About Our Sixth Issue
Issue VI of Canal features writing and creative work in Spanish, Italian, Khmer, French, German, and Chinese, making it the most linguistically diverse issue to date. We are proud of all the student work presented in this 2022 issue and are deeply appreciative of the faculty members who provided guidance along the way.
The issue begins with two interview projects created by Lay Lon and Timothy Seale.
Lon's "Interview Series on Buddhism and Cambodia: Monasteries, Education, and Poverty" offers a valuable set of perspectives on the role of Buddhist monasteries in Cambodia. Interviews with Ven. Vouthy Phin, Ven. Phearum Sok, Noun Hou, Ven. Saren Sib, and Changvong Kul are presented in Khmer and English, allowing readers to appreciate the educational, socioeconomic, ethical, and spiritual role of monasteries in contemporary Cambodia. This project began within Sandra Miller's Feature Writing course in the English Department.
In "Reframing Bilingualism," Seale offers a conversation with Teresa Satterfield, a linguist and professor from the University of Michigan who conducts neurolinguistic research while running En Nuestra Lengua, a language program targeting the unique abilities of Spanish-speaking elementary students. Building on the insights provided in the "Bilingualism: Then and Now" event organized by Jane Sancinito and Daniel Arroyo Rodríguez, it provides a glimpse at the complexities of her work.
Jinghan Wu's poem, "The Immortality of the Present," is presented in the original Chinese and in an English translation. Evoking themes of mortality, history, and the pandemic, it speaks to the larger context of this academic year. The poem was written with a course directed by Yu Luo Rioux.
Our 2022 issue also features essays by Sebastian Boivin, Stefan Iglesias, and Sancho Moroto Tobias.
Boivin presents research on how liberal politicians in Québec strategically advocated for the preservation of the French language in the 1960's in order to appeal to the public and advance their policy agenda. The essay provides a nuanced view of how cultural policies and messages can be utilized by politicians in ways that are not immediately apparent to the public. It was written within a directed study course taught by Kristen Stern.
Two of the essays describe international encounters involving Italian culture. Stefan Iglesias writes about the experiences of learning Italian that Jhumpa Lahiri describes in her book, In Altre Parole. Sancho Maroto Tobias analyzes a story titled “American Parmigiano” created by the Italian literary collective Wu Ming that presents and compares characters from Italy and the United States in conflict over the origins and the production of "Parmigiano Reggiano." Both were written within a reading course taught by Giulia Po DeLisle.
Christian Martinez Anzola, Sadhika Hiremath, Margherita Meneghetti and Patrick Fuss share texts that they wrote within their Advanced Spanish Composition course, taught by Max Ubelaker Andrade. Each mini-essay is an exercise in borrowing from the style, language, and logic of another author. After reading and discussing Carlos Fuentes's El espejo enterrado throughout the semester, they applied the author’s writing strategies to a topic that they were deeply familiar with, expanding their own style in the process.
We are very proud to feature the work of both Victoria Eluszkiewicz and Haley Robles, who offer projects centered on language learning.
Eluszkiewicz writes about her experiences learning German within the department and her plans to expand her abilities and her knowledge as she travels. Anna Maria Harrod offered guidance during the writing process for this text.
Robles worked with Giulia Po DeLisle on a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) project to ensure that elementary Italian language course materials offer inclusive vocabulary for describing oneself and others that extends beyond White people. The video, which features Haley describing herself and her friends in Italian, will be used in the classroom as part of this larger project to ensure that learning Italian is relevant, fun and welcoming to all students.