Author: semrrs

An interdisciplinary colloquium on the invasion of Ukraine will be held from March 30-April 5. The colloquium will consist of conversations, discussions, and film screenings led and presented by faculty from departments across the University. The series includes 7 events and will feature a mix of in-person sessions and Zoom talks.

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, March 30

100 Hardin Hall, 4:00-6:30 PM

Donbass (2018, dir. Sergi Loznitsa)

Film Teach-In with Steven Marks (History) and Luca Barattoni (Languages)

Friday, April 1

100 Hardin Hall, 4:00-6:30 PM

The Rain Will Never Stop (2020, dir. Alina Gorlova)

Film Teach-In with Maziyar Faridi (English/World Cinema) and Aga Skrodzka (English/World Cinema)

Wednesday, April 6

100 Hardin Hall, 4:00-5:30 PM

Becoming Zelensky: Media, Politics, and Resistance

In conversation with Lucian Ghita (English) and Johannes Schmidt (Languages)

Thursday, April 7

100 Hardin Hall, 5:00-7:30 PM

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965, dir. Sergei Parajanov)

Film Teach-In with Olga Volkova (Languages/World Cinema) and Aga Skrodzka(English/World Cinema)

Tuesday, April 12

100 Hardin Hall, 5:00-7:00 PM

The Earth is Blue as an Orange (2020, dir. Iryna Tsilyk)

Film Teach-In with Jamie Rogers (English) and Gabriela Stoicea (Languages/World Cinema)

Wednesday, April 13

Zoom, 4:00-5:00

Geopolitical Mapping and Ukraine: Using Virtual Reality to Shape Reality

In conversation with William Terry (Geography/World Cinema)

Thursday, April 14

Zoom, 4:00-5:00

Stolen History, Stolen Heritage: Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Russian Colonialism

In conversation with Kate Malaia (Architecture, Mississippi State) and Andreea Mihalache (Architecture)

Please see the flyer below for times, dates, and locations.

Sponsored by the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, the School of Architecture, the Department of Languages, the Department of English, the Department of Geography, the Humanities Hub, and the World Cinema Program.

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.

21 Department of Languages students earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy, an international credential which recognizes a candidate’s proficiency in two or more languages. Proficiency is recognized on working, functional, and professional levels. This semester, the Global Seal of Biliteracy was awarded to students representing Spanish (19), French (1), and Japanese (1).

The students earning the Global Seal of Biliteracy in Fall 2021 are:

Rachel Amaral, Elise Blackburn, Kevin Burgess, Vanessa Campos, Kathleen Champagne, Natalie Claypool, Olivia Cloud, Jack Edmondson, Juliana Franco, Gabrielle Garringer, William Gioffre, Yana Gudakova, Bria Martin, Haden McCarter, Audrey Ramey, Amy Rees, José Rodriguez, Evangeline Sanders, Ella Starr, Jordan Tedder, and Anna Vicente.

The Department of Languages is extremely proud of these exceptional students and congratulates them on their impressive achievement!

The Department of Languages and Language and International Health (LIH) is excited to present the 2021 Language and International Health Symposium on Thursday, October 21st.

The symposium will address the ACEs impact on the health and development of children in Latinx communities and strategies to prevent negative outcomes.Guest speakers will include LIH senior Natalie Claypool, ACE master trainer Dana Powell, and Rebecca Planchard, Senior Early Childhood Policy Advisor for the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

Where: Hendrix Center: Almeda Jacks Ballroom A

When: Thursday October 21st. 4-6 PM

Refreshments will be served.

For additional information, please see the flyer for the event below:

Four College of Arts and Humanities alumni were recently listed in Greenville Business Magazine’s “Best and Brightest Under 35” issue, which features outstanding young professionals from the Greenville and Upstate SC area.

Tori Wallace-Babcock (M.A. Real Estate Development), Catherine Crandall (B.A. Modern Languages – Japanese), Holly McKissick (Lang and International Trade – French), and MaryEllis Petrosian (B.A. Language and International Trade) were recognized as some of the most impressive young members of the business community.

Read their stories and the rest of Greenville Business Magazine’s list here!

On Friday, April 9, the College of Arts and Humanities held its annual awards ceremony to honor the exceptional achievements of CAAH students.

The in-person ceremony, which was initiated with live music performed by the Clemson University String Quartet, was attended by the honorees, CAAH Faculty, Chairs of the Departments, Dean Nicholas Vazsonyi, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Elysse Newman.

The Department of Languages awarded seven outstanding students:

Amanda White (Ann and Lamar Bayne Award for Excellence in American Sign Language), William Taylor (Award for Excellence in Spanish), Nikita Tran (JAASC Award in Excellence in Japanese), Sydney Tindall (Clemson Chinese Laoshi Awards for Best Achievement), Lauren Cvitkovic (Language and International Health Award for Excellence), Jessica Cole (Jordan A. Dean, Sr. Annual Award in French Studies), and Meredith Harley (Patricia Walker Wannamaker Language and International Trade Award for Highest Merit).

Congratulations to these exceptional students on their commendable achievements!

Following up on our January 2021 post on signed music, Department of Languages’ Dr. Jody Cripps, Assistant Professor of ASL, has shared some developments in the topic of signed music. Dr. Cripps’ research was mentioned in two Talk Back discussions with the cast and crew of “The Black Drum”, the first full length signed music musical, which is a topic of research by Dr. Cripps and his colleagues. “The Black Drum” streamed live on YouTube for a virtual performance on March 25-27.

Signed music is an emerging visual and performance art which arises from within the Deaf community. As explained by the Signed Music Project, which is a collaboration by a diverse team of researchers and educators from several organizations and educational instututions, signed music “may incorporate ASL literary poetic features such as lines, meter, rhythm and rhyme and also incorporates basic elements of music such as harmony, rhythm, melody, timbre, and texture, which is expressed as a visual-gestural artistic form.”

Both Talk Back discussions on the weekend’s streaming event are featured on Deaf Culture Centre’s facebook page. In the first component of the discussions, “The Black Drum: Talk Back with the Cast”, moderated by Linda Cundy from Alberta Cultural Society of the Deaf, cast member Yan Liu mentions her participation in research by Dr. Cripps and his colleagues in 2015 on the topic of “What is signed music?”.

Dr. Cripps’ workshopping is mentioned by the producer Joanne Cripps in the second Talk Back discussion, “The Black Drum: Talk Back with the Crew”.

For more information on The Black Drum, check out the Deaf Culture Centre on Facebook.

For more about signed music, you can see Dr. Cripps in the documentary “Signed Music: Rhythm of the Heart”.

The Language and International Business program (LAIB) will host a panel discussion this Wednesday, March 8, at 3:00 pm via Zoom. This panel discussion, which will feature alumni of the Language and International Business program, is open to all Clemson students. Registration is still open!

The panelists will share their experiences, including how they used their language skills to launch their careers. There will be ample time to ask questions and get lots of ideas and advice you can use as you start making your own career plans. This event is open to all Clemson students, but it will be especially relevant to LAIB students, Modern Languages majors, students in language classes, and any student who is interested in pursuing a career with an international component.

Please note that you must be registered to attend.

What:   Graduates from Clemson’s Language and International Business Program talk about their careers and offer advice to current students

When: Wednesday, March 10th 3-4:30pm

Where: on Zoom

Registration link:

https://clemson.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYodeuopzotGtNWatIY8H9QFRDKj0Qew1pM

For more information on the panelists and registration, please visit the Department of Languages information page.

Five Department of Languages majors have been nominated for membership in the Clemson University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and among the most prestigious academic honor societies in the United States.

Founded in 1776, the Phi Beta Kappa honor society recognizes outstanding students of Liberal Arts and Sciences who not only demonstrate excellence in their fields of study but excellence in other branches of liberal arts along with a strong moral character.

The Department of Languages inductees are Gabrielle Garringer (Language and Intl Business), Mara MacDonald (Language and Intl Business), Olivia Moran (Language and Intl Business), Alexandra Karnes (Language and Intl Trade), and Mari Lentini (Language and Intl Trade).

The induction ceremony will be virtual and will take place later this semester.

Congratulations to these outstanding students!

With Spring Semester 2021 underway and the Clemson community adapting to challenges in innovative and impressive ways, it is interesting to look back and reflect on some of the ways the Department of Languages students, faculty and alumni have been navigating these unusual times. Fall Semester 2020 brought with it many unique experiences and ways to stay engaged and make connections. In our “Fall 2020 Reflections” posts, we are excited to take a look at specific events, opportunities and accomplishments that we saw last semester and which set the stage for even more exciting opportunities this Spring and beyond.

NOVEMBER, 2020

On November 25, the Language and International Health (L&IH) Society sponsored “La Canasta Básica: Culturally relevant healthy food options for Latinx communities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Rut Rivera, a manager of the health promotion organization, PASOs in Greenville, SC, presented her experience with program development and community relations within the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the webinar, Rivera discussed a new initiative set forth by a collaboration between the Hispanic Alliance and PASOs of Greenville, Canasta Básica, which seeks to provide culturally appropriate food to the local hispanic community suffering from food scarcity as a result of the pandemic. The coalition boasts having connected 2,879 community members with resources during these challenging times.

Her presentation gave students the opportunity to volunteer in the program’s future events and connect with other project managers from PASOs and the Hispanic Alliance. Students were also encouraged to inquire about life in the field of community development. Rivera’s passion for community outreach was obvious and inspiring to all those who attended.