Instructors from the Department of Spanish & Portuguese Studies (SPPT) and the Department of History explain how integrating Story Maps technology into their courses has helped their students develop cultural competency and spatial thinking. “These projects situated those cultural products and practices in their specific places in a way that was completely understandable to their classmates because of the map,” says Cecily Brown.

Kathleen Ganley's SPAN 3403 Create Video of Their Experience

Information for students, staff, and faculty

Grad Student Tim Frye discusses his work in Environmental Humanities.

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.

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.

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.

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.