Northeast Modern Language Association 51ST ANNUAL CONVENTION March 5–8, 2020 Boston, MA Local Host: Boston University Administrative Sponsor: University at Buffalo SUNY 1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Carole Salmon | University of Massachusetts Lowell First Vice President Brandi So | Department of Online Learning, Touro College and University System Second Vice President Bernadette Wegenstein | Johns Hopkins University Past President Simona Wright | The College of New Jersey American and Anglophone Studies Director Benjamin Railton | Fitchburg State University British and Anglophone Studies Director Elaine Savory | The New School Comparative Literature Director Katherine Sugg | Central Connecticut State University Creative Writing, Publishing, and Editing Director Abby Bardi | Prince George’s Community College Cultural Studies and Media Studies Director Maria Matz | University of Massachusetts Lowell French and Francophone Studies Director Olivier Le Blond | University of North Georgia German Studies Director Alexander Pichugin | Rutgers, State University of New Jersey Italian Studies Director Emanuela Pecchioli | University at Buffalo, SUNY Pedagogy and Professionalism Director Maria Plochocki | City University of New York Spanish and Portuguese Studies Director Victoria L. Ketz | La Salle University CAITY Caucus President and Representative Francisco Delgado | Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY Diversity Caucus Representative Susmita Roye | Delaware State University Graduate Student Caucus Representative Christian Ylagan | University of Western Ontario Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus Representative Sara Goldbort | University at Buffalo, SUNY Editor of Modern Language Studies Laurence Roth | Susquehanna University 2 CONVENTION STAFF Executive Director Local Liaisons Carine Mardorossian Gillian Pierce University at Buffalo SUNY Boston University Karl Kirchwey Administrative and Marketing Coordinator Boston University Derek McGrath University at Buffalo SUNY Davida Pines Boston University Exhibits and Professionalization Coordinator Korine Powers Claire Sommers Boston University Washington University in St. Louis Cory Charpentier Boston University FELLOWS Graduate Assistant Events, Editor, and Social Media Fellows Ashley Byczkowski Cassandra Scherr University at Buffalo SUNY University at Buffalo SUNY Dana Venerable Award Fellows University at Buffalo SUNY Jiwon Ohm University at Buffalo SUNY Photography and Videography Fellows Nicole Sedor Maria Andrea Diaz University at Buffalo SUNY University at Buffalo SUNY Valentina Marulanda Convention Fellows University at Buffalo SUNY Callie Ingram University at Buffalo SUNY Patrick Clancy University at Buffalo SUNY 3 Welcome Letter from the President It is such a pleasure for NeMLA to return to Boston for our 51st Annual Convention! This year is our largest convention to date, with more than 2,000 accepted conference participants, coming from 40 countries, attending almost 500 sessions. To make sure our ever enlarging convention remains eco-friendly, we have launched our new “green choice” initiative this year, allowing participants to opt out of receiving a tote bag or a printed program, in order to reduce NeMLA’s carbon footprint. A successful conference is always the product of teamwork, and I would like to thank our administrative host, the University at Buffalo, as well as this year’s host institution, Boston University. In particular, NeMLA is grateful for the support of Dr. Gillian Pierce, Assistant Provost for Academic Assessment; Dr. Karl Kirchwey, Associate Dean of the Faculty/Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Davida Pines, Chair and Associate Professor in the Division of Rhetoric; and Boston University’s graduate representatives, Cory Charpentier and Korine Powers. It has been a pleasure working with all of you preparing this year’s convention! Their creativity and deep knowledge of Boston has allowed us to provide members with excellent opportunities to enjoy all that the city has to offer, including discounted admission to live performances and museums. Speaking of which, while in Boston, convention attendees should take advantage of discounted tickets to see the SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children (2018 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play) and the renowned Boston Ballet dance troup’s rEVOLUTION, showcasing the work of pioneering choreographers George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and William Forsythe. Both performances also feature post-show discussions with the director and performers. NeMLA attendees can also enjoy discounted admission at the New England Aquarium: just show your convention badge for seven dollars off! And there is so much more to enjoy while in Boston. Because of its historical richness and its geographical location as both a port of entry to the United States and a gateway for the rest of the world, Boston has always been a place of connections, transitions and encounters, leading to dialogues and innovations. Boston embodies perfectly this year’s convention topic, “Shaping and Sharing Identities: Spaces, Places, Languages and Cultures,” offering a rich sample of diversity in all that it encompasses, both culturally and linguistically. This unique urban reality is the result of Boston’s past as well as its present, through cosmopolitanism and populations in contact. I encourage you to enjoy the city and everything that it has to offer. I would like to thank all our area directors for the variety of sessions available this year, and their incredible variety and quality. All sessions are listed in this convention 4 program, on the NeMLA website, and on NeMLA’s new mobile application, EventMobi, where you will find all the details about papers, panels, seminars, roundtables, poster sessions, and our 2nd Annual Undergraduate Forum poster contest. Each year, our annual convention offers an array of professionalization activities. While our Job Clinic and many of our exciting and innovative workshops require pre- registration, please stop by the registration desk in case there is an opportunity to sign up for last-minute openings. And stop by Salon E Friday and Saturday, 12:00 to 4:00 PM, for free professional headshot photographs —no sign up is required. I hope that you will join us at our evening special events. Our Thursday night features Dr. Maurice Lee, Chair of the English department at Boston University, who will will discuss “The Office of Literature” and the dynamics of literary, commercial, professional, and bureaucratic discourses. And on Friday, March 6, at 7:00 PM, don’t miss our keynote event “NeMLA Reads Together,” featuring a conversation with renowned author Andre Dubus III about his most recent novel, Gone So Long (2018). Christina Milletti, NeMLA’s official interviewer for our new “Humanities on the Road” initiative, will conduct a short interview on stage with Mr. Dubus after his presentation. This event promises to be especially captivating and unique for NeMLA members who will have read Gone So Long prior to the convention. Submit questions to Mr. Dubus to [email protected], via our mobile app, or ask them in person. And Saturday features a variety of dynamic talks by our invited special guest speakers, sponsored by our Areas and Caucuses. And the conversations continue outside of the convention hall. NeMLA is once again hosting our annual “after-session photo contest,” in which we encourage session chairs and participants to go out for drinks or a meal and to email us a photo at [email protected] by April 1 for a chance to win free registration for our 2021 convention in Philadelphia! We are already working hard to prepare next year’s convention, and I encourage you to consider submitting a session proposal by April 29, 2020, to cfplist.com/nemla. I am so grateful for this year’s opportunity to serve as the president of NeMLA, and I would like to thank our board of directors, as well as my fellow executive officers Brandi So (1st Vice President), Bernadette Wegenstein (2nd Vice President), and Simona Wright (Past President). Nothing would be possible without the incredible work and dedication of our executive director Carine Mardorossian, and I commend her for the great vision she provides for NeMLA. Thank you also to everyone in Buffalo and in Boston who worked so hard to make this convention a success. In particular, thank you to Ashley Byczkowski, Claire Sommers, and Derek McGrath for their tremendous work behind the scenes. Enjoy NeMLA’s 51st convention, and again, welcome to Boston! Carole Salmon President of NeMLA University of Massachusetts Lowell 5 Boston University College & Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Office of the Dean 725 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 T 617-353-2401 Dear Friends, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you at the fifty-first annual convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association here in Boston, hosted by Boston University, on the theme of “Shaping and Sharing Identities: Spaces, Places, Languages, and Cultures.” The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of BU’s seventeen schools and colleges, and the eight Humanities departments (including the recently-created Department of Linguistics) are at the center of its educational mission. Although my own scholarly and research work has been in Computer Science, I was an undergraduate English major, and part of the privilege of serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is in advancing the work of the Humanities as well as that of the Social Science, Natural Science,