2006 News
Happy Holidays from Maryland-in-Nice students
December 2006
The Maryland-in-Nice students of Fall 2006 (and the resident director), Jacqueline Letzter, wish you happy holidays. They were recently on an excursion in Luceram , a village near Nice that boasts more than three hundred nativity scenes of all shapes and sizes.
Distinguished Scholar Teacher, Jorge Aguilar-Mora
December 6th, 2006
Dr. Jorge Aguilar Mora poses with Graduate students at the reception following his lecture entitled "The Orphan Sun: The Nineteenth Century's Death of God". Dr. Aguilar-Mora was one of six UMD professors to be honored as a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. Also present was Assistant Provost of International Programs and former Spanish Department Chair, Saul Sosnowski who gave the introduction. Dr. Aguilar-Mora dedicated the lecture to his students. The event was followed by a reception at St. Mary's hall.
Dr. Graciela Nemes awarded the Great Cross of Alfonso X
November 17, 2006
SLLC is pleased to share the latest news about Dr. Graciela Nemes. She has been in Spain on a cultural marathon invited to speak at eight major conferences dedicated to Juan Ramón Jiménez and Zenobia Camprubí. Dr. Nemes has delivered opening and closing plenary lectures in Madrid, Huelva, Sevilla and Moguer, and was one of the most prominent participants in the Seminar that took place at the Residencia de Estudiantes. She has entertained TV and press interviews throughout Spain.
Most importantly, she has been awarded the Great Cross of Alfonso X El Sabio. This is an extraordinary recognition, similar to being inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Order of Alfonso X El Sabio is an honorary Spanish Order, established by Royal Decree, May 23, 1902, to award merits achieved in the fields of education, science, culture, teaching and research. The Great Cross, awarded to Spaniards and foreigners alike of exceptional merit, that have contributed extraordinarily to the development of Spanish arts and sciences. Dr. Nemes will join a long list of prominent scholars, writers and scientists who have also received this award, among them Mercedes Salisachs, Laín Entralgo, Joaquín Rodrigo and Antonio Domínguez Ortiz.
Journalist gives talk to German class
October 27, 2006
Mary Upman, free lance writer for the biweekly German newspaper AMERIKA WOCHE visited GERM401 with her husband Phil who took pictures of the students in class. Dr. Upman is a retired German professor. For the past year, she has been writing 'human interest stories' for AMERIKA WOCHE. Her interest in GERM401 was piqued when she found out that the primary text for this advanced conversation class is AMERIKA WOCHE, one of the few if only remaining German language newspapers on the East Coast. Dr. Upman first spoke of her career in German and then engaged students in an interview exercise to collect information for her article which will appear in December.
SLA Brown Bag Lunch Program
October 25, 2006
On Wednesday, the SLA Brownbag Lunch program continued with its third presentation to an audience of faculty and students from many departments. Professor Mike Long, Director of the School of Languages Literatures, and Cultures, and his team of researchers, including Dr. Kira Gor and Dr. Rajaa Aquil, introduced their current federally funded research project, Linguistic Correlates of Proficiency. The project's main goals are to identify typical linguistic features controlled or yet to be mastered by heritage and non-heritage learners of Arabic, Korean, Persian, and Russian at levels 2, 3, and 4 on the ILR proficiency scale, and to produce a battery of diagnostic tests for those languages. The SLA Brownbag series continues with new presentations on the last Wednesday of every month. The next session will be on November 29th, with Dr. Kira Gor as the speaker.
Gruppo Teatro Essere of Rome, Italy performs at Kogod Theatre
October 12, 2006
Sponsored by the SLLC and the Theatre Department, Commedia dell'arte: Con Licenza di Rappresentazione was performed by the Gruppo Teatro Essere of Rome. The short play about competing theater companies, misdirected by two brothers with a sense of humor, trying to prevent each other from putting on a play, entertained a full audience and was a great success.
Juan Ramon Jiménez and Zenobia Camprubí Symposium
October 12, 2006
Fifty years ago, on October 25 1956, Zenobia Camprubrí Aymar passed away in San Juan de Puerto Rico. Three days later the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Prize in literature to her husband, Juan Ramón Jiménez, a symbol for Spanish poetry in the XXth Century. The petition for the Nobel Prize had been commissioned by the long time disciple and friend of the Jiménez's, Graciela Palau de Nemes, who years later managed to inscribe the name of the Nobel Laureate at our campus. This anniversary was marked with a three day event that displayed the preeminence of Juan Ramón for the study of Spanish literature in the United States, its impact on US literature, the plasticity of Jiménez's poetry as displayed in Juan Gómez Macías's art and the involvement at Maryland of the Jiménez's, (Zenobia Camprubí and Juan Ramón Jiménez taught at UMCP from 1943-1951). Talks were given by Drs. José María Naharro Calderón, Graciela Palau de Nemes from the University of Maryland. Outside speakers included Mercedes Juliá of Villanova University, and Christopher Maurer of Boston University. A painting titled "Luna Verde de Enero" by Juan Gómez Macías was dedicated in the main lobby of Jiménez Hall.
Author Marcos McPeek Villatoro speaks at US Latino/a Detective Fiction Symposium
September 28, 2006
The symposium, titled "Adding Spice to a Classic Genre: US Latina/o Detective Fiction in its larger context," was organized by Dr. Ana Patricia Rodriguez. The guest writer, Marcos McPeek Villatoro enchanted the packed audience. Speakers were from different disciplines and universities and provided all of who were fortunate to attend with informative presentations. The symposium was sponsored by the SLLC, Department of Spanish & Portuguese, Department of French & Italian, the Department of English, Comparative Literature Program, Jimenez Porter Writer's House and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education.
Endowment of Portuguese Language Materials
September 23, 2006
The Embassy of Portugal in collaboration with the Instituto Cam?es and other highly regarded institutions endowed the Portuguese Program at the University with books (on several periods of the history, literature and culture of Portugal, in English and in Portuguese), novels (in English and in Portuguese), special studies and journals, CDs (Portuguese music), and DVDs (films and documentaries).
In accordance to their subjects, the gifts will be placed in McKeldin Library, in the Non-Print Media section at the Hornbake Library, and in our Language Lab, so future generations of students of Portuguese and other interested in the Lusitanian culture will be able to consult them. This gift was routed our way thanks to Mr. Manuel Silva Pereira, Press and Culture Counsellor at the Embassy of Portugal, in Washington, D.C.
Center for Persian Studies Holds an International Conference
September 21-24, 2006
An International Conference on the Iranian Constitutional Movement took place on campus September 21-24, 2006. As part of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the University of Maryland and commemorating the centenary of Iran's Constitutional Revolution of 1906, a watershed in modern Middle-Eastern History, the Conference was organized by the Center for Persian Studies (CPS) and supported by a number of organizations active in the US, including the Iranian American Bar Association, the Ahoora Foundation, the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, and the Persian Cultural Foundation. A number of prominent community leaders and interested individual donors also contributed financially to the Conference. The gathering, the first Iran-centered academic conference on the campus of the University of Maryland, brought together over 20 leading historians working on Iranian and Middle-Eastern Studies in various American, Canadian and European Universities, including Yale, Columbia, NYU, Stanford, and the University of Toronto.
The Conference had been conceptualized as a forum for the exchange of ideas among three generations of active scholars, not just on the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, but also, in light of recent developments in Iran and the Middle-East, as a way of foregrounding contemporary Iran's continuing pursuit of constitutionalism and the establishment of the rule of law. This was reflected in the thematic foci of the conference sessions, entitled Iran's Constitutional Revolution: A One Hundred Year Retrospective, Reporting, Remembering and Refashioning the Revolution, Conceptualizing, Interpreting and Implementation of Rights and Powers under the Constitution, and The Constitutional Revolution: Cross-Border Influences and Comparative Perspectives. A total of 20 scholarly presentations addressed these broad thematic areas, shedding light on many hitherto unexplored aspects of Iran's history in the past one hundred years. Negotiations are underway to determine the feasibility of publishing the conference proceeding as part of a publication series envisioned by the CPS.
SLLC Based Research Projects Cited in Recent Issue of UMResearch
September 7, 2006
In last month's edition of UMResearch, a newsletter highlighting research at the university, one SLLC faculty member and several ARHU programs were cited for their work in language learning, language perception and computer language translation.
Faculty profiled were Michael Long (SLA), Amy Weinberg (Computer Science and Linguistics) and David Poeppel (Linguistics and Biology).
Also mentioned was Richard Brecht, executive director of the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL). Other programs mentioned were the three Flagship Programs at the University (Arabic, Persian and Russian),
the NFLC, a new PhD program in SLA (Second Language Acquisition) and the Center for Persian Studies.
Congratulations to all the faculty profiled and associated with the programs mentioned, for your important research and contributions. For more information or to read the newsletter, visit www.umresearch.umd.edu.
Six Students honored as Distinguished Teaching Assistants
May 12, 2006
On Friday evening, six of our Teaching Assistants, accompanied by their advisors were honored at the
University's Distinguished Teaching Assistant Ceremony held at the Alumni Center.
The Center for Teaching Excellence, the Dean for Undergraduate Studies, and the Dean of the Graduate School
recognized outstanding graduate teaching assistants selected by their department chairpersons.
Germanic Studies (Advisor: Dr. Frederiksen)
Cauleen Gary
SLAA (Advisor: Dr. Moyer)
Paula Diamanti
Spanish & Portuguese (Advisor: Dr. Lacorte)
Elise Fasick, Kim Pinckney, Esteban Ponce
French & Italian (Advisors: Dr. Brami & Dr. Clough)
Maria del Carmen Antola
These Teaching Assistants were selected for their valuable contributions to the quality of
undergraduate education at the University of Maryland and their demonstration of outstanding commitment,
professionalism, and creativity they bring to their teaching.
SLLC honored with President's Commission on Ethnic Minority Award
May 11, 2006
We are pleased to announce that the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures has received one of this year's President's Commission on Ethnic Minority Issues Awards. The PCEMI established the awards program to recognize faculty, staff, students, and instructional units that have made outstanding contributions to the University?s equity efforts. The awards also recognize those who have worked to improve the climate for ethnic and racial minorities on the College Park Campus. The School was nominated by Phoenix Liu for its commitment to diversity of all kinds. President Mote presented the award at a well-attended ceremony on Tuesday. Lauretta Clough made arrangements for several members of the School community to be on hand to accept in many languages. The simple gesture appeared not to be lost on President Mote, who, along with other members of the audience, seemed to take delight in identifying the particular language used in the collective acceptance speech. We are grateful to the following people for their translating and delivery work: Ali Abasi, Stefania Amodeo, Flavia Azaredo, Lauretta Clough, Ridha Krizi, Manel Lacorte, Sun-Young Lee, Etsuko Yamakita, and Mildred Yen. The plaque is housed in one of the glass cases in the Jimenez lobby. Stop by and take a look! Photos of the award ceremony will soon be available on the School's web site, as well as on the Commission's site.
Tsung Chin, Educator and Author, Dies at 80
April 8, 2006
Dr. Tsung Chin, a long-time resident of Poughkeepsie, NY and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, died at Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls, NJ, on April 8, 2006, following a brief illness. He had celebrated his 80th birthday the previous Tuesday, surrounded by his family, colleagues and friends.
Born in Taiyuan, China, on April 4, 1926, Dr. Chin was the only son of Ji-ren Chin and his wife, Shu-lan Duan. He received his B.A. degree in English from National Taiwan Normal University in 1953, and moved to the United States in 1963 to pursue his post-graduate studies. He received an M.S. in Teaching English as a Second Language from UCLA in 1965, as well as a Doctor of Applied Linguistics degree from Georgetown University in 1971.
After 35 years, Dr. Chin retired from the University of Maryland in early 2006, when his illness became debilitating. He had first served as director of the University's Chinese and Hebrew Program before it became the Department of Asian and East European Languages and Cultures. He was the author of many articles, teaching manuals and books on the Chinese language, linguistics and calligraphy. He published the only textbook for teaching Chinese calligraphy in the United States, which is used in numerous institutions of higher learning, most recently Johns Hopkins University.
In 1991 Dr. Chin founded the Calligraphy Education Group (CEG), an organization under the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA). Since 1998 CEG has sponsored regular international conferences to promote the understanding of Chinese culture and language through calligraphy.
A scholarship fund in Dr. Chin's honor was established in 1996 by his former students at the University of Maryland. He was the 2005 recipient of the A. Ronald Walton Award from the CLTA in recognition of his lifetime of dedication to and promotion of Chinese language and culture.
Dr. Chin is survived by his wife of 51 years, Yin-Lien C. Chin, Professor Emerita of Chinese Studies at Vassar College, as well as two children, his daughter Hsiao-lien Chin and her husband, James R. Boardman, of Riverside, CT and their two children, Thomas and Ann, and his son Stephen H. Chin and his wife, Margaret M. Lanning, of Bedminster, NJ.
2006 symposium on Spanish Language Communities in the Greater Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
April 14, 2006
For the third consecutive year, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese; the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education (OMSE); the Latino Student Union; and the Latin American Studies Center, University of Maryland, collaborated to offer a very successful one-day Symposium on Wednesday, April 5 2006. This event took place in the Multi-purpose Room of St. Mary’s Hall, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on campus.
For a number of years, several faculty members at the University of Maryland have established research projects as well as community based service programs. Thanks to this collective expertise, we can offer today this array of knowledge and experience, in particular with the nearby, Latino immigrant communities.
While previous meetings focused on immigration, education, and local politics, the panels for the 2006 Symposium addressed questions related to the role of the Spanish-speaking media in the area. The morning portion of the program consisted of a panel that discussed the significance of writing and broadcasting news in Spanish. Lunch from Julita’s, a Latino family-owned restaurant in the area, was provided for the speakers and other registered participants in the Symposium. In the afternoon portion, we concentrated on sources of information about cultural news and entertainment for the Spanish-speaking community in the area.
Over 250 people attended the Symposium. The audience mostly consisted of undergraduate students from our program, faculty from the School of Languages, and administrators and other members of the campus community with interest in Latino issues. For further information about future events, please contact: Manel Lacorte: mlacorte@umd.edu (301) 405 8233 Carolina Rojas: crbahr@umd.edu (301) 405-8817
Further details on the content of these panels will be included shortly as part of the Symposium website.
Language House Garden Club working towards a "green dorm"
April 7, 2006
The University of Maryland Garden Club, one of the student organizations within the Language House Immersion Program, has been chosen for an award by the College Park Committee for a Better Environment. The committee sponsors the annual 'Green Awards Recognition Program' to recognize environmental citizens, businesses, and organizations. The student club, and its advisor, Dr. Phoenix Liu, will be formally recognized by the city Monday night. Under the leadership of Kurt Pfund (German cluster) and Jessica Mealey (Spanish cluster), members of the club have been growing herbs, vegetables, and flowers; trying to give the university community the opportunity to learn about organic gardening methods through the development of an experimental garden; and increasing awareness about the benefits of campus and urban gardening. The goal is to work as a community to take some steps towards transforming St. Mary?s Hall into a ?green dorm.? The University's groundskeepers have supported the student effort. Spring planting is just around the corner!
SLLC's Language Immersion Program Featured on BBC's "The World"
Story aired: Monday, March 13, 2006
Language school report Part II (5:00)
From the website: "The World's Katy Clark has her second report on the University of Maryland's foreign language programs. Today, Katy takes us to a residence hall where students speak nine languages.
".
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Michael Long and CASL's Catherine Doughty Featured on BBC program "The World"
Story aired: Friday, March 10, 2006
A new way language is being taught in some US colleges (4:15)
From the website: "President Bush is calling for a greater emphasis in the US on teaching critical foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese and Persian. The World's Katy Clark speaks with language specialists about a new way language is being taught in some US colleges and universities".
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