Department News

Statement on Racial Injustice

The Department of Romance Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, stands in unequivocal solidarity with members of our Black Community. We mourn deeply the loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and all those who before them … Continued

Italian Plague Stories and the Meaning of Pandemics

Italian Plague Stories and the Meaning of Pandemics Maggie Fritz-Morkin, assistant professor of Romance studies, discusses the themes of Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, which is set in Italy during the bubonic plague. Fritz-Morkin studies 13th-14th https://soundcloud.com/user-388925195/italian-plague-stories-and-the-meaning-of-pandemics

Sigma Delta Pi hosts virtual initiation ceremony for graduating Seniors

On April 29, Faculty Co-Advisor Martha Alexander initiated six new members, all graduating Seniors, into the Zeta Psi Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society from her home, via Zoom.  Since the regular initiation ceremony is postponed … Continued

Announcing the Joel Walz Fund to Support Study Abroad for French Studies

Thanks to a generous gift from Professor Joel Walz (UNC B.A. in French, 1969), the Romance Studies department will soon be offering an annual fellowship to assist undergraduate students participating in study abroad programs in France or Quebec. The fellowship … Continued

CCRS 2020 is around the corner !

Get ready! The 2020 Carolina Conference for Romance Studies will take place from March 26 to March 28 !  

APPLY TO BECOME A SIGMA DELTA PI MEMBER

HAVE YOU TAKEN A CLASS ABOVE SPAN 261 or SPAN 267? Undergraduates and Graduates are encouraged to apply. The initiation ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 15 at 5:30pm in Toy Lounge. Please mark your calendars. This is the link for the application … Continued

Spanish Service Learning Project in collaboration with Carrboro Elementary School dual-language students

Spanish Service Learning Project in collaboration with Carrboro Elementary School dual-language students This fall, 19 students from UNC’s Spanish for the Professions Minor (Heather Knorr’s SPAN 329 class) visited Carrboro Elementary School where they collaborated with 24 dual-language 3rd graders … Continued

ROMS Supports the UNC Faculty Council’s Statement in regards to the Silent Sam monument

We, the faculty, graduate students and staff of the Department of Romance Studies condemn the recently-announced plan for the UNC system to provide $2.5 million dollars to the Sons of Confederate Veterans to preserve and display the Silent Sam monument.  … Continued

Undergraduate Laura Wilder Investigates the Lace-Making Industry in Burano, Italy.

“Undergraduate Laura Wilder Investigates the Lace-Making Industry in Burano, Italy.” By Laura Wilder This summer, I had the opportunity to study and research the lace-making industry in Burano, Italy after receiving the UNC Robinson Honors Fellowship. My goal was to … Continued

Forthcoming in Fall 2020: Reference Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani

I am thrilled to announce that the following volume is scheduled to be published in the Fall of 2020 by University College of London Press. Estigarribia, Bruno. Forthcoming Fall 2020. A Reference Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani. Grammars of World and Minority … Continued

Graduate Student Summer Research 2019

Graduate Student Summer Research Summer 2019 was busy and productive for graduate students in Romance Studies. Several doctoral candidates had the opportunity to travel for their dissertation research thanks to privately funded grants. Two graduate students in the French & … Continued

Congratulations to Juan Carlos González-Espitia!

Original post: https://endeavors.unc.edu/juan-carlos-gonzalez-espitia/ Juan Carlos González Espitia Juan Carlos González Espitia is an associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. In his historical study of syphilis in the Spanish-speaking … Continued

Real-Life Value: APPLES Service-Learning Course Instructor Heather Knorr

Real-Life Value: APPLES Service-Learning Course Instructor Heather Knorr By: Eve Elliott, APPLES Summer Fellow   Tucked in a back meeting room of the Carolina Union, service-learning leaders from across campus scribbled down notes. Their eyes were locked on Heather Knorr. … Continued

Oswaldo Estrada presents at Tecnológico de Monterrey

Dr. Oswaldo Estrada has been invited to speak at Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Mexico  

El palco del Real

El palco del Real On November 30 and December 1, 2018, Teaching Assistant Professors Martha Alexander and Victoria Martin, with some undergraduate students and organized by Martha Alexander, put on a production of the Spanish comedy, El palco del Real.  Photographs … Continued

Obituary for Catherine Maley (former ROMS faculty member)

Link to the original obituary. Catherine Anne Maley December 3, 1934 – February 1, 2019 St. Paul, MN Dr. Catherine “Cappy” Anne Maley was born on December 3, 1934 in St. Paul, MN and passed away on February 1, 2019 … Continued

ROMS Letter of Opposition to the Board of Trustees’ Proposal on the Confederate Monument

ROMS Letter of Opposition to the Board of Trustees’ Proposal on the Confederate Monument We the following members of the Department of Romance Studies and affiliated students, faculty, staff, and alumni express our opposition to the proposal made Monday, December … Continued

Congratulations to Dr. Oswaldo Estrada on his new book!

We congratulate Dr. Oswaldo Estrada on his new book! McCrack: McOndo, el Crack    

Congratulations to André Keiji Kunigami

André Keiji Kunigami received his doctorate in Asian studies from Cornell University. He is a film and media scholar whose interests revolve around questions of perception, spectatorship, and temporality in the early 20th century so-called peripheral spaces to the “West.” … Continued

Writing as Medication in Early Modern France

ROMS Silent Sam Statement

We thank our colleagues in the Department of English and Comparative Literature for their permission to adapt their statement on the toppling of the statue for our own department. Related links: Statement of Malinda Maynor Lowery, Director of the Center … Continued

Congratulations to Dr. Oswaldo Estrada for his new book!

Congratulations to Dr. Oswaldo Estrada for his new book TROUBLED MEMORIES. ICONIC MEXICAN WOMEN AND THE TRAPS OF REPRESENTATION (SUNY PRESS, 2018). In Troubled Memories, Oswaldo Estrada traces the literary and cultural representations of several iconic Mexican women produced in the … Continued

Students study Spanish while working serving the community

Summer Study Abroad in Cusco Peru “My students studied Spanish and did community service work in neighboring villages. The Healthy Homes project improves living conditions for these villagers with water filters, hygienic storage and cleaner burning stoves. Students enjoy the … Continued

Lindquist chosen a Johnston Scholar Faculty Mentor

Romance Studies’ own Jo Lindquist will be a Faculty Mentor with the Johnston Scholarship Program though 2022.  This scholarship has been a fixture at UNC for nearly 50 years, targeting some of the best and brightest undergraduates and helping them become … Continued

Congratulations to Hannah Clager!

Hannah Clager, Class of 2013 Art History (Major) / African Studies (Minor) Hannah began her studies in French at Georgetown University, while she was an art student at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. After transferring … Continued

Congratulations to Claire Houlihan!

Congratulations to Claire Houlihan! Congratulations to Claire Houlihan, winner of the 2018 John Philip Couch Award of the North Carolina Association of Teachers of French. She will study in Montpellier this fall.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for summer 2018

Jacob Larson, a double major in French and Linguistics, has been awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for summer 2018. He will be studying Paw-Paw French, an isolated dialect that has been spoken in Missouri for over 300 years. … Continued

Congratulations to PhD Candidate Wesley Costa de Moraes

Congratulations to ROMS PhD candidate Wesley Costa de Moraes who just accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Spanish at the State University of New York at Geneseo.    

Congratulations to Dr. Carmen Hsu, who has been awarded an NEH Fellowship!

Dr. Carmen Hsu has been awarded an NEH Fellowship to conduct research at the Newberry Library and finish her book on “Asia in the Making of Early Modern Spain” during the 2018-19 academic year.

Congratulations to Lizzie Jones for the publication of her article “Frida Kahlo and Pendular Disability Identity: A Textual Examination of El diario de Frida Kahlo.”

Congratulations to Lizzie Jones, a ROMS first year PhD student, for the publication of her article “Frida Kahlo and Pendular Disability Identity: A Textual Examination of El diario de Frida Kahlo.”  

Luis Marcelino Gómez has published a new book: Bajo los arces/Under the Maple Tree/Poetic Anthology

Luis Marcelino Gómez has published a new book: Bajo los arces/Under the Maple Tree/Poetic Anthology. Publishing House: La Agencia de la Palabra (Caracas, Venezuela, 2017). It can be purchased on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bajo-los-arces-Antolog “Under the Maple Trees”, by Luis Marcelino Gómez, is … Continued

Erazo joins the first cohort of the CAS Kenan Graduate Fellows!

Congratulations to Adrienne Erazo !!    

Congratulations to ROMS Associate Professor Bruno Estigarribia!

Congratulations to ROMS Associate Professor, Bruno Estigarribia, who has received a 2018 NEH Fellowship for his project titled “Language and Indigeneity in a Global World: Guarani Spaces and Linguistic Decolonization in Paraguay”. He will be doing fieldwork in Argentina and … Continued

Congratulations to ROMS Alumnus Greg Severyn!

Greg Severyn, who defended his dissertation last year, and was a visiting professor at Kenyon College in Ohio, has accepted a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. Congratulations, Greg!

ROMS joins students, staff and faculty from other units and departments across campus in calling for the removal of its confederate monument, Silent Sam.

ROMS PhD Candidate Adrienne Erazo presents her paper on…

“Surveillance on the Border: Legality and Discrimination in Novels by Hernández and Quesada”

ROMS PhD student Sarah Booker’s translation of Cristina Rivera Garza’s The Iliac Crest will officially be released tomorrow, October 10 with the Feminist Press.

ROMS Ph.D. student Sarah Booker’s translation of Cristina Rivera Garza’s The Iliac Crest will officially be released tomorrow, October 10 with the Feminist Press.  On a dark and stormy night, two mysterious women invade an unnamed narrator’s house, where they proceed to … Continued

Italian Film Series presents: Screening Diversity

Six stories of social inclusion and marginalization in Italian contemporary cinema.

ROMS welcomes all students, regardless of immigration status.

The Department of Romance Studies welcomes all students, regardless of immigration status. We recognize the pain and suffering that the current US administration’s efforts to repeal DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is causing for many in our community. We … Continued

“Seven minimal poems” by Luis Marcelino Gómez, recently published.

“Seven minimal poems”  by Luis Marcelino Gómez, recently published in Spanish in the Revista Conexos: https://conexos.org/2017/07/22/12397/  

Assistant Professor Jessica Tanner gets to speak in the language she loves outside of the classroom

ROMS Assistant Professor Jessica Tanner gets to speak in the language she loves outside of the classroom at the UNC College of Arts & Sciences Language Lunches. Read the full article below: English is off the menu at Language Lunches

ROMS ’85 alumnus Duke Buchan III nominated by White House as Ambassador to Spain

Duke Buchan III a North Carolina native who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Economics and Spanish, from Romance Studies (formally Romance Languages and Literature department) in 1985, was nominated by the White House on Aug. 3rd … Continued

We’re proud to congratulate Bruno Estigarribia

We’re proud to congratulate Bruno Estigarribia, our associate chair, and associate professor of Hispanic linguistics. He recently completed a book to be published by Brill in the Brill’s Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (BSILA) series. His book (co-edited … Continued

Glynis Cowell Wins National Advising Award

Dr. Glynis S Cowell, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was selected as an Outstanding Advising Award Winner in the Faculty Advising category as part of the 2017 NACADA Global Awards Program for Academic Advising. This award … Continued

John Phillip Couch Scholarship Winner

Niamh Sinclair, of Conover, NC has been award a John Phillip Couch Scholarship for study abroad in Montpellier, fall 2017, by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Association for the Teachers of French.

Congratulations to ROMS graduate student Greg Severyn

Congratulations to ROMS graduate student Greg Severyn who just accepted a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish at Kenyon College.

Articles by graduate students Kate Good and Rhi Johnson just published in Decimonónica

The department congratulates Kate Good and Rhi Johnson for the publication of their articles in the Winter 2017 issue of Decimonónica, Journal of Nineteenth Century Hispanic Cultural Production. Kate Good’s essay is entitled “Women and Huevos: Matters of Food, Religion, and Gender … Continued

Publications Office wins Thomas W. Ross Publishing Grant

As a part of constant efforts to improve our Publications office, Frank Dominguez (Editor) and Nelly Whitney (Publications Manager) were able to secure a Thomas W. Ross Publishing grant from the UNC Press to help digitize older issues of the … Continued

Commitment to Inclusivity

The Department of Romance Studies states in the strongest terms our commitment to inclusivity and diversity and our ongoing determination to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all faculty, students, staff, and guests of the department, regardless of age, … Continued

In emotional atmosphere, teachers take class time to discuss election results

Julia Mack, of ROMS, talks to the Daily Tar Heel about the effect of the election on some of her students

Sam Amago named Bowman & Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor

Many many congratulations to Professor Sam Amago who has been named as the Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor! The Bowman and Gordon Gray Professorships support excellence in undergraduate teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. … Continued

2016 Honors in French

We are truly proud of our students! Lucas Godley, a double major in French and Linguistics, has been awarded a John Phillip Couch Scholarship to study in Montpellier in the fall of 2016. And the following graduating seniors will be … Continued

Statement from the Department of Romance Studies Faculty Regarding House Bill 2

The faculty of the Department of Romance Studies at Chapel Hill affirms and recognizes the University’s Policy Statement on Non-Discrimination (as revised October 2, 2015) as in full force and effect, and urges the North Carolina General Assembly and the … Continued

Rosa Perelmuter wins University Diversity Award

The Department of Romance Studies congratulates Professor Rosa Perelmuter, director of the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Award and Professor in our department, on being selected as a 2016 recipient of the University Diversity Award, which “recognizes significant contribution to the enhancement, support and/or furtherance … Continued

Spring 2016 Phi Beta Kappa Initiates

The Department of Romance Studies is pleased to announce that the following majors will be initiated into Alpha of North Carolina Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa! Sarah Chaney Brianne Nicole Marino Claire Rolin Nielsen Rachel Bethany Poulin Julia D Simpson … Continued

Recent Faculty Publications

The faculty in Romance Studies have produced many great works recently.  Check out the newest titles below: Dominguez, Frank. Carajicomedia: Parody and Satire in Early Modern Spain. New York and London: Tamesis, Boydell and Brewer, 2015 Estrada, Oswaldo Ed. Senderos … Continued

Rocha Vivas (PhD, 2015) awarded Premio Literario Casa de las Américas 2016

Miguel Rocha Vivas, PhD in Romance Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 (advisor, Professor Emilio del Valle Escalante), has received in Cuba the prestigious international literature award Premio Literario Casa de las Américas 2016. … Continued

Sam Amago receives award from IAH

Congratulations to Dr. Sam Amago, who has recently won an award from the Institute for Arts & Humanities. Dr. Amago has been selected by the Faculty Advisory Board to be a Faculty Fellow with the IAH in the Spring of 2017, … Continued

Rosa Perelmuter wins $1,000,000 Mellon Grant

Congratulations to Prof. Rosa Perelmuter, Principal Investigator of a 4-year, $1,000,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP). With additional funding from UNC, MURAP will be able to continue its … Continued

Dorothea Heitsch wins 2016 Chapman Award

Congratulations to Dorothea Heitsch, who is this year’s recipient of the prestigious 2016 Chapman Family Distinguished Teaching Award for proven excellence in undergraduate education. The award conveys a semester’s leave as a fellow at the Institute for the Arts and … Continued

UNC Teaching Award to Luis Marcelino Gomez

Congratulations to Luis Marcelino Gómez! He was chosen this year for a Student Undergraduate Teaching and Staff Awards (SUTASA). SUTASA was established in 1989 to recognize outstanding undergraduate instruction at the University. Each year, a committee of 15 to 20 … Continued

Celebrating an early unpublished Latin American novel on Nov. 18

A roundtable discussion on Nov. 18 at UNC will celebrate the publication of Latin American writer José María Vargas Vila’s manuscript of his novel, En los jardines de Lesbos. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Pleasants … Continued

Jessica Tanner wins Lawrence R. Scherhr Award

Jessica Tanner has received the Lawrence R. Schehr Memorial Award for her paper “Branding Naturalism: The Ecology of Vice in Zola” at the Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium at Princeton. The NCFS describes the prize: “In remembrance of Larry Schehr’s profound … Continued

Newest Members of the Department

You may see some new faces around Dey Hall this year.  Here’s a quick introduction, though you should really try to get to know each of these amazing people better!  

A New Name for our 106-year-old Department

*The following article originally appeared on the UNC Global Website* The home for research and study of the French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages and associated cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at … Continued

Couch Scholarship and Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)

Congratulations to John Philip Couch Scholarship winner, Anna Taylor! Congratulations to our Teaching Assistant Program in France winners! Darrin Benjumea (Rouen) Rose Davis (Grenoble) Elizabeth Fisher (Besançon) Rachel Johnson (Lille) Daniel Pinelli (Limoges) Sarah Priest (Lille) Ashley Roddy (Dijon-waitlisted)   … Continued

Gómez Castellano wins Award for Poetry

Irene Gómez Castellano has been selected as the 2015 winner for the Premio Victoria Urbano de Creación awarded by the Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispánica. Irene Gómez Castellano will be awarded $500 and honored at an afternoon … Continued

French Majors win Fulbrights

Austin Cooper received a 2015-16 U.S. Fulbright Student grant to study the history of the Hôpital Franco-Musulman, opened in 1935 in Bobigny, a northern suburb of Paris, France. Entitled “Health and Community: The Social History of Paris’ Hôpital Franco-Musulman,” his … Continued

ROMS Welcomes First Visiting Professor

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a new face around Dey Hall this semester.  For the first time, Romance Studies was able to welcome Dr. Amanda Boomershine from UNC-Wilmington as a Visiting Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics for Spring 2015.  She will be … Continued

And the Chapman Family Distinguished Teaching Award goes to…

Congratulations to Oswaldo Estrada, this year’s recipient of the prestigious 2015 Chapman Family Distinguished Teaching Award. He was recognized on Saturday, January 24, during the half-time ceremony at the UNC-Florida State men’s basketball game in the Dean E. Smith Center. … Continued

Luis Marcelino Gómez publishes 4 micro-stories

Linden Lane Magazine, founded by the poets Heberto Padilla and Belkis Cuza Malé, in Princeton, NJ in 1982, has published 4 micro-stories by Luis Marcelino Gómez in its last issue: Vol 33 Nº 4 Winter 2014. p. 11-13. Congratulations, Luis!

Binotti launches Digital Humanities project

Lucia Binotti, through a grant with the Institute for Arts and Humanities, has launched a website for Maximizing Spanish Resources for Latin@ InterPersonal Violence Prevention. You can see more about this exciting project her website!

Glynis Cowell wins University-wide Employee Forum Award!

The Employee Forum Community Award (Three Legged Stool Award) is designed to recognize distinguished contributions by individuals who work to promote cooperation and collaboration among faculty, staff, and students. Nominees should be individuals who inspired creativity; promote harmony and partnerships … Continued