our MLL students gave presentations at this year's UMBC Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) held on April 23rd. (Photos: Amanda Rosenbush, Matthew Dolamore)

Giving oral presentations were:

Amanda Rosenbush (faculty mentor: Denis Provencher): "Reading beyond the Lines: The Discourse of Gender Violence in Spain";

Matthew Dolamore (faculty mentor: Elaine Rusinko): “National Identity in Monuments - Analysis of Interactions between Russia's Youth and Moscow's Public Monument Sites”;

Christianna Stavroudis (faculty mentor: Thomas Field): “Teaching Pragmatics to High-Functioning Individuals with Autism: An Outline for a Computer Learning Program”;

—and with a poster presentation:

Melissa Stockbridge (faculty mentor: Thomas Field): “Indirect Speech Act Comprehension in Patients with Asperger Syndrome: A Formal Logic Approach.”

Matthew shares with us his abstract, an excerpt from his presentation, and two photos (Mars Field, St. Petersburg; Lenin and Sponge Bob, entrance to the VDNKh exhibit, Moscow):

(Abstract:) "Public monuments and memorials erected throughout the world's capital cities hold unique significance in the formation of the historical awareness and ideology of a particular society. In Russia, national identity has been in flux since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union and remains unsettled. April of last year saw a violent and still unresolved debate erupt in reaction to the removal of a Soviet-made World War II memorial from Estonia's capital city. Tensions flared over historical and emotional ties to the monument, dividing the country's ethnically Estonian and Russian populations.

This study analyzes the relationship between Russian citizens and established monument sites located throughout Moscow's public space, focusing on peoples' physical and overt emotional interactions with the monuments. I observed dynamic and interactive relationships and expressions, including those of mourning, pride, disdain and indifference, which provided evidence of the contemporary Russian national identity. The collected data includes photographs, interviews, videos, news articles, and other literature. Following an analysis of this data, individual ideological differences were noted in regards to, among other themes, the memorialization of World War II, the Soviet legacy, and the national cultural heritage. Completed during the Fall 2007 semester while I was studying abroad at Moscow State University, my research presents evidence of a significant generational divide in the character of a nation in the midst of a controversial election year."

(Excerpt:) "One particular spot of interest on the grounds of Moscow State University is an eternal flame dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Similar to its more famous counterpart on the western side of the Kremlin wall, it burns beneath a protective concrete structure to create a sacred place of memory. What cannot be inferred from a daytime visit is that on any average winter night the flame is surrounded by students, all huddling over its glowing warmth with bottles of beer or vodka in their hands. In mid-November I had the opportunity to spend an evening with these students comparing language abilities, joking about culture and politics, and staring deep into the heart of a flame that so reliably kept us warm and secure from the frigid winter air. It was a humbling place of gathering, a place of friendship and community. Together we eventually returned to our dormitory rooms leaving the site littered in broken glass and abandoned trash, a strange way to abandon such a sacred place. In walking by again the following morning not more than eight hours later, the area was again spotless, cleaned of all blemish.

What this shows of the attitude of Russian youth towards their national monuments, towards their own history, is not entirely clear. In St. Petersburg I observed similar behavior around an eternal flame dedicated to the February Revolution of 1917, where groups of young men clustered to smoke, drink and socialize. On a separate occasion in another area of St. Petersburg a middle-aged army veteran of both the Afghanistan and Chechen wars invited me and some friends to a quick drink in the Serafimovskoye Cemetery—again by an eternal flame consecrated in memory of the Great Patriotic War. His role, however, differed significantly from that of a social drinker. He led us to this particular cemetery in order to show us “the Russian soul,” as he put it himself, leading us on a pilgrimage of sorts. Crossing himself as we passed through the cemetery gates, our new friend led us directly and silently to an eerie portico, where shadows of the flame flickered across larger-than-life carvings of Leningrad's fallen heroes. Where with a college crowd these moments have been loud, obnoxious and cheerful, this in contrast was solemn and respectful. An extra cup of vodka was poured for the man's fallen friends, as we raised our glasses to friendship and peace at a most unlikely gathering of three young Americans and a Russian war veteran."

he new MLL Honors Program will graduate its first cohort this spring. These students were honored at an MLL reception on Monday, April 14th in the UC Ballroom Lounge, during which they presented summaries of their honors research. Several of them also presented their work publicly at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day on April 23rd. This year's students and their honors thesis topics are as follows:

• Aubrey Gallo: Latino Participation in American Trade Unions - Creating Agency for Political Culture Change and Voice.
  
  
• Amanda Rosenbush: Reading beyond the Lines: The Discourse of Gender Violence in Spain.
  
  
• Christianna Stavroudis: Teaching Pragmatics to High-Functioning Individuals with Autism: An Outline for a Computer Learning Program.
  
  
• Melissa Stockbridge: Indirect Speech Act Comprehension in Patients with Asperger Syndrome: A Formal Logic Approach

Next year's cohort, which promises to be just as impressive, includes Maria Demarco, Kristina Gaddy, Randi Layshon, Valerie Long, Sara Osman, and Scott Redding.

Photo: Christianna Stavroudis presents her research while Aubrey Gallo listens.

Nonetheless, one key to the success of my travels was maintaining a sense of humor, especially in a country that takes itself too seriously; whenever an unexpected hindrance arose, I would remind myself that “This is Russia” —why should they avoid crushing mobs squeezing through the single open door to my metro station during morning rush hour by unlocking another door? And in many cases, the inconveniences that I found so illogical ended up having legitimate explanations behind them (in the case of the metro, the massive crowd outside prevented it from forming down by the trains where it would be more dangerous).

Of course being immersed in a foreign language setting is tremendously beneficial, but I feel that even above this I value the cultural appreciation and understanding that living in a foreign country imparts. Overall I consider the study abroad experience to be an invaluable way to discover more about yourself, another culture, and perhaps even a foreign language all the while having the time of your life. I encourage everyone to consider this opportunity, especially college students for whom it is particularly convenient to spend time abroad. —Sara Osman, MLL-Russian.

—Photo: Randi Leyshon, Matt Dolamore, and Sara Osman on the rotunda walkway of St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia, Fall 2007.

The French area hosted the Tournées Film Festival at UMBC from November 6-14, 2007, to help celebrate National French Week. FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), whose aim is to help universities fund and organize their own film festivals, generously provided MLL with a grant to sponsor the five-night film series. The films included a variety of titles related to the theme "Interconnections: Paris, Banlieue, Province": these ranged from “Paris, je t'aime,” to “Fauteuil d'orchestre,” “Dixième chambre,” “L'Esquive” and “Crustacés et coquillages”.

Professors Thomas Field, Judith Schneider, Zakaria Fatih, and Denis Provencher took turns at the events introducing the films and leading follow-up discussions. Each film drew a crowd or approximately 30-40 faculty, students, alumni and community members. We hope to organize a similar event in Fall 2009 in connection with an Espace Series on the Maghreb. The French area would like to also thank our administrative staff for the help in planning and publicizing the event. We would also like to thank our other co-sponsors for their generous support. These included the Dresher Center for the Humanities, the UMBC Honors College, the Language, Literacy and Culture Ph.D. Program, the Intercultural Living Exchange (ILE), as well as the programs in Media and Communication Studies, and Visual Arts.

Many thanks to all who advertised, supported, and came out to the White Rose Evening, sponsored by the MLL German Area and the UMBC German Club on February 18th. The evening centered on the screening of the Academy Award-nominated film Sophie Scholl: Die Letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl: The Final Days), which narrates the interrogation and trial of White Rose member Sophie Scholl, who in 1943 with her brother Hans, distributed anti-Nazi leaflets at the University of Munich in hopes of starting a student revolution. The film was preceded by a superb lecture by UMBC History professor Dr. Rebecca Boehling (who is an expert in modern German history and studied at the University of Munich when she was Sophie Scholl's age), which provided the audience with a rich context in which everyone could understand the film and its characters. An engaged question-and-answer period (in which many of the participants were high school German students from Frederick High School) concluded the evening. Given the fact that the White Rose Event occurred on the 65th anniversary of the distribution of the leaflets at the University of Munich, by far the most emotional part of the evening was when many stood and applauded the brave group's efforts at the conclusion of the film.

The first Reception for Talented Hispanic and Latino Students was held on Thursday, May 13th at the Blair Mansion Inn in Silver Spring, MD. In attendance were 70 guests: 28 high school students and their families. Of those, six have already been admitted to UMBC for the fall 2008 semester and the rest were juniors from Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and Howard county high schools who are looking at UMBC as one of their college options. All have been identified by the UMBC Admissions Office as high-achieving students. The welcome program included words by Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, UMBC President, and Dr. Ana María Schwartz, Chair of MLL. Two seniors, Luis Cocka, Meyerhoff Scholar majoring in Biochemistry, and Gaby Galindo, majoring in Biology with a minor in MLL/Spanish, spoke of their experiences at UMBC. After the program, faculty and UMBC students--many members of the Hispanic-Latino Student Union (HLSU)--and the invited students and parents mingled, answering questions and providing information about UMBC. The event was organized by the Admissions Office which is actively making outreach efforts in the Maryland Latino Community.

SPAN 305: New Course for Spanish Heritage Speakers!

SPAN 305, Spanish for Heritage Speakers II es la continuación de SPAN 304 y también es equivalente a SPAN 302. El curso está abierto al que ya haya tomado 304 (pero no 302) o a hispanohablantes de herencia que tienen conocimientos más avanzados de la lengua. Se requiere permiso de la profesora para inscribirse: aschwart@umbc.edu.

A new 18-credit minor in Chinese Language and Culture was recently approved:

• 3 credits: one MLL core course (MLL 190, 191, 230 or 301)
• 6 credits: CHIN 301, CHIN 302
• 9 credits in CHIN or MLL (CHIN) electives:
  • CHIN 309 (Business Chinese)
  • CHIN 319 (Chinese Translation)
  • CHIN 300 (Independent Study)
  • MLL 328 (Traditional Chinese Fiction and Drama)
    

Students may petition the MLL department to have relevant courses from other disciplines be counted for the minor in Chinese Language and Culture.

MLL held its annual Faculty and Graduate Student Research Day on Friday, Nov. 16th, 2007 from 10 am to 4 pm on the 7th floor of Kuhn Library. This event was a great success and well attended by both faculty and students. Following opening remarks from Professor Omar Ka (Interim Director, INCC program) and Dean John Jeffries, we heard a variety of interesting presentation from a number of professors and students. The morning activities included papers by Jack Sinnigen on Benito Pérez Galdós in Mexican Film, Adriana Media on study abroad and the ScholarShip, and Denis Provencher and Christine Mallinson (LLC) on issue of language and gentrification in two Baltimore neighborhoods. Following lunch at the Skylight Room, the afternoon events included papers by Zakaria Fatih on the future of postcolonialism, and John Stolle-McAllister on interculturality in Ecuador's indigenous population. The highlight of the event however was listening to two of our graduate students, Laura Strickling and Autumn Reed who presented excellent discourse related papers on “The Pragmatics of Prayer” and “Pakistani Families Living in the US.”

We invite you and your students to consider attending and presenting papers at our next event, which is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14th, 2008.

MLL has revised its certificate program in Intercultural Communication. The certificate program is 18-19-credits, and is intended for students who wish to combine the study of intercultural communication with advanced foreign language study.

Requirements:

• 3 credits: MLL 305 Introduction to Intercultural Communication
  
  
• 3 credits MLL 306 Intercultural Communication: Community Issues in Maryland/D.C.
  
  
• 4 credits: CHIN/FREN/GERM/HEBR/RUSS/SPAN 202 (A more advanced student may substitute a three-credit higher-level language course.)
  
  
• 3 credits: CHIN/FREN/GERM/HEBR/RUSS/SPAN 301
  
  
• 6 credits of elective courses from language, MLL, or related disciplines to be chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. At least 3 of the 6 elective credits will come from outside the student's primary language of study.
  
  
  

Through The Shriver Center, UMBC students gain practical work experience in their fields of study and get involved in their communities by participating in internships, co-ops, community service, and international work and service. The Center's resources are free and allow students to have their resumes critiqued, prepare for interviews, and attend professional development seminars. Students benefit from their experiences as they are able to strengthen their resumes, refine their skills, earn money, assemble a network of professional contacts, and receive academic credits that will fulfill graduation requirements. Many students even convert their current part-time and full-time jobs to internships and co-ops. Students should stop by The Shriver Center or contact David Hodnett (410-455-2493, hodnett@umbc.edu.