Undergraduate Student Edward Manapul Celebrates Scholarly Presentation and Publication
Edward Manapul, a now fourth-year Ryerson BA English student, has a new scholarly publication in Empowering Emerging Voices, the (PDF file) Conference Proceedings of QUEUC - The Quebec Universities English Undergraduate Conference (external link) . His paper, “How Power Structures the Colonized and Colonizer in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897),” was originally written for the third-year course ENG 400: Literary and Cultural Theory. His professor, Dr. Monique Tschofen, recommended his study of the hidden ideological subtexts of this influential work of popular fiction for the English Department’s Best Essay Prize. At the same time, she urged him to think about taking his work through the peer review process to reach a wider audience, beginning with presenting it at an academic conference.
QUEC (Quebec Universities English Undergraduate Conference) is dedicated to cultivating young scholars’ careers in the profession. The highly competitive conference brings together faculty and students from across Canada and beyond. Every proposed paper is submitted to a rigorous triple blind peer review. QUEC then allows contributors to respond to peer critique at multiple stages. The conference even provides coaching on presentation styles.
For a sense of what a distinction Edward’s publication is, this year, of 250 undergraduate papers submitted, only 20 percent were selected for conference presentation. In turn, only 20 percent of the presenters were invited to submit their papers for publication.
Dr. Monique Tschofen says “Edward’s paper was top-quality. However, exposing one’s work to peer review can be intimidating. Edward had the commitment to push his research to the next level. His ideas and insights have been shared with an international audience and readership. He also has had a chance to meet with and listen to other top students from around the world. We hope his success will encourage other students to try the same.”
About his experience, Edward says “having my first publication shows how much I have improved as a writer since my first year. It also represents huge step forward into a career in writing.” The Department of English congratulates him and wishes him well in the next stages of his promising career.