International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Program Highlights

• BA in Asian Studies

  Faculty

  We have carried out a complete overhaul of our major and minor designed to increase overall rigor, including especially more language training, and, most especially, the amount and intensiveness of their writing development. Quite unexpectedly, we also realized one of the "bucket list" goals from our five-year review, the hiring of a Koreanist. We have also seen a pleasing trend toward majors electing to study both Chinese and Japanese languages.

  Where "process improvement" is concerned, we have improved your visibility to the campus community and our already-strong cooperation with the Study Abroad Office and CAB, and we have built links with students in certain majors that are emerging as "feeder programs" for us, International Relations in particular.

   

  "What Chairs can do to Increase Funding for Their Departments" —Professor Kimihiko Nomura, 2016

  International Languages and Literatures Professor Kimihiko Nomura co-authored an article with Dr. Don Chu entitled "What Chairs can do to Increase Funding for Their Departments" which appeared on the front page of the Department Chair, Vol. 26, no. 3. The article discusses ways to increasing funds for departments in a sustainable manner.

  Students

  In 2017 Chico State sent 36 students to study in China, Thailand, Korea, or (in one case) India Asia on a combination of IP, USAC, and Direct Exchange programs (including a summer immersion program at Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan and China), most for a full academic year. Well over 70% of our majors study abroad in Asia sometime during their program, and several go twice!

  Outstanding Asian Studies Students

  

  Matthew Franks, 2015

  Events

   

  Dignitaries from Japan's Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Visit CSU, Chico

  Delegates from the Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan visited the California State University, Chico campus Oct. 27, 2017 to lead a discussion titled "Walk in U.S., Talk in Japan."

  The goal of the discussion was to increase awareness about Japan in the United States on a variety of issues and to further develop the Japan-US relationship through people-to-people diplomacy.

  Clubs & Organizations

  Japanese Animation Club

  Japanese Fusion (J*Fusion)

• BA in French

  Outstanding French Students

  Student Name	Year
  Siobhan Sears	2010
  Jordan Wheeler	2011
  Amanda Abrahams	2012
  Lily Salska-McNeil	2013
  Kaysha Dorsey	2014
  Lily Mirsepassi	2015
  Tefaite Herrmann	2016
  Austin Redfern	2017
  Kelsi Belli	2018
  Yuliana Calvillo Solis	2019
  Wesley Smith	2020

  Clubs & Organizations

  French Club

• BA in German

  Students

  

  Outstanding German Students

  Student Name	Year
  Maria Beecroft	2012
  Francisca Ann Crutchfield	2013
  Dylan Pflueger/James Morris	2014
  Karanda Hyatt	2015
  Maria Esparza & Sandra Gibson	2016
  Soraya Abrahimi-Nuyken	2017
  Jack Barrett	2018
  Bennie Robertson	2019
  Kate Worcester	2020
  Oscar Saucedo	2021

  Karanda Hyatt, Outstanding German Student 2015

  Clubs & Organizations

  

  Conversation Hour

  CSU, Chico Students enjoying German Conversation Hour offered weekly throughout the semester.

• BA in Latin American Studies

  Students

  Outstanding Latin American Studies Students

  Photo of Outstanding Latin American Studies Students

  Student Name	Year
  Ana Zepeda	2017
  Joanna Herrera	2016
  Angela Breining*	2015

  *Angela Breining Outstanding LAST graduate has been accepted to UC Davis School of Law! Angela currently works for California Rural Legal Assistance and will be using her law degree to continue with her advocacy work with California farm workers.

  Lieutenant Robert Merton Rawlins Merit Award: Daniel Caravez, 2016

  Congratulations to Daniel Caravez for being awarded a Lieutenant Robert Merton Rawlins Merit Award for 2016. This award, based on faculty nominations, awards students for outstanding accomplishments and extracurricular activities.

  Daniel was nominated by Dr. Char Prieto of the International Languages, Literature and Cultures department. Daniel calls himself a "well-rounded student," but this is an understatement. This Latin American Studies major is also getting a B.S. in Math and a B.A. in Spanish. Daniel is a very active member of Phi Sigma Iota International Language Honors Society. Daniel participated in Upward Bound, volunteered to tutor math at Chico Junior High, and was part of Project Math, a mentorship program at Chico State for future teachers. He also played football earlier in his college career.

  Lieutenant Robert Merton Rawlins Merit Award: Kyle Heise, 2014

  Kyle Heise was nominated by Dr. Stephen E. Lewis. Kyle Heise is pursuing a triple major in history, Spanish, and Latin American Studies. He is a member of Phi Sigma Iota, the Foreign Language Honor Society, and Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society.

  In fall 2011, Kyle studied in Santiago, Chile to better develop his Spanish speaking skills. Kyle applies his skills as a Spanish and history tutor in the Student Learning Center. He is also employed by the CSU, Chico Study Abroad Office as a Marketing and Recruitment Intern, and by KSCS Radio Station as a DJ.

  Olivia Van Damme Awarded Internship at the Smithsonian Institution

  Latin American Studies major Olivia Van Damme has been awarded with an internship at the Smithsonian Institution for the summer of 2015. This is a very competitive and prestigious award. Olivia will be working on a collaborative project with Dr. Gabriela Perez-Baes in Anthropology and Dr. Vicki Funk in Botany at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

  Latin American Studies Student Bios

  Osiris Gómez, 2009

  "Chico State prepared me for my current endeavors as a PhD student in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at UC Santa Barbara.The variety of perspectives of the faculty in the Latin American Studies program enriched y curiosity as an undergrad which led me to develop my current research interests in Nahuatl poetry. History and literature are inextricably intertwined, and from my LAST coursework I could not help but see literature through an historical lens." —Osiris Gómez, graduate with majors in Latin American Studies and Spanish and Outstanding Student in Latin American Studies

  Vanessa Mckenna Vásquez, 2005

  Ms. McKenna Vásquez graduated from CSU Chico in 2005 with a double major in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Vanessa then travelled to Spain as a WWOOFer to work on an Andalusian horse ranch just outside of the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada.

  After flirting with the idea of never coming home, she returned to California to pursue a Master's degree at Humboldt State University in Environment and Community Studies. Vanessa's graduate work focused around her love of community, sustainable agriculture and her connection to the Northern California environment. Upon graduating from HSU in May of 2012, another Sierra Nevada mountain range called, and Vanessa relocated to Quincy, CA and her home watershed—the Feather River. Vanessa currently works for Feather River Land Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the magnificent lands and waters of the Feather River Region. When not working, Vanessa can be found riding her bike, hiking, foraging for wild herbs, cooking with friends and family and reading novels in Spanish.

  Jean-Claire Peltier

  Jean-Claire Peltier has over 6 years of experience studying and working in Latin America. Her travels to the continent began at age 18, when she moved to Trujillo, Peru, to work in the education program of an NGO called Supporting Kids in Peru (SKIP). Upon her eventual return to the United States, she enrolled in CSU Chico, where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies and Sociology. In the following years, she worked in many different jobs in Latin America, from a prestigious internship at the US Embassy in Panama City, Panama, to teaching English in Santiago, Chile. Jean-Claire returned to Peru in 2014, to work as the English Program Coordinator at SKIP, designing and implementing an English language curriculum in underserved public schools. A year on, she accepted a new position managing the core curriculum/youth outreach program for secondary students as well. She invites Chico State LAST students to apply for a volunteer slot on her team at SKIP!

  Events

  On Wednesday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. in PAC 134, Dr. Myrna Santiago, Chair, Dept. of History at St. Mary's College will present "The Open Veins of Latin America — An Environmental History of Mining and Oil Extraction in the 19th and 20th Centuries."

  Mixtec rapper Una Isu and Zapotec sound artist DJ Survive visited campus for an artists' talk and performance of Mixtec Hip Hop. They also visited several classes, including SPAN 332, SPAN 451, and FLNG 355.

  Tz'utujil Maya rapper/singer Tzutu Kan visited campus for an artists' talk and performance of Maya Hip Hop. He also visited SPAN 332 and LAST 495. This semester's LAST 495 course focuses on Latin American counterculture and includes a unit on indigenous-language hip-hop, so this visit dovetailed with the course material.

  

  History and Latin American Studies students took a trip to the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco for an exhibit on Teotihuacan.

  New Course Offerings

  Two new LAST courses for the first time in the fall: Latin American Music and Latin American Philosophy.

  Clubs & Organizations

  Luso-Brazilian Student Association (BRAZLUS)

  Luso-Brazilian Student Association is the first student organization on the CSU, Chico's campus dedicated to support learning and teaching relevant to the luso-Brazilian cultural heritage.

  Brazlus was founded on April, the 8th, 2013, by a group of student enthusiasts of cross-cultural communication with the Portuguese speaking world. One of its main objectives is to promote the luso-Brazilian cultural experience on campus, in general. In particular, it aims at facilitating and strengthening bilingual, bicultural communication between CSU, Chico's students and fellow ESL students from educational settings, locally and overseas.

• BA in Spanish

  Faculty

  Walk the Line Award: Nathan Heggins Bryant and Hannah Burdette, 2017

  The Walk the Line award recognizes that the work to achieve social justice is both demanding and risky. Risks include excessive scrutiny and burn out from juggling multiple roles (e.g., mentor, teacher, advocate). This award recognizes one who takes such risk without the protection of privilege and safety nets such as tenure or secure fulltime employment.

  Spanish professor Dr. Char Prieto joins elite Spanish Language Academy

  Dr. Prieto has been named an honorary Corresponding Member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE) in D.C.

  The Board of Directors of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE) approved her appointment as Corresponding Member of The North American Academy of the Spanish Language, a non-profit educational organization whose purpose is to promote Hispanic cultures, languages, and literatures. The mission of ANLE is to study, develop and execute the normative rules of the Spanish of the United States of America as well as to preserve the use of Spanish by establishing, disseminating and promoting the criteria of proper and correct usage of Spanish. September 25, 2013.

  "Yo pertenezco aquí" —Dr. Denise Minor

  Dr. Denise Minor publishes "Yo pertenezco aquí": Academic Identities, Formal Spanish, and Feelings of Belonging, a study that examines the impact that membership in a Spanish language theater and poetry troupe had upon a group of Mexican and Chicano university students in terms of the development of academic identities, feelings of belonging, connections with friends and family, and other factors that correlate with academic perseverance. Also examined was the degree to which students believed that participation in the troupe's events had improved their ability to employ formal Spanish. Analysis was based upon the results of a two-part written survey taken by ten members and video-taped interviews conducted with five members. Respondents to the written survey reported that membership had positively impacted all of the factors listed above. Data gathered in the interviews supported the findings of the survey. Additionally, the interviewees stated that participation in the troupe's meetings and presentations had influenced their decisions about their professional goals and their confidence in their ability to reach those goals. The five interviewees were contacted four years after the study to determine educational outcomes. All five had graduated from college and were either high school Spanish teachers or working towards doctorate degrees in Spanish.

  Students

  

  Outstanding Spanish Student Jessica Moreno 2015

  Bix Whitcomb 2014 Study Abroad Award Recipients

  Kyle Kosling and Brian Peterson

  Outstanding Spanish Students

  Events

  Professor Hannah Burdette and Students host Maya artist Tzutu Kan, 2018

  Maya hip-hop artist Tzutu Kan will be on campus on Monday, February 26 for an artist talk and performance in PAC 134 at 6pm, to be followed by a reception and artist meet-and-greet. Tzutu Kan's music blends indigenous sounds from Guatemala and modern instruments. His band Balam Ajpu's album Jun Winaq' Rajawal Q'ij, Tribute to the 20 Nawals, contains twenty songs that recover and reinterpret ancient calendar knowledge based on the Cholq'ij, the natural frequency of 20 days and 13 energies. Listen to his music at https://soundcloud.com/ma-ya-hip-hop(opens in new window).

  Professor Sara Cooper and Students host Cuban author Maria Elena Llana, 2015

  Students from the Department of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures under the guidance of Professor Sara Cooper hosted Cuban author Maria Elena Llana as the keynote speaker of the Spanish Symposium of Literature and Hispanic Culture. The students from ILLC were part of Expresiones Literarias, Artisticas y Culturales di Chico (ELACC) and shared their research into Hispanic writing and in three panel discussions.

  Professor Sara Cooper and Students host Cuban poet laureate Nancy Morejón

  Tuesday, September 16 from 4:30–6 pm in BMU 210 Nancy Morejón, poet laureate of Cuba, will participate in a bilingual reading of poetry from her newest book, Homing Instincts/Querencias.

  A reception will follow, at 6pm, in the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (MLIB 172).

  Nancy Morejón (Havana, 1944). With a ​​poetic production that spans more than half a century and has achieved enormous popularity, Morejón was awarded the Cuban National Literature Prize in 2001. She is a jurist for the Carbet Caribbean Award (since 1990) and is a full member of the Cuban Academy of Language (since 1999). The most recent awards Morejón has earned are the Gold Crown of Macedonia (2006), the Rafael Alberti Award (2007), plus the Gallega Universal Writer (2008) and the prestigious Latin American Studies Association Award (2012). In 2009, the University of Cergy- Pontoise, Paris, France, awarded Morejón an honorary doctorate. In 2013 she was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic. In 2008, Morejon was elected president of the Association of Writers of the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas Cubanos (UNEAC), a position she held for many years. Currently, she directs the Caribbean Studies Center at Casa de las Américas, Havana, epicenter of Cuban and Latin American intelligentsia. She serves as the Director of the Cuban Academy of Language.

  Nancy Morejón's newest book, Homing Instincts/Querencias, is coming out this month from Cubanabooks Press, a non-profit run by Professor Sara E. Cooper.

  Dr. Delgado Presentation: "The Early Historical Narratives from the Spanish Conquest to Cultural Appropriation"

  This presentation is subtitled, Dr. Delgado begins by examining the European interests served by Christopher Columbus' voyages to the "New World": the church, the crown, and private wealth. He maintains that the publication of the 1520 report of Hernan Cortes helped start the full-blown conquest of the New World by Europeans. This report established the understanding that the indigenous people of the New World were not just a "natural people," but had created sophisticated civilizations and empires of their own. Dr. Delgado also shares other historical accounts of the New World. Dr. Delgado's appearance was jointly sponsored by the CSU, Chico Department of International Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and by Phi Sigma Iota, the International Foreign Language Honor Society.

  Events

  Noche Cervantina, 2016

  On Thursday, May 3, "Noche de Cervantina" was hosted by members of the Expresiones Literarias, Artísticas y Culturales de Chico and the department of international languages, literatures and cultures. The event was in commemoration of Cervantes' work due to his 400th birthday and consisted of an introductory skit, this play and musicians along with a flamenco dancer.

  Noche de Teatro, presented by the members of the Asociación de Teatro y Poesía

  Join us for the upcoming Noche de Teatro, presented by the members of the Asociación de Teatro y Poesía, a free performance of two classic plays--one a social satire in English and the other a tragedy in Spanish. BMU Auditorium, 6 pm

  Clubs & Organizations

  Multicultural Echoes Magazine

  Phi Sigma Iota

  ELACC (Estudiantes de Literatura Arte y Cultura de Chico)

  

• MA in Teaching International Languages

  Events

  Psycholinguistic Research on L2 Vocabulary Learning: Methods and Implications, 2018

  Thursday, March 1, 5-6 pm in LANG 104. In this lecture, Dr. Joe Barcroft (Professor of Spanish & Second Language Acquisition, Washington University in St. Louis) will highlight features of psycholinguistic research on L2 vocabulary learning and show how research findings in this area inform approaches to second/foreign language learning today.