SPPT Graduate Students Yoko Hama & Ariel Arjona Awarded Research Semesters

Yoko Hama was awarded a CLA Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) for Fall 2024. Their project, Translanguaging Practices in a Japanese-Paraguayan Community: Linguistic Creativity, Meaning-making, and Identity Negotiation, investigates the ways in which Japanese-Paraguayans have maintained their knowledge of Japanese across several immigrant generations through the intentional and creative integration of "Spanish, Japanese, and the indigenous language Guarani in their speech and writing to construct unique meanings (a practice known as “translanguaging”) vital to their sense of identity."

Ariel Arjona was awarded an SPPT Research Semester for his project The Expression of Syncretism in Afrocuban Santería as Loss, Sacrifice and Regeneration. His dissertation focuses on the syncretism within Cuban Santería, specifically the relationship between Afrocuban orishas (gods) and Catholic saints.

Congrats to Yoko and Ariel!