Episode 3 – Dr. Raúl Carrillo Arciniega – March 2019
Mark P. Del Mastro, Chair of Hispanic Studies, interviews Dr. Raúl Carrillo Arciniega, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, to discuss Professor Carrillo’s views and experiences as an accomplished novelist, poet and literary critic.
Professor Fenner Hoell
As an undergraduate student at Eastern Carolina University, Professor Hoell spent his fall 2011 semester in the Bilateral Student Exchange/Spanish Immersion Program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, and then completed his B.A. in Hispanic Studies with a minor in Anthropology. He then attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he earned his MAT with a specialization in Spanish. During his time in Wilmington he taught for the Spanish Department at Hoggard High School (2017), and he worked as a graduate assistant for UNCW’s Department of World Languages and Cultures (2015-16). Since joining the Department of Hispanic Studies at the College of Charleston in August 2017, he has taught full time in the Basic Spanish Language Program, earned his Distance Education certification (spring 2018), and served on the Department of Hispanic Studies’ Distance Education Committee.
In Professor Hoell’s own words:
Working with the College for the past two years has been a marvelous experience which is difficult to summarize in a single paragraph. From the social atmosphere of the department, to the professional development opportunities that abound, we must remember this is one of the best positions we can be in within our field of expertise. I relish in the fact that each day I am given the chance to bestow on my students the gift my past instructors bestowed on me: the understanding and ability to communicate with others around the world.
The Department of Hispanic Studies recognizes Professor Hoell’s fine contributions to students, his department and the College, and for being selected for our March 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”
Stay tuned for April 2019’s feature…
On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, Professor Joseph Weyers gave a guest lecture “El voseo en Medellín: tradición lingüistica y dimensión cultural” in the course “Lengua y cultura” at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia. Dr Weyers’ lecture, held from 12:00-1:20pm, was open to the university community.
Professor Claudia Moran
After earning her undergraduate degree in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Instituto Nacional Superior en Lenguas Vivas, Professor Moran obtained her M.A. in Bilingual Legal Interpreting at the College of Charleston, where for the past 17 years she has taught a wide range of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to include beginning and intermediate Spanish language, interpreting and applied Spanish.
Complementing her efforts in the classroom, she also serves as the Coordinator of the Spanish Conversation Program, which affords students one-credit hour, co-curricular opportunities for improving their oral and aural language skills. Professor Moran is aptly suited for this role as she is currently one of only two in the Department of Hispanic Studies with American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview Tester Certification.
In addition to her leadership role as a program coordinator, Professor Moran has also served the department and College in a myriad of ways to include her editorial role for the past decade with the department’s newsletter, HispaNews; past chair of the Spanish House Committee; past co-adviser of the Hispanic Latino Club; former member of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the President; and long-time member of the Honor Board Advisory Committee.
In Professor Moran’s own words:
It has been an honor for me to have been part of CofC in different capacities, but that of a teacher has been the most rewarding. I love being in the classroom and sharing experiences with my students as I teach language and culture, especially when I hear them express their learning curiosity, as beginners or in more advanced courses such as SPAN 316 where I introduce students to interpreting as one of the many ways to apply a degree in Spanish. As the coordinator of the Spanish Conversation Class program for the past five years, I have had the opportunity to work closely with exceptional Peer Teachers as they share their own passion for the language with their students as I observe their classes. I have also been able to work closely with students as a committee member of the Casa Hispana and the Hispanic-Latino Club and share their enthusiasm for the Spanish language and culture. Throughout the years I have greatly enjoyed learning from and sharing ideas with everyone in the Department of Hispanic Studies.
The Department of Hispanic Studies applauds Claudia Moran for her important contributions to students, her department and the College, and for being selected for our February 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”
Stay tuned for March 2019’s feature…
Dr. Félix Vásquez
Following his undergraduate degree in accounting from the Universidad Particular Ricardo Palma in Lima, Perú, Professor Vásquez continued his education in the U.S. with an M.A. in Spanish from Winthrop University, and a Ph.D. in Colonial and 19th-Century Spanish American Literature from the University of Kentucky. He taught at both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Georgia before joining the College of Charleston’s Department of Hispanic Studies in 2001. Beyond courses ranging from elementary Spanish language through Early Colonial Spanish-American Texts, Dr. Vásquez regularly teaches the department’s business for Spanish curriculum that forms the foundation for the Business Language Minor in Spanish program that he started in 2011, and which is currently the department’s fastest growing minor.
Also a passionate advocate of the study abroad experience, Professor Vásquez is an 8-time director for the College of Charleston’s various programs in Chile, Cuba, Peru and Spain. Currently he is founding co-director of a new summer study-abroad program in Trujillo, Spain and in cooperation with the School of Business. This new, one-month interdisciplinary program will launch in June 2019 with courses in management, intermediate and advanced Spanish language as well as an introduction to Spanish for business.
Underscoring the teacher-scholar model, Dr. Vásquez also manages to showcase his work in the classroom through his scholarly activity, to include multiple conference presentations in both national and international venues as well as related publications, to include his recent book chapter “Case-Based Pedagogy to Develop World-Readiness Skill for Business” published with SabioBooks, LLC in 2018 in the edition Transferable Skills for the 21st Century: Preparing Students for the Workplace through World Languages for Specific Purposes.
In Professor Vásquez’s own words:
The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Dr. Félix Vásquez for his substantial contributions to his students, his department and the College, and for being selected for our January 2019 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”
Stay tuned for February 2019’s feature…
The Department of Hispanic Studies welcomes two new faculty members and one returning for the spring 2019 semester:
Jessica Dimondstein
Professor Dimondstein holds an MAT in K-12 Spanish from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also obtained her BA in Spanish with distinction. She previously taught at West Forsyth High School (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Charles E. Jordan High School (Durham, N.C.) and Guilford Technical Community College (Greensboro, NC), and she served as a Spanish interpreter for the Mayer Law Practice. She also has prior study-abroad experience in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Tristan Hill
Professor Hill is a graduate of our own M.Ed. program in Languages (Spanish), and a double major in French and Spanish as an undergraduate at CofC where he earned Outstanding Student Awards in both languages. His teaching record is extensive and distinguished as a current teacher of Spanish at the School of the Arts, and former employee at West Ashley High School where he was named Teacher of the Year in 2014.
Yulian Martinez-Escobar
Professor Martinez-Escobar taught repeatedly in our department since 2011, but we are delighted with his return after a multi-semester “break.” He is a seasoned Spanish language teacher with prior experience not only in our department, but also several years at James Island Charter High School, Trident Technical College and at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in his native Colombia. He was also a very active faculty member in our department serving on the HispaNews editorial team in 2016-17, and producing our now legendary, albeit outdated, promotional video for the Casa Hispana back in 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDJZEKa4LPg
At the conclusion of the fall 2018 academic semester, Professors Eileen Shields and Donna Widener will retire from the College of Charleston’s Department of Hispanic Studies after a combined 40 years of teaching on campus. Professor Shields joined the department in 1990, and Professor Widener in 2006. Their dedication, conscientiousness and genuine care for our students will be greatly missed as we wish them the best for the next stages in their lives, and we thank them for all they have done, for so long, for our Department of Hispanic Studies.
Professor Stephanie Forgash
Upon completion of her B.A. in Spanish at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Professor Forgash continued with an M.A. in the same area and at the same institution, and then spent a year teaching Spanish language at Central Piedmont and Rown Cabarrus Community Colleges respectively. She then moved to Viña del Mar, Chile, where she taught English for a year to the Chilean Navy, and then returned to the U.S. in 2017 to begin her current position as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Hispanic Studies. Beyond the classroom, she is also an active member of the department’s Basic Spanish Language Program Steering Committee, and an active collaborator in Hispanic Studies’ distance education curriculum.
In Professor Forgash’s own words:
I feel extremely privileged to work alongside so many talented students and faculty members in the Hispanic Studies Department. For me, reminiscing on my own personal Spanish journey and seeing it transpire through my students’ experiences is the most rewarding thing about being an educator. At the end of the day I am someone who has lived the life, traveled the journeys, and learned the lessons and only aim to serve as a compass and road map for those who will follow. Whether it is through the various levels of Spanish I teach or trying to develop new testing strategies with the BSLP Steering Committee, I am always learning, and that is truly why I love what I do.
The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Professor Stephanie Forgash for her various contributions and for being selected for our December “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”
Stay tuned for January 2019’s feature…
The Department of Hispanic Studies’ peer-reviewed journal Hispanic Studies Review has published its fall 2018 issue. Click here.
Professor Elizabeth Martínez-Gibson’s essay “Por la Calle de Alcalá: The Languages Used in Storefront Signs along Madrid’s Longest Street” has just been published in Volume 18, Fall 2016-17 issue of the MIFLC Review.