Hispanic Studies’ Faculty Focus for October 2020 is Yulian Martínez-Escobar.
Mr. Yulian Martínez-Escobar joined the Department of Hispanic Studies for the first time in 2011 and, since his arrival, has taught extensively in the Basic Spanish Language Program.
With respect to his professional formation, Mr. Martínez-Escobar’s experience has been both varied and impressive, with studies being undertaken in foreign language pedagogy (B.A. in Foreign Language Instruction from the Universidad Industrial de Santander-Bucaramanga, Colombia [1996]; M.A. in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad de León—León, Spain [2007]), as well as in film production (New York University School of Continuing and Professional Arts [2001]; Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University [2017]).
Activities undertaken in both fields of endeavor, to be sure, have given ample evidence of Mr. Martínez-Escobar’s considerable talents: in the former, by way of his success in the classroom and manner of inspiring his students; in the latter, with the enthusiastic reception of his recently produced documentary, Invisible Hands—a film which documents the experience of seasonal migrant workers in South Carolina.
For all of the above—and much else—Hispanic Studies is proud to name Yulian among its accomplished faculty.
In his own words…
At an early age I developed a passion for traveling, and with it a passion for learning other languages to help me communicate with and understand people from different cultures. As a teacher of Spanish, I love to challenge my students to experience cultures beyond their own, to promote a more peaceful and empathetic world, where nobody feels superior or inferior to others, and where nobody believes that other cultures are wrong simply because they are foreign. My motto is: “It’s not bad. It’s different.”
Yulián, you are SO talented! I loved Invisible hands and can’t wait for your next production. 🙂 Devon
I thought I knew migrant workers on visits to their camps. -Julian was able to capture the escence of the spirit of these people who are working very hard (with a low income), with the goal to make a better life for themselves and their family.
In this documentary Julian calls for our undivided
attention to this “Invisible” problem. -He shows their personal lives of hard work and sacrifice. Many of them had to leave wife or fiancé, they are mostly home sick, love their roots, and keep their traditions alive.
He is calling us to open our eyes to our failure to acknowledge them as part of the structure of the society were we live.
PS. This documentary is well made, photography attracts the viewers attention and adds good information. The theme is well developed. I believe it is good material to present in documental’s festivals, and I would not be surprised to read it received awards. -It’s also a good teaching tool for social studies’ programs.