From June 15-June 21, Dr. Emily Beck traveled to the Hispanic Society of America inNew York City to consult a series of original 15th-17th-century Spanish and Catalan manuscripts. Her current research project engages the “Mirror of Princes” literary genre, a series of texts that offers advice on how to be a good ruler and leader, the most famous example of which is probably Machiavelli’s The Prince. Prof. Beck’s project examines this genre in the context of significant social changes occurring during these centuries in theIberian Peninsula. Of particular interest to this project are those manuals and treatises written for noble daughters and the advice given to women such as Queen Isabel I and other powerful noblewomen to navigate politics, finances, and court life during the early modern period.

During mid-May, Dr. Benjamin Fraser traveled to Madrid to research the topic of disability as part of his ongoing research project titled: “Disability and Spanish Cultural Production: Films, Novels, the Comic and the Public Exhibition.” His research trip coincided with the exhibition “Trazos Singulares”: the display of 60 paintings by some 30 artists with developmental disabilities on display at the Nuevos Ministerios metro station. As opposed to other exhibitions in which works of art are only displayed, here the artists actually painted in the station itself. Professor Fraser plans to complete a book project–which builds on essays published in the journals Cultural Studies and Hispania–during the fall semester of 2011, after which he will send the full manuscript out for review with a university press.

With a grant from Global Scholars and funding from the Center for International Education and the Department of Hispanic Studies, in May of 2011, Dr. Sarah Owens traveled to Spain to conduct archival research on the works of women religious of the Iberian Atlantic World. She spent her time at the Biblioteca Nacional and the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental in Madrid and also visited the Biblioteca de Castilla de la Mancha in Toledo.

Dr. Joseph Weyers recently returned from a seven week research trip to Uruguay. Building on his 2009 study that predicts the loss of academic tú in favor of a universal vos in Montevideo, Professor Weyers conducted over 400 linguistic attitude surveys to understand how quickly tú will be lost. At the same time, he documented the use of tú and vos in advertising to determine if publicity affects or reflects current usage. While in Montevideo, Dr. Weyers twice addressed teachers and students of English at the Alianza Cultural Uruguay-Estados  about his work on language change as well as his work with fostering L2 oral proficiency. The compilation and analysis of the collected data is expected to be published shortly.