Latin American and Caribbean Studies at W&L

Internship experiences in Latin America: (1/08)

Application for Summer Indepedent Internships 2008

Application for Argentine Education Internships

In collaboration with the Center for International Education and the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program will be able to offer competitive funding for two types of internship awards this summer. The deadline for both the Independent and Teaching Assistant internship awards is February 4th. Awards are based on the merit of your application and interview. Interviews will be conducted in late February.

1. Independent Internship Grant: Rather than choosing from a pre-approved list of available internships, the student is responsible for seeking out and proposing a specific internship assignment in Latin America or the Caribbean. Although the specific nature of the assignments may vary, it is expected that the design of the internship will allow the student to be fully engaged in a activity that offers insight into Latin American and Caribbean culture and society. It is expected that interns be engaged full time for at least eight weeks. The maximum amount awarded is $2,000 per student, and is intended only to defray costs associated with air, room, board, or program fee. The program is open to all returning students (current freshmen through Junior) but preference is given to those who have already enrolled in LACS 101 or will have completed it by this Spring.

2. Teaching Assistant internships at Holy Trinity School, Mar de Plata, Argentina: (June 6^th- Aug 6^th ). Interns assist the school with a number of educational tasks and in return receive room and board. The W&L award of $1,000 is to be used towards airfare. (In terms of costs, then, the individual pays his/her personal expenses, in-country travel, and some meals.) Interns must have completed at least fourth semester Spanish. Additionally, applicants should have a strong interest in working at an educational institution at the High School level. Preference will be given to those with a high oral proficiency in Spanish and interested in pursuing a career in Education.

Course announcement for Winter / Spring 2008: (11/07)

LACS 101 and 396 will be offered in the winter; LACS 195 will be offered in the Spring. See 2007-2008 Courses

Novelist and Short-Story Writer Uva de Aragon speaks at Washington and Lee: (11/07)

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program will sponsor a public lecture by noted poet, novelist, and essayist Uva de Aragon. Her lecture--"Exile, Diaspora, Migration: Negotiating Identity for a Cuban-American Author"—will be held in Northen Auditorium on Wednesday, November 14^th at 6:00 pm.

Born in Havana, De Aragon came to the U.S. in 1960. Since then she has received acclaim for such poetic works as Versos de exilio ("Verses of Exile") and Los nombres del amor ("The Names of Love"), and most recently her novel Memoria del silencio (The Memory of Silence), among others.

English for Speakers of Other Languages -- (9/07)

ESOL: The mission of the English for Speakers of Other Languages Program is to facilitate communication within the increasingly diverse population in Rockbridge County. Although ESOL has focused on the Latina/o community, the program works with speakers of all languages. We offer formal ESOL classes and one-on-one tutoring arrangements, Spanish classes for adults, translation of documents (Spanish-English/English-Spanish), and a hotline to provide immediate interpreting services. All services are free of charge.
Demand for our services has increased significantly. Besides the need to staff our usual Thursday night ESOL classes at the Rockbridge Regional Library, our Tuesday night Spanish classes at W&L, and numerous one-on-one tutoring arrangements, we need volunteers to teach new ESOL classes at Glasgow Regional Library, to teach Spanish classes at some of the elementary schools, and to do the Spanish Story Hour on Saturday mornings at RRL. We also need volunteers to complete translations, work our Hotline (lots of legal Spanish-English work at the Courthouse and some medical visits), and generate publicity and development opportunities.

To learn more, please plan on attending the first ESOL Recruitment Meeting, Thursday, September 13, 7:00 pm, in Elrod Commons 114. All interested students, no matter their language background, are welcome.

Thanks,
Professors Dresden and Mayock, Faculty Co-advisers
Tal McIver, '08, Student Chair
(http://esol.wlu.edu)

Student Conference at Birmingham-Southern College:

BSC Latin American Studies Program invites proposals from students for the 16th Annual LAS Symposium hosted by the Birmingham-Southern College on March 14-15, 2008. This interdisciplinary conference aims to promote undergraduate research focused on Latin America. All topics pertaining to Latin America are welcome, and presentations should be 15 minutes in length. Proposals of panels are encouraged and faculty members are invited to serve as panel chairs and discussants. Papers in English, Spanish and Portuguese will be considered. Registration: All participants are asked to register for the conference. The registration fee is $20.00. Submissions: Please send panel/paper proposals to the address below or submit online.

Deadline: November 30, 2007
By Mail:
Barbara Domcekova
Latin American Studies Symposium, Director
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Road, Birmingham, AL 35254
Phone: (205) 226-4975
Fax: (205) 226-3089
Online:
http://www.bsc.edu/academics/las/symposium.htm

Spring Term Abroad: (8/07) ---

Plans are underway to offer several spring term supervised study abroad programs in Barbados, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Brazil. For more information, contact the Center for International Education or the appropriate Professor for each program -- See LACS Study abroad page for names / description.

LACS 101: There will be five spaces reserved for incoming freshmen for the Fall 07 LACS 101. Another section may be offered in Winter contingent upon student interest. If you are interested in LACS 101, Winter term please contact Prof. Barnett

Announcements: