Olivia DrakeEric Graf, visiting assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, speaks about the monetary policy and the economy on Coy Barefoot. Graf connects the dots between the fall of the Spanish Empire and the House of Hapsburg with the fiscal challenges now facing the United States, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke and the very real threat of inflation in the 21st century. "We've been here before. There are lessons to be taught in history. What has happened will happen again. What America is experiencing now is similar to 16th century Spain," he says…
Lauren RubensteinAssistant Professor Maria Ospina, who recently completed her first year in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department at Wesleyan, can trace her academic interests directly back to her childhood in Colombia and her longtime interest in history. “My interests in violence, memory and culture stem in part from my own experiences growing up in Colombia during the 1980s and 90s, in a very complex region that has been marked by armed conflict, the hemispheric War on Drugs and different waves of migration. The combination of political turmoil and a vibrant cultural production that actively reflected on the histories of violence…
Benjamin TraversEllen Nerenberg, the Hollis Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and department chair, discusses her passion for Italian studies and her new book, Murder Made In Italy: Homicide, Media, and Contemporary Italian Culture in this video: [youtube width="640" height="420"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k7wW2JXajU[/youtube]
Jeff Rider, professor of romance languages and literatures, professor of medieval studies, has received a residential fellowship from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels for the second semester of the 2011-12 academic year. Rider is in Brussels working with two other fellows on the topic, "Perception and Performance of Social Identity in the Nascent Urban Societies of the High Middle Ages." In addition to presenting a lecture to other fellows at the center, he's presenting lectures at the University of Ghent, the Catholic University of Louvain, the Royal Library of Belgium, the Charles University in Prague, and to a European research group…
The Romance Languages and Literatures Department hosted a Pan-Romance Carnival Celebration Feb. 19. The event was open to all students studying French, Spanish and Portuguese. Costumes were required. Below are photos of the event: (more…)
Professor Ellen Nerenberg, chairperson of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department, recently published a new book, Body of State: The Moro Affair, A Nation Divided. It offers a translation of Marco Baliani's acclaimed dramatic monologue, Corpo di Stato, concerning the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the terrorist Red Brigades. Nerenberg authored the translation along with Nicoletta Marini-Maio and Thomas Simpson. She also co-wrote a critical introduction to the book, with Marini-Maio. Corpo di Stato was commissioned by Italian state television in 1998 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the "Moro Affair." Through over 100 performances of Baliani's monologue since…
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask 5 Questions of Catherine Poisson, associate professor of romance languages and literatures. Q: Professor Poisson, you were recently named a Chevalier L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques (a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the Minister of Education for your contribution to the promotion of French language and culture. What was your reaction to receiving this award, and why do you think you were nominated for the honor? A: I was puzzled and somewhat apprehensive on receiving the notice of Certified Mail, so when I opened the envelope at the post…
Andrew Curran, professor of romance languages and literatures, is the co-winner of the 2010-11 James L. Clifford Prize. The prize is awarded annually by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies to the author of the best article regarding any aspect of eighteenth-century culture. Receiving the award is Curran’s Rethinking Race History: The Role of the Albino in French Enlightenment Sciences. The Clifford Fund was originally established to support an annual prize in honor of James L. Clifford. Clifford founded The Johnsonian News Letter in 1940, was Secretary to the English Institute, twice a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of…
Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, is the translator of Théophile Gautier’s Selected Lyrics. The book was published in December by Yale University Press. Théophile Gautier [1811–1872] was a prominent French poet, novelist, critic, and journalist. He is famous for his virtuosity, his inventive textures, and his motto “Art for art’s sake.” His work is often considered a crucial hinge between High Romanticism—idealistic, sentimental, grandiloquent—and the beginnings of “Parnasse,” with its emotional detachment, plasticity, and irresistible surfaces. According to the book’s preview: “Norman Shapiro’s translations have been widely praised for their formal integrity, sonic acuity, tonal sensitivities, and overall poetic…
Joyce Lowrie, professor of romance languages and literatures, emerita, is the translator of the book, Arthur Rimbaud ILLUMINATIONS, published by XLibris in 2010. Norm Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, wrote an introduction to the book. According to Lowrie: “to see – or not to see: that was[ Rimbaud’s] option. 'To See' became his will. In his poetic career, Rimbaud chose 'to see' by confounding the very instruments of vision: his eyes and his intellect. He dreamed about and 'saw' the Crusades, he 'saw' enchantments, magical dream-flowers, a flower that says its name, a digitalis that 'opens up over…
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