News and Events: 2019-2020
Guest Speakers
Dr.Cristina Rivera Garza
On September 11, 2019, Cristina Rivera Garza presented on A Domestic Archaeology of Repatriation as part of the 2019-2020 Humanities Forum. Rivera Garza is a prolific writer and a professor of Hispanic Studies with a Ph.D. in Latin American history from the University of Houston.
Dr. Eduardo Neguerela
On November 11, 2019, Dr. Eduardo Negueruela from the Universidad de Navarra shared with World Languages and Cultures faculty some practical ways to integrate interpersonal communication into their classrooms during his workshop, “Connecting Interpersonal Communication and Textual Interpretation in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Practical Workshop”.
Cultural Events
Italian Game Night
On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, Alessandra Abate, this year's FLTA from Italy, led an Italian Game Night. Attendees played classic board games while practicing their Italian and enjoying light refreshments.Explore Colombia
On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, Colombian TA Sarah Romero helped students Explore Colombia through a scavenger hunt, stations on different parts of Colombian culture, and shared delicious Colombian food and coffee.
German Lantern Festival
German TA Lukas Rackow introduced University students to the German Lantern Festival and taught them how to make various types of lanterns that can be found in Germany on November 18, 2019.
Asian Studies New Year Festival and Workshop
On February 12, 2020, Japanese and Chinese instructors Minori Koga, Lily Liu, and Hsiang-Ling Wang hosted the Asian Studies New Year Festival and Workshop in conjunction with the Asian Studies Department. Japanese students sang Coldplay's "Yellow" in Japanese, which was translated by advanced students. Professor Minori Koga held an origami workshop, where participants completed two types of origami: Jumping Mt. Fuji and Valentine's Day Heart Card.The Hijab
On Wednesday, February 19th, Arabic FLTA Khadiga AboBakr held an educational event on the Hijab and answered questions such as what is the hijab, who wears it, and why. Attendees had the chance to ask questions and even try on a hijab as part of this educational event.
World Languages Open House
On Thursday, October 3rd, students, faculty, and staff were invited to visit the Language Learning Center in the World Languages and Cultures department for the first department Open House. Visitors had the chance to get to know our faculty and this year's Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants and learn more about the opportunities to learn a second language. Students in language classes were required to attend and fill out a passport with signatures from WLC faculty, tutors, and TAs.
Carnevale
Italian FLTA Alessandra Abate hosted a cultural event based on the Italian holiday Carnevale on February 25th. Students learned about the Italian carnival and how it's celebrated in different regions of Italy and had the chance to make a traditional Italian mask for the festival.Faculty News
International Symposium
Drs. Zanzana and Caporale participated in the 2019 MLA International Symposium which took palce in Lisbon, Portugal and presented their papers as part of a panel on Female Francophone story-tellers.
In the spring semester of 2020, Dr. Habib Zanzana was promoted to full professor.
Community Outreach
Immersion Day
On March 11th, nearly 30 students from West 草榴社区 High School visited the 草榴社区 for the fourth annual Spanish Immersion Day. Students had the chance to tour campus, engage in educational activities in the Language Learning Center, visit the cafeteria, and enjoy a Spanish 102 class taught by this year's Spanish FLTA.