February 28, 2022
The French International Business Program is hosting an information session for high school teachers and students on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
For more information, download the pdf flier by clicking the link below:
March 19_2022_French_LAIB_Info_Session
To join the session, use the Zoom link: https://clemson.zoom.us/j/98396966658?pwd=a0htbXNtVUQ1cUFpK2VkMGpOb3RQQT09
February 27, 2022
Although COVID is still making in-person visits to area high school German programs difficult, schools are accepting visits via Zoom. While it is difficult to meet with former students who now live miles away or who may still be avoiding crowded events due to COVID, technology is helping us to stay connected.
This year, the German program has visited 10 different high schools in the state and in Charlotte, NC, bringing along alumni and current students to participate in the conversations.
The result has been well-received by high school teachers and students who like hearing the personal accounts of our German students both at college and in the workforce. They are especially impressed when they see that their visitors are in Europe.
Among German program alumni, there are many who desire to keep in touch with their alma mater and who also want to continue to practice their German. For these reasons, the German program began the German alumni Stammtisch (conversation table) this past fall and held its first conversation on 10 November. Stammtisch has given students and alumni a chance to connect with friends in the business community and with recent and not so recent grads.
February 23, 2022
Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society (La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica), was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California Berkeley. The Society’s insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León and Aragón. Sigma Delta Pi’s colors are red and gold, its flower is the red carnation, and its motto is the Greek phrase “Spanías Didagéi Proágomen” meaning “Let’s go forth/continue forth under the teaching/guidance of the Spanish language.”
Faculty Adviser: Prof. Lee Kirven (lkirven@clemson.edu)
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clemsonsdpiotaphi
The following are the requirements for membership for undergraduates:
Clemson’s Iota Phi Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, is now accepting applications for membership in preparation for our spring induction ceremony on April 14, 2022 at 5:00pm. The completed electronic application (https://forms.gle/92uK4gF3GkNPMFst5) and supporting materials (electronic copy of your academic transcript downloaded from iROAR) must be submitted to Prof. Lee Kirven (lkirven@clemson.edu) by MIDNIGHT FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022. Applicants will be notified of status by March 31.
The Iota Phi Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi hosted the induction ceremony on March 2nd, 2019, in The Brown Room of Cooper Library. We inducted 6 new members, and had a presentation by one of our students, Angelica Werth, about her experience studying abroad in Córdoba, Argentina. The total new members for the academic year of 2018-2019 was 6.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to everyone who helped make this ceremony possible including: Dr. Oropesa; Dr. Martínez-Armas; our librarian, Ed. Rock and our students: Anna Rhett, Mary Crosby, Ty’Celia, Matthew, Anna and Alex.
Photo credits: Anna Whitfield.
The Iota Phi Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi hosted the induction ceremony on February 17, 2018, in Daniel Hall of Clemson University. We inducted 13 new members, including an honorary member Ed Rock, from the library, to honor him for his dedication to Hispanic studies. With one graduating senior initiated in December 2017, the total new members for the academic year of 2017-2018 was 14.
February 23, 2022
The Theta Phi Chapter of Delta Phi Alpha
Delta Phi Alpha, the National Collegiate Honor Society (Deutsche Ehrenverbindung), was established at Wofford College on February 28, 1928 as the Deutscher Verein. Members of the Wofford group then began contacting German Clubs on other campuses, which subsequently led to the establishment Delta Phi Alpha in May of 1929. Since then, Delta Phi Alpha has sought “to recognize excellence in the study of German and to provide an incentive for higher scholarship. The Society aims to promote the study of the German language, literature and civilization and endeavors to emphasize those aspects of German life and culture which are of universal value and which contribute to humanity’s eternal search for peace and truth.”
Faculty Adviser: Prof. Harris King ( oswaldk@clemson.edu )
The Induction Ceremony, April 19, 2021
The Theta Phi Chapter of Delta Phi Alpha hosted the induction ceremony on April 19, 2021 via Zoom in keeping with safety measures of the ongoing global pandemic. We inducted the new member Anna Kadau, and the ceremony was attended by all German faculty members and two current Delta Phi Alpha members, Houston and Bennett. The ceremony was a welcome diversion from the stress and obligations at the end of the semester. The Theta Phi Alpha chapter plans to have an in-person meeting to celebrate Anna’s induction in the fall.
The Induction Ceremony, December 5, 2019
The Theta Phi Chapter of Delta Phi Alpha hosted the induction ceremony on December 5, 2019, in Daniel Hall of Clemson University. During the ceremony, Rachael Risinger, Bennett Meares, and Houston Everett were inducted, thus reactivating Clemson’s chapter after many years of inactivity.
The ceremony was held during the end of the semester holiday party hosted by the German Club. All students and faculty members present were able to celebrate the occasion with wonderful German food and with the singing of German carols.
February 22, 2022
The American Sign Language Honor Society recognizes outstanding academic achievement in ASL studies with three honors:
To receive one or more of the honors, students must meet the minimum eligibility requirements for each, which includes both GPA and community service hours. For any honors to be conferred, a student must attend a campus with an active ASLHS chapter and have a sponsor in good standing of a certification in master level of American Sign Language Teachers Association. For purposes of grade point average computation, eligible ASL coursework includes ASL language, ASL literature, and Deaf studies. Interpretation coursework is not eligible.
Descriptions of honors & eligibility requirements:
 |
Honor CordsHonor cords may be worn at graduation or induction ceremonies if the student meets these eligibility requirements:
Please note: Honor cords are available only to high school/senior high/secondary programs. |
 |
Alice Cogswell MedalThe Alice Cogswell Medal may be worn at graduation or induction ceremonies if the student meets these eligibility requirements:
|
 |
Laurent Clerc MedalThe Laurent Clerc Medal is the only ASLHS honor open to ASL students at both the high school and college levels if the following eligibility requirements are met:
|
Photos of Clemson ASLHS are posted in Clemson ASL Club Facebook group.
Link to ASL Honor Society: http://www.aslhonorsociety.org
Faculty Adviser: Prof. William (Bo) Clements (wrcleme@clemson.edu)
February 11, 2022
 |
ASL-English interpreting students provided a translation for the Department of Performing Arts production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure on 22 February 2018 in the Brooks Theatre. Pictured here are Jen Florian (senior) and Paige Jordan (senior) translating a part of the performance. |
 |
ASL-English interpreting students provided a translation for the Department of Performing Arts production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure on 22 February 2018 in the Brooks Theatre. Pictured here are Kaeley Swofford (junior) and Jen Florian (senior) translating a scene on opening night. |
 |
Clemson University Educational Interpreting students attending the 2018 South Carolina Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina from 23-25 February 2018. Amongst interpreters from across South Carolina Pictured here are Rachel Jones (junior), Jen Florian (senior), Kaeley Swofford (junior), Greg Morris (junior), and Paige Jordan (senior) discussing semantics and pragmatics of American Sign Language (ASL). |
 |
Clemson University Educational Interpreting students attending the 2018 South Carolina Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina from 23-25 February 2018. Pictured here are Savannah Klosowski (senior), Paige Jordan (senior), Lawrence Reed (alumni), Hallie Simmons (alumni), Professor Jason Hurdich (faculty) and Chloe Cardwell (alumni) discussing managing power and privilege as interpreters. |
February 11, 2022
Dr. Arelis Moore organized a lecture by Rut E. Rivera and Antonia Camacho, PASOs Greenville (November 19, 2019)
Rut E. Rivera, Manager, Greenville PASOs Program, Prisma Health | Accountable Communities, and Antonia Camacho, Community Health Worker, PASOs Greenville, were invited by Dr. Arelis Moore to her SPAN 4190 class (Health and the Hispanic Community) to discuss healthy children, knowledgeable families, and strong communities. PASOs’ Community Health Workers (CHW) trainings cover a wide range of pertinent information regarding Latino experiences and cultures, resources available to families, outreach techniques, and immigrant rights. By providing a platform for oftentimes unheard voices, this initiative actively engages the strengths of Latino community leaders for contributing to a statewide overall well-being. PASOs works with agencies, organizations and coalitions to make sure that they are serving Latino patients and clients effectively. As advocates for their communities, PASOs brings forward the perspective of Latino families and brings ideas for change to decision-makers. PASOs helps build a stronger South Carolina by supporting Latino communities with education, advocacy, and leadership development. For more information, please visit: https://www.scpasos.org/
Dr. Arelis Moore with her students, Rut Rivera, and Antonia Camacho
La hora de la tarea 1
Are you having difficulties with your online homework? An instructor is here to assist you.
Prof. José Luis Ortiz, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (jlortiz@clemson.edu)
Prof. Ortiz with his students (SPAN 2020, fall 2019)
La hora de la tarea 2
Are you having difficulties with your online homework? An instructor is here to assist you.
Prof. Nora Logue, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (nlogue@clemson.edu)
Prof. Logue with her students (SPAN 2020, fall 2019)
La mesa española
Practice speaking with other students and improve your oral abilities in the target language (for students at the 2000 levels and above).
Prof. Zenia Cruz, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (zcruzva@clemson.edu)
Prof. Cruz with her students (SPAN 1020, fall 2019)
El club de español
Come and practice your Spanish while learning about Hispanic culture in an informal setting.
Prof. Yezid Flores, M.Ed.
Lecturer of Spanish (yflores@g.clemson.edu)
Prof. Flores with her students (SPAN 2020, fall 2019)
El mesón de lectura
Improve your reading comprehension skills.
Prof. Mercedes Tejera, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (mtejera@clemson.edu)
Prof. Tejera with her students (SPAN 2010, fall 2019)
La mesa española 2
Practice speaking with other students and improve your oral abilities in the target language (for students at the 1000 levels).
Prof. Debra Williamson, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (debra4@clemson.edu)
Prof. Williamson with her students (SPAN 2010, fall 2019)
Hispanic Film Series
Join us to watch films that feature a diverse range of topics highlighting the history, culture and contributions of the Hispanic community around the world.
Prof. Ellory Schmucker, M.A.
Senior Lecturer of Spanish (eschmuc@g.clemson.edu)
Prof. Schmucker with her students (SPAN 2010, fall 2019)
Hispanic Honor Society
Founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1919, Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of South Carolina. Bestowal of membership in Sigma Delta Pi is an excellent way to reward outstanding students of Spanish in colleges and universities.
Prof. Rosa Pillcurima, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish (rpillcu@clemson.edu)
Prof. Pillcurima with her students (SPAN 1010, fall 2019)
Poetry Declamation
Students from South Carolina and neighboring states come to Clemson University campus to show their linguistic abilities by competing in the annual poetry declamation contest. The contest is open to students regularly enrolled in middle and high school language courses. Contest competitions are offered in American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. Students in Spanish classes recite poems by renowned Hispanic poets such as Alberti, Bécquer, Borges, Darío, Lorca, Machado, Martí, and Vallejo.
Prof. Melva Persico, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer of Spanish (mpersic@clemson.edu)
Prof. Persico with her students (SPAN 3020, fall 2019)
February 11, 2022
María Rosa Júdez Riquelme, MD
Lecturer of Spanish and Health (mjudezr@clemson.edu)
María Rosa Júdez Riquelme, a member of the Board of Directors of Foothills Community Health Care, earned a Medical Doctor degree from Autonomic National University of Mexico; she has a Postgraduate Fellowship on Obesity, and a Specialty in Human Development from Humanistic Institute, Mexico. Postgraduate Certifications: Expertise on Health Science, Universidad La Salle; Expertise on General Practice; Clinical and Surgery Emergencies; Children and Adolescent Clinics; Women’s Health Clinics; Geriatric and Chronic Diseases; Clinical Nutrition and Bariatrics (UNAM); Education and Sexual Clinics (National General Medicine Academy); and Medical Assistant Program (Pendleton, SC). She was Academic Director of Continuous Education for General Practitioners for Primary Care Physicians and Nurses, speaker for Pharmaceutical laboratories, English-Spanish translator, editor for Elsevier Editorial Mexico, Study Coordinator for several clinical and pharmaceutical research studies in obese and diabetic patients, and manager of clinical research for Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals Research Institute. Dr. Júdez Riquelme also published several articles and co-authored a book on obesity. She taught Medical Clinics and Public Health as full time professor at several Universities in Mexico and has been teaching Medical Spanish (Span 3150 and 4190) as well as SPAN 1020, 2010, and 3050 at Clemson University.
Dr. Júdez Riquelme with her students (SPAN 3150, fall 2019)
Daniel J. Smith, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish (daniels@clemson.edu)
Dr. Daniel J. Smith, Coordinator of the Spanish Section in the Clemson University Languages Department, received his BA in Spanish (Bob Jones University), his M.Ed. in Foreign Language Education (University of Georgia), and his Ph.D. in Ibero-Romance Philology and Linguistics with a concentration in Spanish Linguistics (University of Texas at Austin). He also did graduate work at Middlebury College in Vermont. His main areas of research include linguistics, sociolinguistics, Spanish linguistics, language contact, bilingualism (especially Spanish and English bilingualism), and language acquisition (especially second language acquisition). He has researched, presented, and published on the grammatical and social forces which shape language in language contact situations and the practical implications of his and others’ research in relation to second language learning. He has presented his research at numerous national and international conferences. He has published articles in The International Journal of Bilingualism, Southwest Journal of Linguistics, Southern Journal of Linguistics, The Bilingual Review, Bilingual Research Journal, Revista Nebrija, Textos, Hipertexto, Porta Linguarum, and Normas: Revista de estudios lingüísticos hispánicos. Dr. Daniel Smith teaches courses in Spanish linguistics, general linguistics, Spanish grammar, composition, and conversation, and he has taught all levels of Spanish.
Dr. Smith with his students (SPAN 3020, fall 2019)
Arelis Moore de Peralta, MD, PhD, MPH, MEd
Assistant Professor of Spanish and Community Health (ared@clemson.edu)
Dr. Arelis Moore de Peralta (MD, MEd, MPH, Dominican Republic; PhD, Clemson University), an assistant professor with an inter-disciplinary appointment at the Department of Languages, is a medical epidemiologist and social scientist. Her role as a faculty and researcher at Clemson University, combined with her quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research expertise, is allowing her to explore inter-disciplinary, holistic and comprehensive approaches to the study of health disparities among minorities in the US, with an emphasis on Hispanics in the US, Latin-America, and the Caribbean. Dr. Moore worked in the public health system in the Dominican Republic (1995-2016) focusing on transmissible diseases. She was selected into the 2015-16 Community Engaged Scholars (CES) Program funded by NIH through the MUSC Center for Community Health Partnerships. Dr. Moore de Peralta has an ongoing community-engaged research project that takes place in the Dominican Republic, and involves conducting research and partnerships to build healthier communities. She has also been involved in a research team (GHS and USC) to explore health care services preferences of under-privileged communities in Greenville County, and was assigned to the NSF funded project Tigers Advance at Clemson University. She is offering SPAN 3970, 4180, and 4190 at the Department of Languages.
Dr. Moore de Peralta with her students (SPAN 4190, fall 2019)
Mónica Rojas de Massei, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish (mmassei@clemson.edu)
Dr. Mónica Rojas de Massei was born in Córdoba, Argentina. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She worked as an educator the major part of her life. In the United States, she taught for the University of Iowa, Middlebury College and the University of Wisconsin. Her field of expertise is Hispanic drama, historical novels, pedagogical uses of theater in L2 classrooms, cultural studies, and creative writing. Dr. Rojas de Massei’s research publications include: “Cuerpo deseante, poder político en Flor de otoño de José María Rodríguez Méndez,” “La literatura fantástica y la voz femenina en el motivo del gólem en Omar amor de Cristina Fernández Cubas” and Los escenarios de la memoria en el teatro español contemporáneo.
Dr. Rojas de Massei with her students (SPAN 3050, fall 2018)
George Palacios, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish (gpalaci@clemson.edu)
Dr. George Palacios received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His broad research and teaching interests encompass the literatures, cultures, philosophy and political thought related to the African diaspora in the Americas. He is particularly interested in the relations between Afro-Hispanic (i.e., Colombia, Central America, and the Caribbean islands), Afro-Brazilian and African-American literatures and cultures (i.e., the Harlem Renaissance). His recent publications include: “Las estrellas son negras o los rostros afrocolombianos a mediados del siglo XX en Colombia,” “Apuntes sobre la música, el folclor, lo nacional-popular y la literatura en algunos de los escritos tempranos de Manuel Zapata Olivella,” and “El motivo de los bogas.”
Dr. Palacios with his students (SPAN 3080, fall 2019)
Graciela Tissera, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish (gtisser@clemson.edu)
Dr. Graciela Tissera completed her graduate studies in Spanish, Literature, and Latin, with honors, at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, and received her Ph. D. in Romance Languages and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Tissera’s research and teaching interests include Hispanic and comparative literature and film, literary and critical theory, and Spanish for the professions. Her Creative Inquiry projects focus on international health, global business, film studies, and service learning activities. Students in her classes present their research at national and international professional conferences. As Director of the L&IH Program (2009-2016), she coordinated the L&IH Symposiums and the study abroad program in the Dominican Republic. She also directed the International Spanish Program and Internships in Seville, Spain (2014-2018). Dr. Tissera serves as a Contributing Editor for national and international literary journals. She has been recognized as an outstanding professor by Clemson University Student Government, and her “Introduction to Hispanic Literary Forms” course was selected as one of the ten best courses in the national study of Spanish literature courses conducted by the Education Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). Dr. Tissera was inducted into the Order of the Discoverers, one of the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society’s highest honors. She was also awarded the Certificate of Service by the State of South Carolina and the Frank A. Burtner Award for Excellence in Advising.
Dr. Graciela Tissera’s students (SPAN 4010, fall 2019)
