13
Oct 15

CFP: 21st Annual HLBLL Graduate Student Conference

Call for Papers – HLBLL’s Annual Student Conference

The City: Voices and Creations

Keynote Speakers: Dr. Urayoán Noel (New York University) and Dr. Bonnie Urciuoli (Hamilton College)

Extended deadline for abstract submissions: By noon on February 14, 2016

The 21st Annual HLBLL Graduate Student Conference will take place April 14th and 15th, 2016, at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Please find the complete call for papers below.

#HLBLL21st

CFP XXI Annual Students Conference


18
Apr 15

HLBLL’s 20th Annual Student Conference is April 24th and 25th

Relocating Identities, Theories, and Languages

The 20th Annual Graduate Student Conference of the PhD Program in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages

#HLBLL20th

20th Annual Student Conference Poster

HLBLL’s 20th Annual Graduate Student Conference is Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th, 2015.

The Graduate Center, CUNY.
365 Fifth Ave.
NYC, NY 10016

Keynote speakers:

Dr. Idelber Avelar (Tulane University) “Brazilian transitional justice, indigenous struggles, and the Amazon” (Friday, April 24, Segal Theater, 6pm)
Dr. Jonathan Rosa (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) “Languages and Identities Beyond Borders” (Saturday, April 25th, Room 5414, 2:45pm)
View the complete conference program here.

The Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages Annual Student Conference is celebrating 20 years of excellence in graduate student scholarly work.

 

Many thanks to the conference organizing team for their dedication in creating an extraordinary 20th year:
José Chavarry
Ulises Gonzales
Luis Henao Uribe
Kristina Jacobs
Inés Vañó García
Sara Cordón
John Flanagan


11
Apr 15

Fall 2015 Course Listings

FALL 2015  –  COURSE  LISTINGS

THREE-CREDITS

SPAN 70100 – El español como objeto de interés histórico
GC: Tuesday, 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. del Valle

SPAN 70200 – Hispanic Critical & Cultural Theory
GC: Tuesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Zavala

SPAN 70500 – Spanish Syntax
GC: Tuesday, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Otheguy
(cross-listed with LING 79100)

SPAN 87000 – Neo-Baroque Continuities & Ruptures in Cuban & Mexican Literatures
GC: Thursday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Riobó

SPAN 87100 – In-Between Worlds & Tradition: Rereading the “Crónicas de Indias”
GC: Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Chang-Rodríguez

SPAN 87200 – The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar and Guillermo del Toro
GC: Wednesday, 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Smith

SPAN 87300 – Políticas de la Lengua y Culturas de Transición en España (1975-2015)
GC: Friday, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. José del Valle & Prof. Germán Labrador

SPAN 87400 – Asaltos a la biblioteca: Scenes of Reading in Latin America
GC: Monday, 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. TBA, 3 credits, Prof. Degiovanni

ONE-CREDIT MINI-SEMINARS

SPAN 87200 – Reflexiones en torno a una piedra
GC: Monday, 10/5/2015 – Thursday, 10/8/2015, 1:30-4:00 p.m.,
Rm. 4116.18, 1 credit, Prof. Bernardo Atxaga (Atxaga Chair)

SPAN 87200 – Economia política, estructura de la comunicación y sociolingüistica del Catalán
GC: Monday, 9/28/2015, 1:30 – 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, 9/29/2015, 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, 9/30/2015 & Thursday, 10/1/2015, 1:30-4:00 p.m.
Rm. 4116.18, 1 credit, Prof. Toni Molla (Rodoreda Chair)

SEE ALSO

SPAN 88800 – Dissertation Workshop
GC: Tuesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Rm. TBA, 0 credit, Prof. Degiovanni


17
Mar 15

Funding: Columbia School Linguistic Society Graduate Student Fellowship

Columbia School Linguistic Society

Graduate Student Fellowship

Request for proposals for the 2015-2016 academic year
Deadline for applications: May 26th, 2015

columbia linguistics

The Columbia School Linguistic Society (henceforth the Society) invites applications from graduate students in linguistics for the third round of its Graduate Fellowship program. The successful applicant (henceforth referred to as the Fellow) will undertake a linguistic research project from the perspective of Columbia School under the guidance of a Mentor. The Fellowship and the research project associated with it will cover a period of one academic year. The Fellow will be expected to make every effort to present work-in-progress at the Columbia School Seminar.

The research project undertaken by the Fellow will address a grammatical, lexical, or phonological problem in the language of the Fellow’s choice. The Fellow will produce a final report, written in English, putting forth a Columbia School analysis of the problem, preceded by a review of the relevant literature. The Fellow must be either (a) a matriculated student in good standing in a recognized graduate program in linguistics or closely related area anywhere in the U.S. or (b) an applicant to such a program, and (c) be a U.S. citizen (this because of the Society’s tax constraints). The Mentor must be a member of the Society.

The Fellow will receive a stipend of $15,000 for the period covering from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016. The stipend is calculated on the basis of a 12-month calendar year. Assuming satisfactory progress in the judgment of the Society’s Executive Committee, stipend payments will be made on a monthly basis (12 payments of $1250) in the form of a check from the Society. A successful Fellow may reapply for continuing support for the following year. The Mentor will not receive any financial compensation.

It is expected that the Fellow will work on the project for no less than 15 hours a week. In addition, it is expected that the Fellow will make at least four presentations before the Columbia School Linguistics Seminar during the course of the Fellowship year. It is also expected that the Fellow will attend the Seminar on a regular basis. The Seminars are held at Columbia University in New York City. A Fellow whose residence is distant from New York will be expected to make arrangements for remote attendance and presentations.

The application is to be prepared by the prospective Fellow in consultation with the prospective Mentor. The application consists of a statement of the problem, an account of existing analyses if any, a brief preliminary review of the relevant literature, and a description of the data to be used. The application is not to exceed 10 double-spaced pages written in 12-point font. It is required that the prospective Fellow contact the prospective Mentor and that the Mentor review the application before submission.

The name of the prospective Fellow and that of the prospective Mentor must be included in the application. The Fellow’s telephone number and email address, and the name of the Fellow’s graduate school, are also to be included in the application.

The deadline for receipt of the first round of applications is May 26, 2015. The proposal will be reviewed by three members of the Society appointed by the Society’s Executive Committee. Applicants will be notified by the end of June 2015. The application must be submitted electronically to Professor Ricardo Otheguy of the PhD Program in Linguistics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (rotheguy@gc.cuny.edu).


22
Feb 15

The Controversy over Gender-Neutral Language at CUNY’s Graduate Center

By Professor José del Valle

JdV-Picture

I have been studying linguistic debates for years, and I guess it was just a matter of time until one would break out in my own backyard. It finally did, on January 16, when administrative and teaching staff at the City University of New York´s Graduate Center received a memorandum from the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President. The memo informed us of new letter-writing guidelines that eliminated “the use of gendered salutations and references in correspondence to students, prospective students, and third parties.” In other words, they declared their commitment to avoid “Mr./Mrs./Ms.” as well as gender-marked pronouns in written exchanges with the above-mentioned addressees. It was presented in the spirit of the preferred-name practice – a practice, widely adopted nationwide, whereby students, faculty or staff may choose to be addressed by a name other than their legal one – and as part of an “ongoing effort to ensure a respectful, welcoming, and gender-inclusive learning environment at the GC and to accommodate properly the diverse population of current and prospective students.”

Unsurprisingly, the measure was picked up by some in the media and the news eventually gained significant traction. In Fox News, for example, Gretchen Carlson covered the episode through an interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano, a frequent guest. They did not break in any significant way with the typical forms of pushback that this type of linguistic choice tends to trigger among conservatives. However, the standard ridiculing of the new guidelines was done in a somewhat backhanded manner (mostly through Gretchen’s body language and mocking intonation), and the conversation focused instead on the legal dimension of the issue. In a nutshell, they chose to issue a warning that, if punitive measures were to be taken for non-compliance (punitive measures with which, by the way, the memo did not threaten in any shape or form), the institution would see itself in breach of the First Amendment: “While the university can drop Mr. or Ms. in its official documents, it cannot punish or coerce or instruct its employees or the students from using Mr. or Ms. because they have a First Amendment right to do so,” said the judge. In general, commentators chose the conventional route dismissing the new guidelines as silly left-wing political correctness and unacceptable linguistic authoritarianism. In response to questions from the press, a spokesperson for the institution confirmed the non-compulsory nature of the guidelines and reiterated their link to the spirit of the preferred-name practice.

The episode fits nicely within a well-known type of linguistic debate that results from a particular form of verbal hygiene (an illuminating term developed by British sociolinguist Deborah Cameron in her 1995 book of the same title). A new linguistic usage is tactically promoted within a broader strategy to push forward an egalitarian cause; in this case, gender equality, acceptance of gender non-conformity and gender-neutral decision-making at the institutional level. Typically, pushback from conservative forces ensues, and an effort is made to portray the agents behind the new norm as puppets at the service of the “looney left” and its culture wars. It is worth highlighting that the predictable conservative pushback – almost a knee-jerk reaction to any sign of a progressive cause’s forward movement – will unfold with the complicity of people – even faculty who might define themselves as liberals – who may agree or not with the alleged silliness of it all but get overly upset due to their perception of the memo’s prescriptive thrust.

Why? Why liberal pushback against a liberal cause? Because the memo – intentionally or not – brings to the surface the fact that the language we so nonchalantly use is political. When we address people as “Mr.”, “Mrs.” or “Ms.” we do it in a social context in which concepts such as male, female, gay or transgender are relevant to understanding who is included and who is excluded from certain spaces (just think of same-sex marriage). In the case at hand, the decision to put forward a new option for addressing interlocutors in writing forces us to face the fact that, when addressing someone, we are actually choosing to use language in a particular way and that our choice may very well have political implications. Of course, many would rather be left in peace feeling that the way they write or speak is innocent and the linguistic norms with which they so faithfully comply are nothing but a neutral and transparent system of communication. But the fact remains that language is social practice, that it is variable and that it is unavoidably embedded in the political life of institutions and countries.

In sum, it is not surprising that conservative commentators would react to The Graduate Center’s initiative; it is not surprising – in a political climate hostile to public universities – that they would take the opportunity to attack a proud and powerful public university such as CUNY; and it is not surprising that, in the process, they would appeal to common-sense ideas about language, often fierce enemies of social change. Whether the recommended guidelines will be adopted or not throughout the Graduate Center remains to be seen (it will ultimately rest on multiple individual choices). But that should not be the measure of the initiative’s success. In as much as it forces us to face language’s involvement in structural inequality (which it has already done), it is a worthy and commendable move. And if it makes us the target of The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, we must be doing something right.

José del Valle teaches Hispanic Studies and Linguistics at CUNY’s Graduate Center


15
Dec 14

CFP: University of Arizona’s 25th Annual Graduate and Professional Symposium

“Memory, Resistance, and Social Communication past to present”

Deadline for Submissions: January 13, 2015

Conference Dates: February 26, 27, and 28, 2015

Conference Location: University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Keynote Speakers: Dr. Anthony Geist (University of Washington), Dr. José Camacho (Rutgers University)

From the Symposium Committee:

The Symposium Committee is pleased to invite all interested graduate students, scholars and professionals to submit abstracts and panel proposals for the 25th Annual Graduate and Professional Symposium on Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literature, Language and Culture. This year the Symposium Committee is honored to welcome Dr. Anthony Geist from the University of Washington and Dr. Jose Camacho from Rutgers University as keynote speakers.

As we explore memory, resistance, and social communication from various perspectives and disciplines, the Symposium Committee encourages the submission of papers and panels on a variety of topics and disciplines that explore language, literature, linguistics, protest, and culture. Submissions from the fields of literatures and cultures, linguistics, the digital humanities, and pedagogy are invited from all periods and areas of Iberian, Spanish-American, Latin American, and Luso-Brazilian studies. The committee will also consider panel proposals for sessions organized around a specific topic. Short-films and creative pieces, including digital works, authored by the presenters themselves are also welcome. Papers may be presented in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Paper Proposals: Please submit an abstract of approximately 250 words in English, Spanish, or Portuguese via email as an attachment to dspsymposium@gmail.com by January 13, 2015.

Panel Proposals: Please submit a description of the panel focus in 100 words or less, in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, as well as an abstract from the individual panel participants via email as an attachment to dspsymposium@gmail.com by January 13, 2015. Panels should have 3-5 participants.

In the body of the email, please specify your name, phone number, e-mail, title of the presentation, academic affiliation, and if audiovisual equipment will be needed for your presentation. Reading time of final papers is limited to 20 minutes (6-8 double-spaced pages). No papers will be read in absentia.

Acceptance will be confirmed no later than January 23, 2014. Registration is $30 and must be paid on-site. In addition, we encourage you to visit our website for more information: http://symposium.spanish.arizona.edu


Skip to toolbar