
On April 5, students in the Department of Languages presented a project at Clemson’s annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum. Robert Campos, Megan Courage, Elouise Cram, Michelle Fuentes, Hannah Gilliam, Danielle Haight, Colin Jones, Rebecca McConnell, and Rachel Rogers presented their research on The Fantastic in Hispanic Film. The project, mentored by Dr. Graciela Tissera, focused on the genre of science fiction and fantasy through films by world-renowned Hispanic film directors.

The analysis explored uncanny and marvelous elements related to parallel worlds, urban legends, the Lazarus syndrome, extrasensory perception, and dissociative identity, among other topics, as well as cinematic conventions and themes in fantastic films. With historical, cultural, political, and scientific contexts, the project analyzed supernatural phenomena as presented in films to determine the line between reality and unreality and the gateways between alternate worlds in order to forge an understanding of the unknown.