Spring 2024 Newsletter

This semester the Modern Languages and Literatures Department has organized many events. We had the annual events such as The Regina Ann Haig International Film Series , The Hanna Geldrich-Leffman Colloquium on Language, Literature and Society and Tea Time Talks. The Italian section held the 2024 Italian Week. The Arabic section and Spanish section also held amazing cultural events. Three of our ambassadors organized three wonderful Ambassador projects and our student clubs had many exciting events.

Italian Week 2024
Innovatori Italiani: Italian Innovators from the Renaissance to Today

Italian Mass
Feb. 19  

Cena futurista: A Futurist Dinner Party
Feb. 20 
Students learned about the Futurist movement and Futurist Cookbook, then designed their own "dinner parties" with craft materials.

"Ford vs. Ferrari" Film Screening
Feb. 21 
Student viewed the film Ford vs. Ferrari, which intersected with the theme of Italian Innovators.

“The Ferrari Phenomenon: An Italian Story” Lecture by Matt Lallo 
Feb. 22 
Independent scholar Matt Lallo came to Loyola to talk about his love for, and work on, Ferrari cars.

Leonardo da Vinci Bridge Competition
Feb. 26 
Students learned about Leonardo da Vinci and his inventions, namely, the self-supporting bridge, then began a bridge-building contest. There were three winning groups for strongest bridge, most beautiful bridge, and most original

The Regina Ann Haig International Film Series

Barrikade 
Feb. 26 
Prof. Jennifer Holt presented the German film "Barrikade", a documentary film about forest occupiers, who were protesting the destruction of this forest.

Demain
March 19
Prof. Kelly Keenan selected and presented this film about a group of French environmentalists who traveled the world to highlight grassroots efforts to protect the environment.

 

Still Life
April 17
Dr. Yu Zhang-Stearns presented the Chinese language film "Still Life" about two people on a search in a region destroyed by the building of a dam and focused on the survival of those left in its wake.

 

 

Hanna Geldrich-Leffman Colloquium on Language, Literature and Society: "Global Foodways"

April 10th 2024

Three speakers presented on the intersections of food politics, cultural identity, and cultural output.

• 1pm- Dr. Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, Washington University, “Cultural Density beyond Authenticity: Reflections on the Idea of the Taco”
• 2pm- Dr. Jennifer Lin LeMesurier, Colgate University, "Gut Feelings: The Racial Rhetoric of Asian Food in America" 
• 4pm- Dr. Priya Wadhera, Adelphi University, “Hunger: A User's Manual for Post-War France"

Tea Time Talks

"Who Creates Knowledge? Midwives in New Spain," 
Dr. Yolopattli Hernandez-Torres
Feb. 19

"Coming of Age in Catholic School: A Rereading of Monique Wittig and Simone de Beauvoir,"
Kelly Keenan
March 25

"Coaching a Foreign Language in the New Normal,"
Dr. Inas Hassan
April 15

Modern Languages and Literatures Ambassador Projects

MLL Spanish Book Drive and Letter Writing
Dec. 6 
Organized by Jasmine Diaz-Martinez
All levels of Spanish were invited to write letters for children to accompany books donated for the Spanish Book Drive.

My Living Language Video Series
The My Living Language Video Series, created by Liberty Diaz, highlights members of the Loyola community who learn and use Modern Languages outside of the classroom.
The two part video series can be viewed here : Part 1 and Part 2

 Cultures Through Languages
April 17
Organized by Rain Kesler
Students learned about the connections between language and culture and tested their knowledge with a Kahoot

Arabic Section events

Arabic Movie Screening event: Black/White
Feb. 26

Arabic Calligraphy Workshop
March 18
The calligraphy session has lasted one hour, the students  met the guest speaker via Zoom at LLC venue at MLL department. The session included an engaging 5 to 7 minutes presentation by the artist, followed by a hands-on demonstration workshop. The artist taught the students one writing in the Thuluth style (a popular Arabic calligraphical style)

Tasting "Tamr & Coffee - Date & Coffee"
April 19
Students learned about this popular Arabic snack & its taste.  

Spanish Section Events

El gato y la gaviota
March 20
Theatre performance of the play, El gato y la gaviota, in Spanish by the Teatro de la Luna company.

Aula de Flamenco - Introduction to Flamenco
April 19
Members of the D.C. based organization TorcuArt gave an introduction to flamenco and a lively musical demonstration of different rhythms with guitar, voice, and castanets.

 

Student Club Events

French Club

A Night in Paris
Jan. 26
Students were provided the opportunity to explore the history of some of Paris’ most famous landmarks as well as enjoy French foods.

French Club Movie Night - L'Atlantique
Feb. 15
The film L’Atlanqitue was shown. Students were able to see a movie set in a Francophone country, Senegal. The film was shown in the native language, Wolof, with subtitles in English.

French Club Paint Night
March 13
We had paint by number kits for students to paint. The scenes that they were painting were French inspired, including the Eiffel Tower, a French Castle, and famous French paintings.

French Club Picnic Social
April 17
We provided French snacks and cheeses to students on the quad and encouraged them to interact with one another while enjoying the food. This allowed for engagement with other French students as well as French culture.

Italian Club

Behind the Mask: Carnevale in Italy

Feb 15
Students gathered to learn about Carnevale in Italy and make their own masks.

Italian Stereotypes and Superstitions
April 9
Students learned about various Italian superstitions and stereotypes, and why they are important.

Italian Food Tasting Event
April 25
Students learned about the history of Italian food and various regional cuisines, then sampled many different desserts (cakes, cookies, cannoli, etc.).