Dr. Christina García’s Essay Published in _Cuban Studies_

Professor Christina García’s article “Baroque Revolutionaries, Communist Fags, and Risky Friendships: Reading the Politics of Friendship in Fresa y chocolate” has been published in Volume 47, 2019 issue of Cuban Studies.

Professor Hanahan Conducts Workshop in Seattle, WA

On March 1, 2019, Professor Devon Hanahan conducted a four-hour workshop entitled “Connecting with Generation C in the Language Classroom” with faculty from the University of Washington and Everett Community College in Seattle.

HISP Faculty Focus, April 2019: Dr. Luci Moreira

Photo credit: Daniel Delgado

After obtaining her B.A. in Portuguese from the Universidade Estadual de Maringá in Brazil, Dr. Luci Moreira went on to earn her M.A. in Linguistics from the Universidade Fedederal de Pernambuco, completed doctoral coursework in Portuguese at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and then she earned her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign here in the U.S.

Since joining the College of Charleston in 2000, Professor Moreira has taught a myriad of courses for the Portuguese, Spanish, International Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Linguistics programs.  She also pioneered the online offering of Portuguese language in the spring of 2019, and she is co-author of  the Portuguese language textbook Ponto de Encontro, which has enjoyed widespread adoption across the U.S.

In addition to her constant work with the Portuguese program, Dr. Moreira has also collaborated in various projects both locally and nationally, to include co-founding the Department of Hispanic Studies’ newsletter HispaNews in 2001, and her ongoing role as Editor of the Portuguese Newsletter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.  Also in 2001, she initiated the department’s Portuguese Club, Bate-Papo Conversation Table, and the Portuguese Peer-Teacher program, which she still oversees today.  In the fall of 2017, she was also instrumental with the launch of her department’s newest program: the Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Minor.

With her colleague and loyal companion Jose, she has directed 11 study abroad programs in Brazil.  During these memorable trips to the Amazon,  students remember sleeping on a boat in hammocks, swimming with dolphins, visiting and dancing with indigenous groups, and snorkeling with baby sharks and green turtles in coral reefs of paradisiac Fernando de Noronha.

In Professor Moreira’s own words:

I chose to study Portuguese when I was 17 years old and it has always been my passion. I have always taught Portuguese, and I don’t see myself in a different profession or field. I am a firm believer that both language and culture can be taught at any level, and that they complement each other. I could not be happier than when the minor in Portuguese was established. This was not a work done alone, and started from writing petitions, committee proposals; a great deal of merit is due to the support of the Department Chair. This minor is the legacy that will be passed to the future.

Each year students from diverse backgrounds and expectations come to study Portuguese. We never repeat things because we don’t duplicate human souls and hearts. Whoever chooses the teaching career never does exactly the same thing and is always invigorated with the energy and the dreams of the most important ones—the students—those who inspire us. It is a good feeling to see the fruits of our labor in what we do.

Stay tuned for May 2019’s feature…

Dr. Del Mastro’s Essay Appears in _Hispania_

Professor Mark P. Del Mastro’s essay “Sigma Delta Pi and the AATSP: A Shared Century of Leadership and Collaboration” has been published in the March 2019 issue of HispaniaThis “Special Note” connects to Dr. Del Mastro’s ongoing research for his book Sigma Delta Pi: Rediscovering a Century (1919-2019) that will be published by Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs in 2020.

HISP Faculty Focus, March 2019: Professor Fenner Hoell

Professor Fenner Hoell

As an undergraduate student at Eastern Carolina University, Professor Hoell spent his fall 2011 semester in the Bilateral Student Exchange/Spanish Immersion Program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, and then completed his B.A. in Hispanic Studies with a minor in Anthropology.  He then attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he earned his MAT with a specialization in Spanish.  During his time in Wilmington he taught for the Spanish Department at Hoggard High School (2017), and he worked as a graduate assistant for UNCW’s Department of World Languages and Cultures (2015-16). Since joining the Department of Hispanic Studies at the College of Charleston in August 2017, he has taught full time in the Basic Spanish Language Program, earned his Distance Education certification (spring 2018), and served on the Department of Hispanic Studies’ Distance Education Committee.

In Professor Hoell’s own words:

Working with the College for the past two years has been a marvelous experience which is difficult to summarize in a single paragraph. From the social atmosphere of the department, to the professional development opportunities that abound, we must remember this is one of the best positions we can be in within our field of expertise. I relish in the fact that each day I am given the chance to bestow on my students the gift my past instructors bestowed on me: the understanding and ability to communicate with others around the world. 

The Department of Hispanic Studies recognizes Professor Hoell’s fine contributions to students, his department and the College, and for being selected for our March 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for April 2019’s feature…

HISP Faculty Focus, February 2019: Professor Claudia Moran

Professor Claudia Moran

After earning her undergraduate degree in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Instituto Nacional Superior en Lenguas Vivas, Professor Moran obtained her M.A. in Bilingual Legal Interpreting at the College of Charleston, where for the past 17 years she has taught a wide range of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to include beginning and intermediate Spanish language, interpreting and applied Spanish.

Complementing her efforts in the classroom, she also serves as the Coordinator of the Spanish Conversation Program, which affords students one-credit hour, co-curricular opportunities for improving their oral and aural language skills.  Professor Moran is aptly suited for this role as she is currently one of only two in the Department of Hispanic Studies with American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview Tester Certification.

In addition to her leadership role as a program coordinator, Professor Moran has also served the department and College in a myriad of ways to include her editorial role for the past decade with the department’s newsletter, HispaNews; past chair of the Spanish House Committee; past co-adviser of the Hispanic Latino Club; former member of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the President; and long-time member of the Honor Board Advisory Committee.

In Professor Moran’s own words:

It has been an honor for me to have been part of CofC in different capacities, but that of a teacher has been the most rewarding. I love being in the classroom and sharing experiences with my students as I teach language and culture, especially when I hear them express their learning curiosity, as beginners or in more advanced courses such as SPAN 316 where I introduce students to interpreting as one of the many ways to apply a degree in Spanish. As the coordinator of the Spanish Conversation Class program for the past five years, I have had the opportunity to work closely with exceptional Peer Teachers as they share their own passion for the language with their students as I observe their classes. I have also been able to work closely with students as a committee member of the Casa Hispana and the Hispanic-Latino Club and share their enthusiasm for the Spanish language and culture. Throughout the years I have greatly enjoyed learning from and sharing ideas with everyone in the Department of Hispanic Studies. 

The Department of Hispanic Studies applauds Claudia Moran for her important contributions to students, her department and the College, and for being selected for our February 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for March 2019’s feature…

HISP Faculty Focus, January 2019: Dr. Félix Vásquez

Dr. Félix Vásquez

Following his undergraduate degree in accounting from the Universidad Particular Ricardo Palma in Lima, Perú, Professor Vásquez continued his education in the U.S. with an M.A. in Spanish from Winthrop University, and a Ph.D. in Colonial and 19th-Century Spanish American Literature from the University of Kentucky. He taught at both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Georgia before joining the College of Charleston’s Department of Hispanic Studies in 2001.  Beyond courses ranging from elementary Spanish language through Early Colonial Spanish-American Texts, Dr. Vásquez regularly teaches the department’s business for Spanish curriculum that forms the foundation for the Business Language Minor in Spanish program that he started in 2011, and which is currently the department’s fastest growing minor.

Also a passionate advocate of the study abroad experience, Professor Vásquez is an 8-time director for the College of Charleston’s various programs in Chile, Cuba, Peru and Spain. Currently he is founding co-director of a new summer study-abroad program in Trujillo, Spain and in cooperation with the School of Business.  This new, one-month interdisciplinary program will launch in June 2019 with courses in management, intermediate and advanced Spanish language as well as an introduction to Spanish for business.

Underscoring the teacher-scholar model, Dr. Vásquez also manages to showcase his work in the classroom through his scholarly activity, to include multiple conference presentations in both national and international venues as well as related publications, to include his recent book chapter “Case-Based Pedagogy to Develop World-Readiness Skill for Business” published with SabioBooks, LLC in 2018 in the edition Transferable Skills for the 21st Century: Preparing Students for the Workplace through World Languages for Specific Purposes.

In Professor Vásquez’s own words:

My goals as a foreign language educator are to foster my students’ cultural and linguistic awareness and help them gain communicative competencies in Spanish. In my Spanish for Business courses, the objective is to prepare students for successful communication in the Hispanic commercial world by building on their existing knowledge, developing their skills in practical, real-world uses of oral and written Spanish, and emphasizing the importance of cultural practices in doing business in Spanish-speaking countries and with Hispanics in the United States.

The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Dr. Félix Vásquez for his substantial contributions to his students, his department and the College, and for being selected for our January 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for February 2019’s feature…

Hispanic Studies Welcomes 3 New Faculty for Spring 2019

The Department of Hispanic Studies welcomes two new faculty members and one returning for the spring 2019 semester:

Jessica Dimondstein
Professor Dimondstein holds an MAT in K-12 Spanish from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also obtained her BA in Spanish with distinction.  She previously taught at West Forsyth High School (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Charles E. Jordan High School (Durham, N.C.) and Guilford Technical Community College (Greensboro, NC), and she served as a Spanish interpreter for the Mayer Law Practice.  She also has prior study-abroad experience in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Tristan Hill
Professor Hill is a graduate of our own M.Ed. program in Languages (Spanish), and a double major in French and Spanish as an undergraduate at CofC where he earned Outstanding Student Awards in both languages. His teaching record is extensive and distinguished as a current teacher of Spanish at the School of the Arts, and former employee at West Ashley High School where he was named Teacher of the Year in 2014.

Yulian Martinez-Escobar
Professor Martinez-Escobar taught repeatedly in our department since 2011, but we are delighted with his return after a multi-semester “break.” He is a seasoned Spanish language teacher with prior experience not only in our department, but also several years at James Island Charter High School, Trident Technical College and at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in his native Colombia.  He was also a very active faculty member in our department serving on the HispaNews editorial team in 2016-17, and producing our now legendary, albeit outdated, promotional video for the Casa Hispana back in 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDJZEKa4LPg

Dr. Martínez-Gibson’s Study Published in Fall 2016-17 Issue of _MIFLC Review_

Professor Elizabeth Martínez-Gibson’s essay “Por la Calle de Alcalá: The Languages Used in Storefront Signs along Madrid’s Longest Street” has just been published in Volume 18, Fall 2016-17 issue of the MIFLC Review.