brandy Fleming
Brandy Fleming joined the department this year as an Undergraduate Counselor.
Before joining the English department, what did you do?
I’ve been an advisor in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Plant Sciences, Global Disease Biology, Economics, History & East Asian Studies.
What would you like people to know as you join the English department?
I’ve worked on campus since 2005, and I lead the Academic Advisor Mentoring Program on Campuswide.
Estelle Espinoza
Estelle Espinoza joined the department this year as the Human Resources Supervisor.
Before joining the English department, what did you do?
I worked for the City of Davis as a Human Resources Specialist for six years.
What would you like people to know as you join the English department?
I was born and raised in Hertfordshire, England, and I love visiting my home when possible.
Sharla De Anda
Sharla joined the department this year as Entry Level Writing and Upper Division Composition Exam Writing Coordinator.
Before joining the English department, what did you do?
I worked in public education for almost 10 years where I held a few different positions, most recently as Office Manager/Administrative Assistant to the Principal at an elementary school for five years.
What would you like people to know as you join the English department?
When I am not working, I enjoy following my two boys around and watching them compete in sports.