Alli Peoples graduated in spring 2018 with her bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Spanish. Upon graduation, she moved to Madrid, Spain, where she is currently working as an English Language and Culture Assistant at the bilingual primary school, CEIP Lepanto. At Lepanto, Alli not only plays an active role in English instruction in the classroom in multiple subject areas, but also in helping students to develop a multicultural mindset. In her words, “being an International Studies major helped me develop a foundation of knowledge that gave me the confidence to pursue a job abroad.” She believes her ability to help cultivate this mindset in her students was greatly enhanced by her coursework as an International Studies major, which helped her to first understand the shared values and identities of her own culture and then employ this knowledge to develop an understanding and
News
By Sarah Jayne Johnson
This fall in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) will be exhibiting "Los Códices: an exhibit of illustrated books from indigenous Mesoamerica," Sept. 12-Nov. 9, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library Building. The exhibit and a lecture with art historian Lori Diel are free and open to public.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The celebration started as a week under President Lyndon Johnson and then expanded to the present 30-day period under President Ronald Reagan in 1988. It started Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence for
Events include:
The Universal Language: Latin
September 17th, 2018, Patterson Hall 218, 4:00pm-5:00pm
Drs. Milena Minkova and Terence Tunberg from the Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department will present “The Universal Language: Latin” at the International Village LLP.
Cultural Research and Internship Opportunities
September 18th, 2018, Gatton College of Business, 435 UV, 3:00pm-4:00pm
Panelists will include Juliana McDonald, George Crothers, Philip Mink, and Renee Bonzani from the University of Kentucky’s Department of Anthropology. The University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology offers programs in three sub-disciplines of anthropology: archaeology, cultural, and biological. Learn about new and upcoming research, opportunities for field work, as well as their experiences with working with the Museum of
By Nate Harling
The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences is entering the eighth year of its Passport to the World initiative, a yearlong exploration of the culture and history of different areas of the world and interdisciplinary topics. This year’s program explores the role migration has played and continues to play in shaping societies across the globe, and here at home.
“Migration has played a crucial role in human history, and in shaping contemporary societies, and we want to emphasize and critically examine interconnections among world areas and people across the globe, as well as how migration is central to our societies,” said Cristina Alcalde, associate dean of inclusion and internationalization in the college, and one of the co-organizers of
By Gail Hairston
Watch the trailer for "Wide as the Wind" by Edward Stanton above.
A third international book award has been presented to University of Kentucky Professor Emeritus Edward Stanton for his young adult, prehistorical fiction novel “Wide as the Wind” (2016, Open Books Press).
He was recently awarded the Silver Feathered Quill Book Award in the category of teen fiction (13-18 years).
Stanton’s “Wide as the Wind” first won the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, presented by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group. A few months later in
By Julie Wrinn
Brittney Woodrum (B.A. ’15) never expected to major in Hispanic Studies, or train dolphins in Bermuda, or teach English to Buddhist nuns in Myanmar, or become a Fulbright Fellow. But she has done all of these things and is now in her second year as a Princeton Fellow in Asia. Connecting all of these endeavors is a love of languages, and that love caught fire in UK’s Department of Hispanic Studies.
“Every single Spanish professor I’ve taken has been so fantastic,” recalls Woodrum. She was especially impressed with a study abroad trip to Madrid led by Dr. Susan Larson. “She was a very inspiring, powerful woman. I really admired her, seeing where she went with Spanish. She was American, but she seemed so natural with the language and the culture. She showed me that you could become part of an entirely new world just with language.”
In high school,
By Amaya DeVicente
Last year, 18 percent of the University of Kentucky graduating class graduated with global experience. The university’s International Center has taken steps to increase that percentage.
The UK International Center’s Education Abroad and Exchanges program (UK EA) recently announced a new 2018-19 scholarship and program fee reduction initiative for selected UK exchange partners around the world, ranging from $1,000-$5,000.
UK students who participate in an exchange program have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the language and culture of a host university, city and country. They enroll in courses at the host institution for either a semester or an academic year and earn transfer credit, while still paying their regular tuition to UK.
Nicole Funk, a junior from
By Gail Hairston
University of Kentucky Professor Emeritus Edward Stanton’s young adult, prehistoric fiction novel “Wide as the Wind” has received a second international award — the coveted Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, presented by the Jenkins Group for authors, illustrators and publishers from the United States, Canada and six additional countries.
Earlier this year, “Wide as the Wind” (Open Books Press) won the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Young Adult Fiction.
Described by the publisher as “a timely piece of environmental fiction,” “Wide as the Wind” is the first novel of any genre to deal with the stunning, tragic history of Easter Island and its implications for our modern world. It has been described as “both a stirring novel of adventure and a prophetic tale for our times.”
That’s an impressive achievement for any book,
By Gail Hairston
World Languages Day and more than 250 Kentucky high school students return to the University of Kentucky campus Nov. 1.
Two UK College of Arts and Sciences departments, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the Department of Hispanic Studies, have planned a full day for the young students.
The students, who are studying either Spanish, French, German, Latin, Chinese, Russian or Japanese, will attend two classes in the morning and then have a question and answer session with current UK students and alumni regarding careers and opportunities in language and cultural study.
World Languages Day will continue with Assistant Professor Molly Blasing, who will discuss the college’s Keys to the Commonwealth
By Gail Hairston
(Left to right) Dan Reedy, Karl Raitz, Dean Mark Kornbluh, Martha Rolingson, Charles Grizzle and Tom Spalding.
The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences celebrated its Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building.
This year's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Reception honored alumni Charlie Grizzle, Martha Rolingson and Tom Spalding, and College of Arts and Sciences faculty members Karl B. Raitz and Daniel R. Reedy. For more about each honoree, see their brief biographies below.
Alumni Inductees
Charlie Grizzle, English, bachelor’s degree, 1973
Charles "Charlie" L. Grizzle, a native of Argillite, Kentucky, in Greenup County, earned his bachelor
By Amaya DeVicente and Gail Hairston
Nicole Funk, a junior from Lexington majoring in natural resources and environmental science with a Spanish minor, participated in an Education Abroad semester-long direct exchange program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Quito, Ecuador. It was through a community internship that Funk received recognition for best of “Pasantía en la Comunidad” (PASEC) work at USFQ. All USFQ students must complete this program in order to graduate, and international students also have the opportunity to complete a PASEC program if they wish.
Nicole Funk (second from left) with Universidad San Francisco de Quito faculty and staff.
For Funk's PASEC service program, she completed a service-learning experience at Instituto Educativo
By Gail Hairston
Arts and Sciences Professor Emeritus Edward Stanton’s recently published book "Wide as the Wind" has been named by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group as one of the best indie books of 2017.
Stanton, formerly a UK professor of Hispanic studies, based his young adult novel on the decade of research and traveling he did on Easter Island. The prophetic story of adventure he created reflects the Polynesian exploration of the Pacific Ocean in wooden, handcrafted canoes with no metal parts or instruments of navigation. The National Geographic has called the Polynesian exploration the greatest feat in human prehistory, as bold
By Lori Minter
The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2017 semester. A total of 6,412 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.
To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes. Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.
The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting: www.uky.edu/PR/News/DeansList/.
UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how
By Gail Hairston
The languages and cultures of the world will be highlighted at the University of Kentucky March 25 at the Kentucky World Language Association World Language Showcase.
The UK College of Arts and Sciences departments of Hispanic Studies and Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures will play host to nearly 200 student-competitors from across Kentucky.
The students will display their proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and French. UK faculty, graduate and undergraduate students will lead language and cultural sessions in Arabic, French, German, Latin, ancient Greek, Italian, Russian, Chinese, American Sign Language and Japanese. A presentation dedicated to using language professionally is also scheduled.
Representatives from GlobalLex, World Trade Center, Sister Cities, UK Education Abroad and Kentucky
By Kathy Johnson
The "Civic Life" panel series, developed by the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is a new weekly forum exploring a wide range of issues confronting society today. Open to the entire UK campus, these lunchtime panel discussions will take place each Wednesday for the remainder of the semester, and the series kicks off Wednesday, March 22, with a discussion of immigration — a topic making headlines worldwide.
“At the core of the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences is the commitment to prepare students to be engaged citizens in our Commonwealth, in an increasingly diverse nation, and in an ever-more interconnected world," said Mark Kornbluh, dean of the college. "Faculty members across all of the disciplines of our college take this commitment seriously and are seeking to provide
By Lori Minter
A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time. Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.
To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes. Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.
The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting www.uky.edu/PR/News/
By Whitney Hale
Paige A. Dauparas, a University of Kentucky accounting, English and Spanish literature and culture senior from Mokena, Illinois, has been selected to present the 23rd annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Dauparas' free public lecture focuses on diversity and how the search for individuality impacts unity.
The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who showed an exceptional interest in higher education and
By Whitney Hale
University of Kentucky senior Rachel Dixon, of Lexington, was recently named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Dixon, an English and writing, rhetoric and digital studies major, will interview for the prestigious scholarship that funds graduate study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.
A UK Honors College member and former ambassador, Dixon is a
John Jay Allen, emeritus professor of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Hispanic Studies, has been made a corresponding member of the Spanish Royal Academy of the Language (Real Academia Española de la Lengua), one of the highest academic honors in the Spanish-speaking world.
Allen taught in the UK College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Hispanic Studies (formerly Department of Spanish and Italian) from 1983 to 1999 and as emeritus professor since 2000.
Allen´s accomplishments are quite numerous, but the most salient are: National Endowement for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship for Independent Research, 1981-82; NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers, 1989; Residential Fellowship to the National Humanities Center, North Carolina, 1989-90; UK's Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize; and an honorary doctor of letters from Middlebury College
By Whitney Hale
(April 14, 2015) — A University of Kentucky senior and recent graduate have been selected for fellowships from the Princeton in Asia program. As part of the program, biochemistry senior Calvin Hong and 2015 arts administration and Spanish graduate Brittney Woodrum will teach in Hong Kong and Myanmar respectively.
Princeton in Asia (PiA) sponsors more than 150 fellowships and internships in 20 countries and is the oldest and largest organization of its kind, unique in its scope, size, century-long expertise and emphasis on service. The essence of PiA is to provide
