The Department of Modern Languages hosted its biennial conference Cultural Constructions Conference on March 23-24 on the theme “Creative Acts: Reimagining and Remaking the World.” As organized by professors Mónica de la Fuente Iglesias, David Hervás, Natalia Trigo, and Christopher Conway, this year’s program foregrounded creativity across different disciplines and media. Presenters included undergraduate and graduate students, faculty from UT Arlington, as well as professors from other universities like Baylor and the University of Rochester.
Some of the conference’s highlights include keynote presentations by Ignacio Ruiz-Pérez, Professor and Chair of Modern Languages, and Will Evans, the publisher of Dallas-based Deep Vellum Press, the world’s leading publisher of English language literary translations. Dr. Ruiz-Pérez did a poetry reading in Spanish from his book of poetry Isles of Firm Ground (Deep Vellum 2022), accompanied by a Spanish graduate student named Andrea Varela Blanco, who read English translations from the book. The poet also participated in a public conversation with Dr. Natalia Trigo, an Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department. Will Evans, in his keynote presentation titled “Cultural Catalysts: Alternative Economies of Literature”, shared his passion for translation, multilingualism, and the democratization of U.S. literary publishing. Evans shared information about forthcoming Deep Vellum projects, reminisced about how he became inspired to enter publishing, and discussed the inner workings of his publishing house.
Two of the most distinguished teaching professors in the department, Drs. Amy Austin and Alicia Rueda-Acedo, presented papers about pedagogy, while other faculty put together and moderated student panels. Dr. Sonia Kania’s graduate students team-presented papers about Digital Humanities and the History of Spanish while Dr. Lonny Harrison organized a student panel about Revolution and Russian Literature. One of the conference organizers, Dr. Natalia Trigo, read one of her short stories, and students from the Departments of Art and English presented their creative works. This fantastic event showcased the excellence of students and faculty at UTA and exemplified the department’s commitment to dialogue, creativity, and exploration.
