Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Berkeley

New on the CLAS Blog! PhD student Gabriel Lesser used a CLAS summer field research grant to study humor in Brazil, finding that "Humor is no Joke!" Click below for a short report on his research. CC: Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Berkeley

https://clasberkeley.wordpress.com

Some of the lovely Spanish & Portuguese graduates at the Foreign Languages commencement last week. A HUGE congratulations to all!

¡Enhorabuena a los nuevos miembros de Sigma Delta Pi!

Bate-papo em português! Come join our weekly meetings on Wednesdays, 4-5pm at Bears Lair Tavern. There's no minimum level required to participate in the conversations! You can come if you're interested in practicing or if you would like to have some exposure to the language.

Anti-Black State Violence Across the Americas: Power and Struggle in Brazil and the U.S.*

February 20th– 22nd
University of California, Berkeley
2/20 @ David Brower Center (4:15 - 8:30pm)
2/21 @ Multicultural Community Center, MLK Building (9am - 6pm)
2/22 @ Multicultural Community Center, MLK Building (9am - 4pm)
2/22 Plenary Event @ Berkeley Law, Room 105 (5-7pm)

RSVP for individuals events and workshops: ABSV2019Registration

At a pivotal historical moment, the University of California, Berkeley will host some of the most influential social movement leaders from Brazil and the United States—homes to the two largest Black populations outside the continent of Africa. Join

Cat Brooks (Anti Police-Terror Project)
Ericka Huggins (Black Panther Party)
Vilma Reis (Movimento de Mulheres Negras)
Alicia Garza (Black Lives Matter)
Asha Ransby-Sporn (Black Youth Project 100)
Djamila Ribeiro (Movimento de Feministas Negras)
Andreia Beatriz & Hamilton Borges dos Santos (Reaja ou Será Mort@)
Christen Smith (UT Austin)
Tina Sacks, Leigh Raiford & john a. powell (UC Berkeley)
Camila de Moraes and more throughout this three-day symposium!

In 2019, a U.S. congressional session begins with more women and non-white members than ever before amid a contentious executive branch, and Brazil’s far-right president-elect begins his first term despite anti-Black, -LGBTQ, and -woman rhetoric. The symposium on “Anti-Black State Violence in the Americas” will facilitate transnational coalitions, engagement, and learning. Taking place over three days, scholars, scholar-activists, and organizers will discuss the intersecting challenges of addressing anti-black state violence through workshops on topics including: policing and democracy; historical foundations of Black struggle; wellness and healing; sustainability and social movements; cultural media production; education in today’s socio-cultural contexts; pathways to contesting racialized forms of violence, and many others.

Join us during this dynamic multi-disciplinary symposium as we illuminate cross-cultural understanding, bringing forward the sharp contrast and commonality between South and North America and generating anti-oppression community building across the Americas. All community members welcome!

RSVP for individuals events and workshops: ABSV2019Registration

Get up-to-date information and more details here: https://www.facebook.com/AntiBlackStateViolence2019/ (does not require a FB account). Our event page also has a link to the RSVP form.

*This event is organized by: The LUTA Initiative, developed by Maria Fátima Santos, co-directed with Jessica F. Compton, and with guidance from Tianna S. Paschel.

For questions, email us at [email protected]

The LUTA Initiative The LUTA Initiative is a coalition invested in facilitating international dialogue about the realities of racialized state violence across the Americas. We are based in the Bay Area, but not limited by regional or national boundaries.

CLAS Tinker Fellows report back from the field: Ana Tello, PhD student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Berkeley is conducting research at the photographic archive held at the Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas, in Cuzco, Peru. She is interested in the possibilities of self-representation that itinerant photographers offered marginalized groups in the early twentieth century.

Welcome New Faculty and Graduate Students!

The department is very happy to welcome Nathaniel Wolfson, who joins the department as Assistant Professor of Portuguese. Professor Wolfson received his PhD from Princeton University, and he comes to Berkeley from a post-doctoral appointment at Harvard University. His research and teaching focus on modern Brazilian literature and culture.

We are also very pleased to welcome Jhonni Carr, who comes to the department as a Lecturer in Spanish linguistics. Professor Carr received her PhD from UCLA, where her doctoral research focused on Spanish language ecologies in Los Angeles. She joins the department with extensive teaching experience as a post-doctoral fellow at UCLA, and she will be offering a range of undergraduate courses for the linguistics major-track in Spanish.

Finally, a warm welcome our incoming cohort of graduate students: Alejandra Decker, Gabriel Lesser, Yamel Nuñez, and Annie Tarver. We hope you are all settling in well, and we look forward to working with you over the course of your studies.

Sponsored by the UCB Center for Teaching and Learning, STIR (Showcase of Teaching Innovation and Reinvention) celebrates and highlights excellent teaching in our campus. Distinguished Teaching Award recipients and other innovative faculty from Science and Humanities participate in panels discussing student engagement strategies, large enrollment courses, and classroom and curriculum assessment.

Amelia Barili represented our Department with her talk on- Teaching 21st Century Competencies Through Authentic Assessment Pedagogy. Her presentation is the 3rd one in this video (17-24).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aXP6_nVuSU

Barili's panel which included faculty from the School of Education, Integrative Biology, and Near Eastern Studies, was moderated by Jenn Stringer, Chief Academic Technology Officer & Asst. Vice Chancellor Teaching and Learning.

Lightning Talks Round 1 | Berkeley 2018 Showcase of Teaching Innovation and Reinvention Lightning talks about teaching by Berkeley faculty: 05:40 "Creating Environment for L.C.T.L. Classes," Haitham Mohamed (Near Eastern Studies) 11:45 "Bio 1B F...