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CLAS Receives 2022-26 Title VI Funds

The Center for Latin American Studies is excited to announce that it has been awarded over $1.15 million in Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education, through its Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program.

Over the next four years, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship grants ($1,154,640) will support graduate, professional, and undergraduate students who are studying less commonly taught Latin American languages (chiefly Quechua and Portuguese) as part of their course of study. While the direct recipients of this funding are the student fellows, FLAS is also a key means through which CLAS bolsters the ever-growing Portuguese and Quechua language programs and supports enrollments in Latin American area studies courses across campus.

The Office of International Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, and Graduate School were instrumental in successfully securing these funds. CLAS is also grateful to its faculty and staff affiliates, whose contributions to Latin American scholarship and teaching have helped place OSU in an advantageous position for federal funding.

“We are overjoyed to receive FLAS funding for the next four years. It will allow us to continue supporting, at the highest level, the study of Portuguese, Quechua, and other Latin American languages by OSU undergraduates and graduate students,” said Scott Schwenter, professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and director of the CLAS. “FLAS fellowships relieve financial burdens to allow more students to become immersed in the lesser-studied languages and cultures of Latin America.”

Learn more about FLAS here. Details for the Summer 2023 and Academic Year 2023-24 competitions will be available soon.

Fall 2022 BookBox Offerings

The BookBox program returns this fall, with three exciting options designed for different audiences. Registration is now open for the following (all times are Eastern):

BookBox 1: Exploring Latin America in PictureBooks and Poetry: Mon., Sept. 19 to Mon., Nov. 14, 2022 (8 sessions, no session October 31), from 5-6:30/7pm. This BookBox is a general set of books focused on Latin American content.

BookBox 2: Américas Award-winning Books: Sat., Sept. 24 to Sat., Nov. 19, 2022 (9 sessions), from 10am-noon.

BookBox 3: Exploring Latin America/Latinx-centered PictureBooks -- FOR CURRENT LIBRARIANS: Meets Wednesdays, Sept. 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26 (6 sessions total), from 1-2pm. This BookBox is a general set of books focused on Latin American/Latinx-centered content.

Learn more about the BookBox program and register here.

For questions, contact CLAS Outreach Coordinator Patti Vocal (vocal.4@osu.edu).

Susan Pratt Munthe Scholarship

The Susan Pratt Munthe Graduate Scholarship for Study on Latin America is now accepting applications!

Purpose: Established May 20, 2021, with gifts from Susan Pratt Munthe (BA 1974); used to support graduate students whose area of focus is international studies. Students’ disciplinary home may be in any OSU department. Preference will be given to candidates whose focus is on Latin America. Expenditures may be used for, but are not limited to, tuition and fees, research, conferences, and travel.

Scholarship Amount: One or more awards to be made annually of up to $2000 based on the proposal.

Requirements: You must be a full-time graduate student in good standing at OSU.

Application Instructions: (Proposals must be received by October 1, 2022, 5pm EST)
An application must include all of the following information:
I. Biographical section indicating:
A. Student Name (and name.#)
B. Current rank (1st year, 2nd year, etc.)
C. Department and Program of Study (MA, PhD)
D. Contact Information
E. Total funds requested

II. Proposal that includes the following:
A. A statement of no more than one page in length (single spaced) describing the proposed activity to be undertaken. Include a brief statement as to how your activity contributes to scholarship and your career development.
B. A budget outlining the expected costs, and the amount of funds requested for the scholarship.
C. A current unofficial transcript or advising report.
D. A description of other sources of support for which you have applied.

Submission instructions:
All application materials should be sent via email attachment to Karlene Foster (foster.24@osu.edu). Submissions are preferred in .pdf format. Please indicate the words “Susan Pratt Munthe Scholarship” in the subject line. For questions regarding the application process, contact Karlene Foster at the email above or at 614.292.9657.

CLAS Affiliate Receives NSF CAREER Grant

Assistant Professor Rachelle Adams of the Department of Evolution, Ecology, & Organismal Biology was awarded an NSF CAREER grant that will fund venom evolution research at the Adams Mega Ant Lab for five years.

Dr. Adams is excited for skilled taxonomist and Megalomyrmex expert Lívia Pires do Prado to join the lab in January as a postdoc. The grant will also fund PhD candidate and CLAS Tinker Fellow Kyle Sozanski’s phylogenomics research. The lab group has exciting plans and will be traveling to Panama, Costa Rica, and Brazil to search for rare Megalomyrmex ant species, discover new species and test alkaloidal venom toxicity.

Adams is still looking to fill at least one more PhD and postdoc position at the Adams Mega Ant Lab. Email adams.1970@osu.edu for more information.

Fulbright Scholar Competition (FY 23/24): Deadline Reminder

With over 800 awards annually in more than 135 countries to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers faculty and professionals who are U.S. citizens a path to solve complex global challenges and create a brighter future. The application deadline for the 2023-24 competition is Sept. 15, 2022.

Learn more here. Contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser (kukielka-blaser.1@osu.edu) for questions.

Job Posting: Assistant Director, CLAS, University of Chicago

The University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies is hiring an Assistant Director.

Minimum Qualifications:
Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications:
Education: Master’s degree. Strong academic background and demonstrated interest in Latin America.

Experience:
Minimum 3 years of experience in a position of comparable responsibility and initiative.
Minimum 1 year of experience working with grants initiatives.
Minimum 1 year of experience working with finances and/or budgets.
Minimum 1 year of supervisory experience.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:
Proficiency in a major Latin American language required, preferably Spanish.
Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet and database programs required.
Familiarity with simple graphic design and desktop publishing programs.

Application Documents:
Resume/CV (required)
Cover Letter (required)
References Contact Information (3)(required)

Find more details and apply here.

Job Posting: K-2 Spanish Literacy Teacher

Forks Elementary School (FES) in Forks, WA is currently hiring a K-2 Spanish Literacy teacher, starting with the 2022-23 school year.

The FES English Language (EL) program follows an “early exit” model of teaching EL, wherein students first learn Spanish literacy before transitioning to English literacy. Students in this program speak Spanish as a first or second language in the home. Students who speak Spanish as a second language all speak an indigenous language as their primary language, such as Mam, Q’anjob’al, or Mixtec. Most of the students are from Guatemala and Mexico.

Find more details and apply here. For questions, contact OSU Portuguese/Latin American Studies alumna Kate Snow (katesnow.07@gmail.com).

OSU Latin Americanists Receive PhDs

Several PhD students from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese recently completed their PhDs, graduating Sunday, August 7. The following students wrote dissertations* concerning Latin America:

Kendra Dickinson - "Grammatical and Social Dimensions of Spanish Past Participle Variation."

Tania Espinales Correa - "¡Qué lejos estoy del suelo donde he nacido! Canciones nostálgicas: migración interna, comedia ranchera y nacionalismo"

Luana Lamberti - "Languages of the African Diaspora in Latin America: Location Marking in Afro-Yungueño Spanish and Helvécia Portuguese"

Cesar Lopes Gemelli - "Ghosts of Colonial Pasts: Adaptations of Antigone and Medea in the second half of the Twentieth Century in Brazil and Argentina"

Sebastián Muñoz - "Ser, pertenecer, querer: Narrativas de la unidad nacional y de la identidad en la literatura y el cine de fútbol en el Chile contemporáneo (1990-2019)"

Melissa Nieves Rivera - "On the relation between (non)exact interpretations of numerals and language: Integrating two independent cognitive systems"

Justin Pinta - "Minority Language Resilience in Corrientes, Argentina"

Estelí Puente Beccar - "La infancia como dispositivo de poder patriarcal-colonial en Bolivia"

Emily Rangel Manrique - "Piratas, azotes y brujas: Interfaces y subjetividades en las culturas digitales en Venezuela (2006-2017)"

Former CLAS Graduate Research Associate Lucía Aja López also graduated last week. Her dissertation is entitled "Las Cantigas de Santa María y la nueva filología. Propuesta de edición digital de la cantiga 80."

Congratulations, graduates!

*Reflects titles at the time of dissertation defense; final versions may differ slightly.