The graduate students from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities are pleased to host our 7th Annual Graduate Student Conference, titled “Dualities: Hybrid States and Liminal Identities.” The conference will be taking place at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities on March 20 & 21, 2020.
Olga Salazar worked in Monterrey, Mexico over the summer interviewing journalists to better understand the correlation between the politics of information and accountability in cases of disappearances. Her research is helping to identify best practices in journalism that lead to better outcomes for the families in a country in which over 40,000 persons have disappeared.
Michelle Hamilton offers a new perspective in the field of medieval studies in her new book The Study of al-Andalus: the Scholarship and Legacy of James T. Monroe. This volume brings scholarship on Andalusi culture to an English-speaking audience and casts Monroe’s work into greater relief as part of—and as a foil to—current debates about Muslims and the cultures and traditions of the Arabic-speaking world.
Learning abroad is an unforgettable affair—one that can’t come more highly recommended. In this Q&A series, students and alumni of the Spanish and Portuguese studies department describe how their trips have enriched their lives and given them nuanced perspectives of the languages and cultures they study.
Joseph Rojas learned abroad in three countries and three languages. He discusses how his experiences in Brazil, Venezuela, and France informed his career path. “Adaptability and flexibility are two of the greatest skills I learned as a result of studying abroad.”
Ali Oosterhuis chose a learning abroad program in Ecuador that she knew would challenge her—and it paid off. “No other experience will teach you so much about the vast diversity that exists in the world,” she says.
Margaret Anderson spent spring 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil participating in traveling seminars to the São Paulo state coast, the northern state of Bahia, and to an indigenous village in São Paulo City. Her learning abroad experience was crucial to bridging the cultural differences that she expects to find in her future career.
Issraa El-Khatib spent summer 2018 working an internship in Toledo, Spain and taking a course on Christian, Muslim, and Jewish art. She talks about the significance of connecting with classmates, professors, a host family, and her religion. “As a Muslim, it gave me a sense of familiarity and pride in a country that had seemed so foreign to me before,” she says.
For Jacob Dixon, studying in Maputo, Mozambique confirmed a desire to teach Portuguese and opened up interests in the greater Lusophone world. Support from the Institute for Global Studies and the US Department of Education made his trip possible.
Regan Luker discusses her learning abroad experiences in Toledo, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal and reflects on how they informed her career path in international business. Her time abroad pushed her to “forge deeper relationships with those who come from another culture.”
Subvertising: A Link between Counterculture and Social Activism with Isidro Jiménez Gómez, Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Communication Studies at the Complutense...
“Metallography and chemical analysis: an archeologist’s summer in the lab,” Kelly Plevniak (PhD Student, Anthropology) “Otium cum gaudium. Courtly Pass-times in 13th and 14th Century...
Dualities: Hybrid States and Liminal Identities 7th Annual Graduate Student Conference Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies University of Minnesota - Twin Cities March 20 - 21, 2020...
