Fostering International Understanding — Shortly after the end of World War II, J. William Fulbright, a senator from Arkansas, introduced a bill calling for the establishment of an international exchange program intended to promote “international good will” through the exchange of educators and students “in the fields of education, culture, and science.” It passed, and in 1946 President Harry S. Truman signed the bill, known as the Fulbright Act, into law. In the more than seventy years since then, the Fulbright Program has become, to quote from its official website, “the flagship international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” I mention this history not only because Liz Miller has just been awarded a 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant, but also because the English Department regularly promotes the goals of the Fulbright Program.
For her Fulbright research project, Liz Miller will focus on the topic of second-language acquisition among immigrants in Germany. This project relates directly to the research she did for her monograph titled The Language of Adult Immigrants: Agency in the Making. The research that she plans to do in Germany will nicely complement the research she has already completed on immigrants to the United States, and it will add a valuable international dimension to her research.
A few days after Liz learned the good news about her Fulbright, Juan Meneses brought a guest speaker from Russia to his classes. Olga Nesmelova, a professor and chair of Russian and World Literature at Kazan Federal University in Russia, visited Juan’s world literature classes last week. She gave a lecture titled “The Reception of American Literature in Russia,” in which she provided Juan’s students with an overview of how U.S. literature, particularly fiction, has been translated, read by the general public, and studied by academics in Russia throughout the last century.
This week Pilar Blitvich and Juan Meneses will be sharing their unique international insights into the current situation in Catalonia. Both Pilar and Juan are serving as panelists on a public panel discussion titled “Catalonia: A Panel Information Session about Spain’s Current Political Turmoil.” Since Pilar and Juan both grew up in Spain and still have many personal and professional connections in Spain, they are in a particularly good position to comment on the political events that are currently unfolding in Spain. The panel discussion will take place on February 13, 2018, at 5:15 in the Cone Center, Room 210A. For more information, please click on the following link: https://inside.uncc.edu/events/panelists-discuss-%E2%80%98political-turmoil%E2%80%99-around-catalonia-spain
As these three recent examples demonstrate, many members of the English Department try in their own way to support Senator Fulbright’s goal of fostering international understanding.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department. Here is the latest news:
Christine Arvidson recently published a poem titled “A Question of Definitions: What Dictionaries Can Tell Us About Unity” in the anthology Voices on Unity: Coming Together, Falling Apart, which is from Mountain State Press.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about an upcoming event:
February 19 — The Faculty/Staff performance of “Tales From Down There” will be on Monday, February 19 at 7pm in McKnight Hall. This performance will include appearances by the following people associated with the English Department: Janaka Lewis, Tiffany Morin, Angie Williams, Alison Walsh, and Shannon Bauerle. Advanced tickets can be purchased on-line at https://goo.gl/V6SYwq or with cash only at the door.
Quirky Quiz Question — The upcoming panel presentation about the current situation in Catalonia reminds me of a trip my wife and took to this part of the world a few years ago. While we were there, we visited several buildings designed by Catalonia’s most famous architect. Does anybody know the name of this famous architect?
Last week’s answer: Gaffney