Trisha Santanam

Class of 2026
Major in English; Minor in Music (Listening-Focused)

I am junior and am studying English and Music. Being an English major has allowed me to explore literature written by and about people who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized. Studying English teaches us to be more articulate in our judgments of what it means to be human-- imperfect, messy, kind-- and to be more attentive to our ethical responsibilities in the journey of self-knowledge. A lot of my hobbies and activities revolve around my interest in the overlap between literature and music, and I am very involved in research on campus. I am a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, and my project looks into how how we can hear diaspora, and from that, discern a sense of home. I am also part of the Archives and Creative Process Bass Connections team, studying the archives of a feminist record collector and writer. Other activities/hobbies include the URS Student Advisory Council, The Archive (literary magazine), Chamber Music, Flute Studio, and I also work in the Editorial, Design, and Production department at Duke University Press.

Favorite Class: My favorite class was Southern Literature and Music with Dr. Taylor Black and Dr. Sophia Enríquez. This class showed me how literature is musical and how music can be analyzed using literary techniques. I loved learning how to attune myself to the messages that music contained-- these made themselves visible through mood/feeling rather than lyrics.