News
Summer Intership In Italy: Gori Intership Announcement
Most impt is: ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE GORI ART MUSEUM INTERNSHIPS IN ITALY (deadline Feb. 2; see Prof. Ward - aw7h - for info)
/sites/spanitalport.as.virginia.edu/files/Gori%20internship%20announcemt%202018.pdf
UVa Spanish Theater Group presents "Las putas de San Julián"
From February 9–11th at Helms Theater, the University of Virginia Spanish Theater Group will be presenting its production, in its original language, of Argentine playwright Ramón Mosquera's Las putas de San Julián.
Las putas de San Julián is based on a chapter of Osvaldo Bayer's book Patagonia Rebelde (1972-1977), an indispensable account of the brutal repression of a rural workers’ strike by the Argentine army between 1920 and 1922 in the province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia. The play takes place in February of 1922, and tells the story of five prostitutes in “La Catalana” brothel in Puerto San Julián who become symbols of the resistance to state authoritarianism, violence, and repression when they refuse to have sex with the “assassins” of the workers.
Las putas de San Julián is the latest production by the University of Virginia Spanish Theater Group and director Fernando Operé, who with the help of graduate students and faculty, has been enriching UVa and the Charlottesville community with performances in Spanish by Spanish-speaking playwrights for 36 years. Don't miss out on this unique theater experience!
Performances at Helms Theater (UVa Drama Building)
Friday, February 9, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 at 2 p.m.
Admission is $5 for students and $15 for non-students.
Tickets are available to purchase online, or at the Arts Box Office in Culbreth Theater (Mon–Fri 12–5 p.m., 434-924-3376).
There will also be a talk by the playwright, Rubén Mosquera, at 3pm on February 9 in Minor Hall 125.
Content Warning: This play addresses violent themes, including police violence and sexual violence. Students are encouraged to reach out to CAPS or the Women's Center for resources, and the general public can access professional guidance at RAINN or the Crisis Text Line.
La Vendemmia di Dicembre 2017
Click here to read the latest issue of La Vendemmia, the magazine of Italian studies at UVa!
Below, Prof. Enrico Cesaretti introduces the issue:
Cari lettori e care lettrici,
As another semester draws to a close, everyone is busily finishing their final assignments, finalizing travel plans, and preparing for the holidays. However, we in the Italian Studies Program are celebrating early because this fall has been an exciting one for us.
In September, we happily partnered with our colleagues in the Spanish and Portuguese programs to produce the first ever SIP Film Festival. We also hosted our annual apericena to welcome new students to the fun and exciting world of Italian Studies.
November was an even busier month that featured two guest speakers: filmmaker Pif, and documentarian Fred Kuwornu. Both artists screened their movies for our students and then took questions after. Meanwhile, in November, the Italian Honor Society also welcomed several new members.
If you would like to know more about these, and all the other goings-on in our program, take a break, make yourself a coffee, and curl up with this new issue of La Vendemmia.
–Enrico Cesaretti, Director, Undergraduate Program in Italian
"A la luna de Valencia"
Click here to read the latest issue of A la luna de Valencia, the magazine of the UVa in Valencia program!
Below, the editors introduce the issue (in Spanish):
Al final todo llega… y ha llegado el final. Parece que fue ayer cuando llegamos a Valencia, un poco llenos de curiosidad, de ilusión y por qué no decirlo, de miedo… Estábamos en un país extranjero, con nuevas familias, nuevos profesores, nuevas asignaturas, nuevos compañeros. Todo era nuevo y cierta sensación de vértigo en el estómago no podíamos eliminar. Sin lugar a dudas nuestro hogar en los Estados Unidos estaba muy presente.
Pero pasaron los días, las semanas, empezamos a hacer amigos, a convivir y conocer a nuestras familias, a nuestros compañeros, a nuestros profesores y esa sensación de miedo se fue tornando en algo maravilloso. Nos gustaba España, nos gustaban nuestros estudios y sobre todo nos gustaba vivir en Valencia. Y hasta tal punto nos gustaba donde estábamos que casi nos convertimos en españoles, unos españoles que todavía no pronuncian bien, que su gramática parece, en muchas ocasiones, que tenga “vida propia”, que no entienden muy bien ciertas comidas, la manera de conducir por las calles o ciertas modas de la gente. Pero en cierta medida españoles.
Ahora estos medio-españoles regresan a su país. Es triste, pero esta tristeza se sobrelleva mejor cuando empezamos a recordar todas las cosas de este semestre de primavera: nuestros amigos, nuestros viajes, nuestra inmersión en la cultura o nuestras experiencias.
Esta revista que presentamos no ha pretendido otra cosa que poner de forma material todos estos recuerdos que nos llevamos de regreso, recuerdos que, aunque parezca extraño no forman parte de nuestro pasado, sino de nuestro futuro, ya que éste sin duda va a ser diferente después de nuestra experiencia en el programa.
–Los redactores de la revista
New minor in Latinx Studies: Lecture and Celebration
Please join us on Oct 30th at 6 pm in Wilson 142 to celebrate the new minor in Latinx Studies!
The celebration begins with a lecture by Professor Lázaro Lima, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts, Professor of Latino Studies and American Studies, and Associate Provost for Faculty at the University of Richmond. (For a preview, you can follow him on Twitter @LázLima or check out his public lecture on "Losing Sonya Sotomayor").
After Professor Lima's lecture, "Latino Studies 2.0: Black Lives, Brown Bodies, and the Ends of the Democratic Commons in the Neoliberal University,” please join us for a reception in Wilson 117. Meet faculty and prospective studies in the newest minor at the University.
Sponsored by the Americas Center/Centro de las Américas and the Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures
Help for the People of Mexico and Puerto Rico: UVa Multicultural Services
This semester, we have witnessed ecological disasters throughout the Americas. If you want to help the people of Mexico and Puerto Rico recover from the recent earthquake and hurricanes, the Office of Multicultural Services has prepared a list of recommended agencies to support. It also links to student-led efforts like #HoosforPuertoRico.
Students who have been affected or have ties to those in Mexico and Puerto Rico have been contacted by the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Dean of Students Office in case they require assistance. If you need assistance due to the impact of the storm on you, your family, or loved ones, please get in touch with ODOS by calling 434-924-7133 or emailing odos@virginia.edu. We can also help facilitate connections with staff in Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Financial Services, and other University offices.
SIPFilmFest 2017: Female Voices from the South
Join us September 21–24 at SIPFilmFest 2017!
Women directors have often been neglected by mainstream audiences and canonical academic syllabi. At a time of uncertainty for women's rights, we would like to give voice to female filmmakers, protagonists, and minor characters who have questioned the status quo with their gaze, their stories, and their behaviors, and have gone beyond the traditional portrayal of women as saints or sinners. Our selections of movies 'from the South' encompasses a variety of countries and latitudes to bring women's experiences from a cross-cultural and global point of view to the forefront.
SIPFilmFest 2017 is open to the public and all films will be shown in their original languages with English subtitles.
How can students participate in SIPFilmFest 2017?
- La Vendemmia is looking for student journalists to cover the SIP FilmFest 2017! Submit pieces of 250 words or less in Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese to the editor.
- Get your Passport to SIP FilmFest 2017 stamped with each movie you watch. If you watch at least three movies, you'll have a chance to win great prizes! Keep an eye out for the raffle box at the last three showings. Update: congratulations to the student winners!
Rachel Unkefer
Dan Doernberg
Alexander Hypes
Alejandro Corral
Kennedy Castillo
Joshua Allen
Joyce Hillstrom
Click to download the SIPFilmFest2017 poster!
All are invited for the Opening Reception on Thursday 9/21 at 7pm in Minor hall Lobby.
Thursday, 9/21 at 8 p.m. in Minor Hall 125, University of Virginia
Que horas ela volta? (Anna Muylaert, Brazil) Presented by Lilian Feitosa
The longtime housekeeper for a wealthy São Paulo family, Val is committed to loyalty and respect. But her values, and the dynamic of the whole household, are challenged when her teenage daughter visits in this astute, socially conscious comedy.
Friday, 9/22 at 8 p.m. in Charlottesville City Hall Council Chambers
La puerta abierta (Marina Seresesky, Spain) Presented by Alicia Lopez Operé
Q&A with Mabel Richart Marsé, Ph.D. Visiting Professor at the Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Department follows film.
Rosa is a prostitute who inherited the profession from her mother, Antonia. Antonia now believes she is the famous actress and singer Sara Montiel, making Rosa’s life extremely difficult. Rosa does not know how to be happy, or something keeps her from achieving happiness. The arrival of an unexpected new member to her absurd and awkward family will provide her with a new opportunity to give happiness another chance.
Saturday, 9/23 at 2 p.m. in Nau Hall 101, University of Virginia
Ixcanul (Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala) Presented by Esther Poveda
Q&A with David Burt, M.D. Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
and Director of the UVA-Guatemala Initiative follows film.
On the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala, a marriage is arranged for seventeen-year-old María by her Kaqchikel parents. But María wants to migrate to the United States.
Saturday, 9/23 at 8 p.m. in Charlottesville City Hall Auditorium
Incompresa (Asia Argento, Italy) Presented by Francesca calamita & Sarah Annunziato
Rome, 1984. Aria is a nine-year-old girl. On the verge of divorce, Aria's infantile and selfish parents are too preoccupied with their careers and extra-marital affairs to properly tend to any of Aria's needs. While her two older sisters are pampered, Aria is treated with cold indifference. Yet she yearns to love and to be loved.
Sunday, 9/24 at 2 p.m. in Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
Sueño de una noche de San Juan (Ángel de la Cruz, Manolo Gómez, Spain) Presented by Zaida Villanueva & Sara Gastón
This animated film is a free adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. According to legend, on the night of Saint John (the Summer Solstice), humans can reach the world of fairies and elves, where all dreams come true. Theseus, father of Elena and Grand Duke, is ill. Even though Elena does not believe in fairies she goes in search of Titania, the queen of all fairies, the only one that can help her father.
SIPFilmFest 2017 is possible thanks to the generous support of the Provost’s Office; the Institute of World Languages; the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality; and the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
The event was organized by Sarah Annunziato, Nuria Ballesteros Soria, Francesca Calamita, Marina Escamez Ballesta, Lilian Feitosa, Sara Gastón Echevarría, Esperanza Gorriz Jarque, Alicia López-Operé, Esther Poveda Moreno, Paula Sprague, and Zaida Villanueva García.
Spanish Majors Design New Course for First Responders
Recent graduates Marc Blatt (CLAS 2017) and Sabhi Singh (CLAS 2017), both Jefferson Scholars and Spanish majors, spent their final year at UVa determining how to give back to the community and improve the world around them.
For more information, please contact Jane Kelly, Media Contact at the University News Associate Office of University Communications, by email or phone: 434.243.9935.
Congratulations to Marc and Sabhi!
Garth and Giuliano Awards for Spanish majors, 2017
Please join us in congratulating Savannah Artusi, Kate Eagen, and Lisa Trinh, this year's recipients of the Marie M. Giuliano Award and the Virginia Louis Garth Scholarship!
The Marie M. Giuliano Award is given to a fourth-year graduating student on the basis of demonstrated academic excellence in Spanish language study and a contribution to the growth and nurturing of Spanish at the University. For her academic excellence and her contributions to the cultural activities of the Casa Bolívar, the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese recognizes Savannah Artusi (CLAS 2017) with the Giuliano Award.
And for their wonderful translation of Sor Juana’s redondilla “Hombres necios,” published on the Early Americas Digital Archive, we recognize Kate Eagen (CLAS 2018) and Lisa Trinh (CLAS 2018) with the Garth Scholarship. This scholarship is offered to an undergraduate student from Virginia who has demonstrated outstanding academic performance and who has contributed to the life and well-being of the Spanish Department. It is offered by the Garth family in honor of their late daughter. For their collaborative work in literary studies, the Department recognizes Kate and Lisa.
Congratulations Savannah, Kate, and Lisa!
Congratulations, Rachel Gardella!
Congratulations to Rachel Gardella, a 3rd year student in the interdisciplinary linguistics major, for receiving this year's Distinguished Undergraduate Award from the Institute of World Languages.
The Distinguished Undergraduate Award is the highest award given by the IWL. It recognizes excellence in world language and cultural studies at the University of Virginia, signaling a student's extraordinary accomplishment in language education and the highest aptitude in cultural awareness and sensitivity as a Global Citizen.
As part of her study of world languages and global citizenship, Rachel has taken coursework in Spanish, the official language of 21 countries, one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and a language spoken by more than 500 million people around the world, as well as Maya K’iche’, a language that is spoken by more than one million people in Guatemala and one it is mutually intelligible with other Mayan languages of the region, including Kaqchikel and Tz’utujil. She has collaborated with students and scholars at the K'iche' Oral History Project at the University of New Mexico, and she is one of two undergraduate students helping to produce a digital critical edition of the Popol Wuj, the Maya K'iche' book of creation, through the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese's Multepal Project (SPAN 7559/4993).
For her broad and creative work in multiple languages and across disciplines, UVa is honored to recognize Rachel with the Distinguished Undergraduate Award.
Congratulations, Rachel!
Image credit: Alfonso Morales, FAMSI
Job Announcement: In-Residence Director, Casa Bolívar
Click here to send your statement of purpose, including qualifications and interests, to the current Spanish House Faculty Liaison, Laura Aguilar Garcia.
Application deadline is April 21.
Spanish Honor Society Application Deadline (Apr 3)
UVa's Zeta Zeta Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi is now accepting applications for new members. If you are interested in promoting Hispanic Literatures and Cultures, and have met the requirements for membership, then Sigma Delta Pi is for you. Some of the most notable benefits are the opportunity for national awards, grants, and scholarships, which can facilitate study abroad programs and provide money for graduate research grants.
Application Deadline: Monday, April 3, 2017
How to Apply: Submit your completed application form and a copy of your unofficial transcript to Matthew Street's office, 418 New Cabell, or email the materials to mjs9sj@virginia.edu.
After the application deadline you will participate in an initiation ceremony (Friday, April 14) during which you will receive credentials that certify you as a lifetime member of Sigma Delta Pi.
New Course in Spanish: Sí se puede (Fall 2017)
Do you seek a career in community organizing, education, health sciences, or legal aid? Does becoming fluent in Spanish play an important role in your academic and professional goals?
Sí se puede: Community Engagement in Spanish‐Speaking Charlottesville is a Spanish conversation course on the history and the experiences of the Spanish‐speaking population in the USA.
This course will connect UVA students with the Hispanic community in the Charlottesville area by working with community organizations in community engagement projects. We will meet TuTh 2-3:15 pm.
In class, we will engage in an exploration of the history and cultural productions of Spanish-speaking communities and individuals in the USA through a variety of documents (written and oral), and through conversations with leaders in our Latino Community.
We will work to answer questions such as why Spanish is considered a “foreign” language in the USA and why the USA has the second largest Spanish speaking population. Throughout the semester, we will also reflect on how language learning is a rewarding and continuous process that allows us to better understand ourselves, to communicate with others, and to construct a more tolerant and fair world around us.
La clase sera en español. ¡Los esperamos!
For more information, contact Esther Poveda-Moreno at mp8yk@virginia.edu
Spanish majors publish new translation of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Spanish major receives Harrison Research award
Congratulations to Jack Brake (CLAS 2018) on being one of 44 students honored with the Harrison Undergraduate Research Award in 2016! With this support, Jack is engaging in a multi-study of convivencia between and among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in medieval Spain. His study of material records of spaces of worship, especially the architectural elements of Visigoth churches that were constructed between 711 and 1492, engages with long-standing historiographies in Iberian religious life. It offers new insights into the Islamic principles of tolerance that allowed early Christians to develop their own faith communities in a formative moment in the making of the Spanish empire.
Read all about the impressive research of the 2016 recipients here.
To learn more about Jack's research, please visit our "student spotlight" page. You can also find more information on our Distinguished Major Program here.
Information on the Harrison Research award is available here, through the Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
¡Felicidades a todas y todos!
Moratorium on Declaring Spanish Major – Major Advisors Not Assigned (March 20-March 31)
The Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese welcomes the opportunity to have new Spanish majors join our department.
However, in order to serve our current Spanish majors we will not assign Spanish major advisors during the Fall 2017 Advising period (Monday, March 20 - Friday, March 31).
Note: This only applies to those who want to declare a major in Spanish. For information on the major, please see our page for majors.
Alumna Tamara Wilkerson Honored in National List of Educators
Congratulations to Tamara Wilkerson! Ms. Wilkerson, who majored in Spanish as an undergraduate student and earned her MAT from the Curry School of Education, was recently named to Forbes Magazine's "30 under 30" list of top professionals in Education in the United States.
Ms. Wilkerson, a former Spanish teacher at the Jack Jouett Middle School in Albermarle County, is the Executive Director of the African American Teaching Fellows, a non-profit organization that recruits top African-American students from 15 colleges and universities in the state of Virginia and trains them for careers in public education. To learn more about her studies at UVa and her work now, please visit her alumni profile.
¡Felicidades, Tamara! Desde la facultad de SIP, una fuerte expresión de solidaridad y mucho ánimo.
Junot Díaz Public Lecture
Award-winning author Junot Díaz begins his three-week residency on Grounds. Hear the author of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao speak with professor Njelle Hamilton in a conversation about contemporary art and literature of the Caribbean and diasporic communities.
University of Virginia Spanish Theater Presents: El gesticulador
Set in the heady times of post-revolutionary Mexico, El gesticulador (1938) invites us to reflect on the interplay between the kinds of things that are often understood in oppositional terms: history and myth, honesty and duplicity, truth and falsehood. Amid debates about "fake news" in our own political discourse, El gesticulador's critical take on the power of language to create, reflect, and, ultimately, subvert reality remains as current today as it was in the 1930s.
For the past 35 years, professor Fernando Operé has led graduate students and faculty in the University of Virginia Theater Group. Don't miss the latest installation!
Performance times: Friday, February 3rd, 8 p.m.; Saturday, February 4, 2 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Sunday, February 5th, 2 P.M.
Tickets are available at the Arts Box Office in Culbreth Theater, Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., or by phone (434.924.3376).
Tickets are $ 5 for students and $15 for non-students. Art dollars not accepted.
¡Nos vemos en el teatro!