49TH ANNUAL CONVENTION April 12–15, 2018 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Northeast Modern Language Association 49TH ANNUAL CONVENTION April 12–15, 2018 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Local Host: University of Pittsburgh Administrative Sponsor: University at Buffalo SUNY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY 2 CITY OF PITTSBURGH “America 's Most Livable City” Office of Mayor William Peduto Dear Members and Guests, I am pleased to welcome the Northeast Modern Language Association to Pittsburgh, and gratified that NeMLA event organizers and members have selected our city to host your 49th Annual Convention. Thank you to the local organizing committee, under the leadership of the University of Pittsburgh, for bringing this prestigious convention to the Omni William Penn. The convention theme, “Global Spaces, Local Landscapes and Imagined Worlds,” is a perfect fit for Pittsburgh. Our city’s cultural explosion attracts visitors from around the United States and the world, and the green revolution in Pittsburgh is an appropriate backdrop to convention attendees’ discussions about the environments in which we work and live. NeMLA is providing you with multiple ways to explore the city. The Women’s History Scavenger Hunt will allow you to learn about how women shaped Pittsburgh into the city it is today. The Willa Cather Walking Tour on Thursday, April 12, allows you to see Pittsburgh landmarks from the turn of the century. Or get out there for a running or walking tour of Pittsburgh with the convention’s discount! The Senator John Heinz History Center and the University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library showcase the cultural resources available in our city. I also recommend that you visit the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History for free admission on Sunday, April 15. These are just some of the many attractions and entertainment venues available in Pittsburgh, not to mention our wide variety of dining options. Best wishes for an enjoyable, productive conference as you work to advance the modern language profession. Sincerely, William Peduto Mayor, City of Pittsburgh 512 CITY-COUNTY BUILDING 414 GRANT STREET PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 15219 Phone: 412-255-2626 ❚ Fax: 412-255-8602 3 Dear colleagues, As the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at NeMLA's host institution, the University at Buffalo, SUNY, I am happy to welcome you to this year's conference. While other academic conferences in the humanities are shrinking, NeMLA is growing, a testament to the fact that NeMLA remains relevant and forward thinking. These are challenging times for the humanities nationwide. Dramatic changes in the patterns of university undergraduate student demand and the decline of the academic market for humanities graduate students have led all of us to think hard about the current structures of the academy. Here are UB, we are developing a range of new interdisciplinary programs, credentials, micro- credentials, and badges that couple humanities expertise with the applied skills that produce great outcomes for students. We are forging combined undergraduate and Masters degrees that allow students to acquire advanced knowledge and skill sets more quickly and less expensively. Our world class English department has led the charge on our campus to increase support and improve outcomes for graduate students. We need to commit to making sure that PhD students in the humanities have a broad range of opportunities. Now, more than ever, we need to train advanced students to employ their skills not just inside, but outside the academy where they can demonstrate, every day, the importance of what humanists do and know. One of the most powerful questions a College of Arts and Sciences can ask is “Why are some problems harder to solve than others?” If we have the technical ability to make positive change and scientific solutions that work, what are the factors that hold us back? Are they political, sociological, cultural, economic, rhetorical, psychological? How do we overcome them? These are questions that no single discipline can answer. They are also questions no one can answer fully without the humanities. Although we rarely think of ourselves in such terms, humanists are trained to consider closely the diversity of whatever domain they study. They are trained to analyze how cultural and social contexts influence the ways in which human beings interpret data and process information. They are experts at organizing data and creating categories of analysis in relation to the deep understanding of the particularity of cultures—their histories, languages, social structures, institutions, and defining narratives. The humanities are uniquely equipped to bring multi- disciplinary expertise to bear on real world problems in ways that make lasting solutions possible. Never forget how much the work you do matters. Have a wonderful conference. Sincerely, Robin G. Schulze, Dean College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of English College of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean 810 Clemens Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-4600 716.645.2711 (F) 716.645.3888 [email protected] cas.buffalo.edu 4 The Northeast Modern Language Association wishes to thank our 2018 Sponsoring Exhibitors, Intellect Press and the Modern Language Association. 5 CONVENTION STAFF Executive Director Convention Coordinator Carine Mardorossian Nicole Lowman University at Buffalo SUNY University at Buffalo SUNY Administrative and Marketing Coordinator Local Liaisons Derek McGrath John Patrick Walsh III University at Buffalo SUNY University of Pittsburgh Maxime Bey-Rozet Exhibits and Promotions Coordinator University of Pittsburgh Claire Sommers Graduate Center, CUNY Melissa Yang University of Pittsburgh Professionalization and Job Clinic Organizer Claire Sommers Graduate Center, CUNY FELLOWS Graduate Assistant Convention and Editor Fellows Sarah Goldbort Callie Ingram University at Buffalo SUNY Naila Sahar University at Buffalo SUNY Award Fellow Ashley Byczkowski Events Fellow University at Buffalo SUNY Amy Greer University at Buffalo SUNY 6 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Maria DiFrancesco | Ithaca College First Vice President Simona Wright | College of New Jersey Second Vice President Carole Salmon | University of Massachusetts Lowell Past President Hilda Chacón | Nazareth College Anglophone/American Literature Director John Casey | University of Illinois at Chicago Anglophone/British Literature Director Elaine Savory | The New School Comparative Literature Director Richard Schumaker | University of Maryland University College Creative Writing, Publishing, and Editing Director Christina Milletti | University at Buffalo SUNY Cultural Studies and Media Studies Director Lisa Perdigao | Florida Institute of Technology French and Francophone Language and Literature Director Claudia Esposito | University of Massachusetts Boston German Language and Literature Director Alexander Pichugin | Rutgers, State University of New Jersey Italian Language and Literature Director Emanuela Pecchioli | University at Buffalo Pedagogy and Professionalism Director Angela Fulk | SUNY Buffalo State College Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures Director Margarita Vargas | University at Buffalo SUNY CAITY Caucus President and Representative Katelynn DeLuca | Farmingdale State College Member-At-Large: Diversity Susmita Roye | Delaware State University Graduate Student Caucus Representative Nicole Lowman | University at Buffalo SUNY Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus Representative Rachel Spear | Francis Marion University Editor of Modern Language Studies Laurence Roth | Susquehanna University 7 Welcome Letter from the President, NeMLA Nemla’s 49th convention in Pittsburgh, pa, April 12–15th, takes place at a time that calls for a radical reconsideration of our landscapes, our communities, and the way we interact with our environments, both local and global. Nemla panels, roundtables, workshops, and special event speakers all demonstrate this; many focus on the creation, usurpation, or reconfiguration of space within existing geo-political borders; architecture as it appears in literature, film, and other media; and concepts of inclusion, exclusion, and the safety of individuals as well as of specific groups. Such topics remind us that nemla encourages spirited discourse in the humanities that extends to public scholarship and activism. We have been privileged to work with phenomenal collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh. From the beginning, we knew that Pittsburgh’s vibrant Humanities Center as well as associated departments and programs — from among others, African- American Poetry & Poetics, Center for Latin American Studies, Cultural Studies Program, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program, European Studies Center, and Film Studies — would serve as an outstanding foundation upon which to build our conference. Our principal liaison, John Patrick Walsh iii, Associate Professor of French, graciously facilitated communication. We’re fortunate to have Pittsburgh as our host, too, since the city serves as an example of urban evolution from industrial producer to a leader in sustainability and green-building (complete with its own EcoInnovation District). Pittsburgh’s Welcome Center for Immigrants & Internationals and its role as a city of asylum similarly reflects our interest in exploring productive intersections between the environment, human migration, global politics, and economics. Nemla has worked with Pittsburgh community organizations to facilitate relevant cultural exchanges such as the Heinz History Center and the Willa Cather Walking Tour. Please make sure to purchase necessary tickets