Academic Excellence

Degrees Awarded

Spanish Ph.D.

Monica Fernandez Dos Santos Martins (August 2019)

Dissertation title: "La alegoría del incesto en La madre naturaleza de Emilia Pardo Bazán y Os Maias de José Eca de Queirós"
Dissertation chair: Dr. Carmen Pereira-Muro
Dissertation committee: Dr. Susan Larson, and Dr. Antonio Ladeira
Dean's representative: Dr. Kent Wilkinson (Media and Communication)

Languages & Cultures Master of Art

Jared Gaum, Classics (August 2019)
Haiying Huang, Applied Linguistics (August 2019)
Jacquelina M. White, Applied Linguistics (August 2019)

Romance Languages Master of Art

Yandell, Megan, French (August 2019)

Languages & Cultures Bachelor of Art

Anderson, Ashley J, French (December 2019)
Esparza, Kathryn L., Russian Language Area Studies (December 2019)
Kraus, Patricia N. Pratommarath, Russian Language Area Studies (December 2019)
Moreno, Veronica, French (December 2019)
Ozsoy, Emre C, Russian Language Area Studies (December 2019)
Romo, Yana, German (December 2019)

Spanish Bachelor of Art

Benton, Darwin R. (August 2019)
Burnett, Robyn F. (August 2019)
Rey, Analhi A. (August 2019)

Awards and Recognitions

Course Buyout Fellowship Awardees 2019-2020

Don Lavigne, Associate Professor, Ancient Greek and Classics
Christopher Witmore, Professor, Archaeology & Classics
Pamela Zinn, Assistant Professor, Classics

Yerko Sepulveda (Spanish doctoral student) received the Dr. Miguel Alvarez Research Award in honor of Dr. Miguel Alvarez's dedication to the research and education of culturally and linguistically diverse students at the Texas Language Education Research Conference at University of Texas at San Antonio. The TexLER Committee proudly offered the 2nd Dr. Miguel Alvarez Research Award to one graduate student whose TexLER presentation topic embodies Miguel's innovation and drive to progress equity for all students. Sepulveda's presentation was titled, "A life of working with marginalized students".

Presentations, Publications and Projects

2019-2020 Institute for Inclusive Excellence Cohort

CMLL members

Rula Al-Hmoud (second row left)
Brendan Regan (third row right)
Audrey Sendejo (front row left)

The Institute for Inclusive Excellence provides an opportunity for participants to consider inclusive pedagogies and best practices in the classroom and the university as a whole. Participants will finish the Institute with a richer understanding of the academic success that can be achieved through an institutional model of inclusive excellence. They will learn strategies and insights to better prepare Texas Tech students to be multiculturally competent and globally competitive.

Global Readiness through Language and Culture

Funded by the Texas Tech Center for Global Communication, the Global Readiness through Language and Culture project aims to prepare undergraduate students to identify global issues that connect to their area of study, conduct research on those issues, and demonstrate competencies to address them. This co-curricular program will enhance student learning, the project will showcase the competencies students develop via the study of languages and cultures as not only highly transferable, but also crucial for navigating global challenges related to population, resources, technology, information, economics, conflict, and governance. Over twenty faculty members in the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures will implement this project from Fall 2019 through Spring 2021, engaging more than 3.500 undergraduate students. For complete details on the project click here.

Global Challenges and Careers Lecture Fall Lectures and Presentations

October 1, 2019: "Careers in Interpretation and Translation" Panelists: Jaime Fatás Cabeza, Winnie Yung-Chung Heh, Audrey Sendejo.
October 16, 2019: Interactive Presentation for CMLL Faculty: "Multiliteracies: Linking Theory, Practice and Purpose" by Dr. Kristen Michelson
November 6, 2019: Lecture #2: "Careers in the Private Sector" by Laura Schuster
December 3-4, 2019: Poster Exhibition of Student Work

Contributors:
Rula Al-Hmoud, Arabic 1501: Beginning Course in Arabic, 2302: A Second Course in Arabic II; Arabic 3305: Introduction to Arab Muslim Civilization
Caroline Bishop, Classics 3340: Gender & Sexuality in the Classical World
Kate Brooke, Spanish 1310: Survival Spanish Languages & Cultures
Alec Cattell, German 2302: A Second Course in German
Erin Collopy, Russian 1501, & 1502: Beginning Course in Russian; Slavistics 2301: The Vampire in East European and Western Culture
Irina Drigalenko, Russian 2302: A Second Course in Russian II
Carole Edwards, French 4322: French Civilization: the Gourmet Culture of France, French 4305: Cultures of the Francophone World
Maya Edwards, Spanish 2390: Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World: A Study of Culture through the lens of Social Justice
Idoia Elola, Spanish 4307: Writing Literacies in Context, Spanish 1607: Intensive Spanish, First Year; Spanish 2607: Intensive Spanish, Second Year
Charles Grair, CMLL 2305 Introduction to Languages and Cultures, German 2313 Northern Myths and Legends
Belinda Kleinhans, German 4303: German Classics
Susan Larson, Spanish 3306: Introduction to Hispanic Life and Culture: Cities in the Hispanic World, Spanish 3390: Hispanic Culture and Civilization: Hispanic Cities
Rossy Lima, Spanish 4309: Literary translation
Anita McChesney, German 2302: A Second Course in German
Linley Melhem, CMLL 2307: Developing Cultural Intelligence in a Global Society
Kristen Michelson, French 2302: A Second Course in French
Alicia Miklos, Spanish 2300: Social Change in the Hispanic World through Cultural Expressions
Kimi Nakatsukasa, Japanese 2301 and 2302: Second Course in Japanese I and II
Anthony Qualin, Russian 3305: Topics in Advanced Russian
Marlene Selker, German 2301: A Second Course in German
Raychel Vasseur, Spanish 2301 & 2302: Second Course in Spanish I and II
Yanlin Wang, Chinese 1501 & 1502: A Beginning Course in Chinese I and II, Chinese 2301 & 2302: Second Course in Chinese I and II, Chinese 3305: Advanced Chinese-Cinema and Chinese Language
Lucas Wood, French 3303: French Conversation-Cultural Objects and French Society; French 4303: Dialogues in French Culture: Political Stages of French Theater
Jorge Zamora, Spanish 4308: Business Spanish; Spanish 4309: Medical Spanish; Spanish 4309: Translation and Interpretation

Language, Image, Power - Luso-Hispanic Cultural Studies Theory and Practice Conference

CMLL presenters

Maya Edwards, Text(ile) Agencies: Questioning Feminine Spaces in Emiia Pardo Bazán's Short Stories
Idoia Elola and Maya Edwards, Positioning Students' Global and Local Concerns in a Spanish Social Justice Class through Digital Storytelling
David Foshee, Domestic Space and Film Form in Esa pareja feliz (Bardem and Berlanga, 1951)
James Haney, The Aztec Conquest of Europe, Idolatry and Ritual in the Graphic Novel El espejo humeante
Rossy Lima, Heritage Language Speakers as Translatiors in their Communities: Preparing Translators to Promote and Achieve Language Justice
Carmen-Pereira-Muro, Rural Realities, the Ideological Representation of Landscape in Nineteenth-Century Literature

CMLL Roundtable Discussion Leaders

Sara Guengerich, Teaching Women's Agency through Material Culture
Alicia Miklos, Teaching Documentary Film Studies and Gender Violence
Britta Anderson, Moving Classrooms: Activating Students through Performance Studies

Language & Culture Day 2019

CMLL Presenters

Belinda Kleinhans, "Drawing German History," (German)
Anthony Qualin, "More than Meddling: Russia in the 21st Century," (Russian)
Brendan Regan, "Notions of Correct versus Incorrect Language," (Spanish)
Yanlin Wang, "Speaking and Writing in Mandarin Chinese" (Chinese)
Lucas Wood, "The Medieval Werewolf," (French)

Service Learning Faculty Fellows Named 2019-2020

Dr. Alec Cattell (front row center left) and Dr. Belinda Kleinhans (front row center right) were two among nine named new Service Learning Faculty Fellows. They participated with faculty members from across Texas Tech University in the Service Learning Faculty Fellows workshop in mid-August that consisted of Community Partner Panels and Faculty Panels including Sondra's Song, Volunteer Center of Lubbock, Texas Tech University Outreach and Engagement, TrUE, Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research and South Plains Food Bank.

Qualified Administrators of the Intercultural Development Inventory

Thirteen Texas Tech faculty were certified in mid-December as Qualified Administrators of the Intercultural Development Inventory! From left to right (front row): Anita McChesney (German), Erin Collopy (Russian), Raychel Vasseur (Spanish), Rula Al-Hmoud (Arabic), Suzanne Tapp (Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center), Alicia Miklos (Spanish), Andrea Jonsson (French), Belinda Kleinhans (German). From left to right (back row): Beau Pihlaja (English), Michael Johnson (Office of International Affairs), Paul Pare (Biochemistry; Center for Global Communication), Terrence Harewood (Facilitator, Intercultural Development Inventory), Alec Cattell (Humanities and Applied Linguistics), Anthony Qualin (Russian).

Second Language Research Forum 2019

Yamato Kitahashi and Dr. Kimi Nakatsukasa presented a paper titled, "An Idiodynamic approach to learners' enjoyment: explicit instruction and output opportunities bring enjoyment to learners" at the 2019 Second Languages Research Forum (SLRF): Advancing Transdisciplinary Research at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, September 20-22, 2019.

Faculty members (Greta Gorsuch Griffee, James Lee, Kimi Nakatsukasa) also presented. Applied Linguistics alumni, Lorena Alarcón (Pursuing a Ph.D. at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign) and Mashael Alagna (Pursuing a Ph.D. at Michigan State University) presented their innovative research projects!

2019 Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Research Conference

The Texas Tech University Graduate School organized the 9th Annual Arts and Humanities Graduate Research Conference on November 19, 2019. The conference features paper presentations by Texas Tech graduate students, highlighting research and work in the arts and humanities.
The conference is an opportunity for graduate students to share their work with an educated, non-specialist audience making full use of available presentation technologies.

CMLL presenters

Mourad Abdennebi and Rula Al-Hmoud (Applied Linguistics) - The Effects of the Explicit and Implicit Corrective Feedback with Explicit; Sara Alayani and Abduallah Aleyani co-research contributors and previously directed by the late Dr. Kimi Nakatsukasa
Yamato Kitahashi (Applied Linguistics) – An Idiodynamic approach to learners' enjoyment: explicit instruction and output opportunities bring enjoyment to learners"
Lawrence T. Chamunorwa (Classics) – African adaptations of Ancient Greek tragedy: Rethinking Aeschylus' Agamemnon and J.P. Clark's Song of a Goat
James P. Haney (Spanish) – Counter(ing) narratives of colonial Latin America in La Danza de la Conquista and Angola Janga
Cecilia D. Palacio-Ribon (Spanish doctoral) –– Memories, detective Mario Conde's best police appeal on Leaonardo Padura Fuentes' Havana Blue
Sarah M. Schiffecker (German) – Feeling the Spirit. International students' perception of and participation in the phenomenon of school spirit on U.S. college campuses

Sergio Ruiz-Perez and Yerko Sepulveda co-presented a workshop called, "Voice and Choice, a Critical Protocol to transform L2 Classrooms" at the Texas Language Education Research Conference in San Antonio from October 4-5, 2019.

Sergio Ruiz-Perez and Yerko Sepulveda co-authored and published an article titled, "Voz y Decisión: Un Protocolo de Análisis Crítico para Transformar las Clases de L2" in the journal, Lenguas en Contexto.

Global Readiness Poster Exhibition Showcases Undergraduate Research

On December 3rd and 4th, 2019, nineteen undergraduate students enrolled in 3000 and 4000 level courses in Arabic, French, German, and Russian presented research they conducted during Fall 2019 in a poster exhibition in the CMLL main lobby. This exhibition was part of the Global Readiness Through Language and Culture project, which aims to prepare undergraduate students of languages and cultures to identify global issues, conduct research on those issues, and demonstrate competencies to address them. This project showcases the skills students acquire by studying languages and cultures as highly transferable and indeed crucial for navigating global challenges related to human populations, conflict, resources, technology, information, economics, and governance. Judges interacted with the presenting students and assessed their work using the TTU QEP Global Communication Rubric.

Scholarship awards went to the top presenters pictured below:

Yana Romo, Senior Languages & Cultures-German and Spanish double BA

Sarah Costanza, Senior LACU-German & Journalism dual BA

Courtney Gragson, Senior LACU-German & History double BA

Laurine Ngouatou, Senior Chemical Engineering

Kaitlyn Cleckler, Senior COBA BBA, French minor and Jordon T. Butler, Senior, Honors Arts & Letters and English double BA