TWO-DAY SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY SPANISH CULTURE

 ALCESXXI October 25-28, 2018

Toward a Critical Reassessment of the Objectives, Outcomes, and Audience of our Field(s)

ALCESXXI invites all interested persons to participate in a two-day meeting at the University of Minnesota for the weekend of October 25-28, 2018.

Seminar

1. Goal: To reassess the purpose, objectives, and target audience of our field in the 21^st century

2. Description:

As market forces continue to impact the university, the humanities and the field of Hispanic Studies—as well as the rest of society and our world ecology at large—many scholars are increasingly questioning the meaning and purpose of their work as educators, researchers, and service providers. Under such circumstances, we must examine the role that we, as Hispanists, play within the context of today’s academic world and society in general. What purposes should prevail in today’s context? What objectives and learning outcomes should we be striving to achieve, and why? What kinds of content should we be emphasizing in our teaching and research? What audience(s) are we presently serving through our research, our teaching and our service activities? What are the most effective ways to reach these different populations so as to achieve our goals? How can we best promote the values of global (and local) citizenship today? During this two-day seminar, members of ALCESXXI will critically address such topics. On the first day, participants will examine the state of the profession and will address some of the most salient research trends within the field. On the second day, participants will work in groups to produce model syllabi and bibliographies informed by some of today’s most pressing research topics. These materials will then be shared through an online repository hosted by ALCESXXI.

3. Objectives for this meeting:

• Share research agendas of members of the ALCESXXI Collective (Urban Studies, Ecofeminism, Social Ecology, Media Studies, Historical Memory, LGBTQIA+, etc.)
• Create working groups to work on a series of syllabi, for graduate and undergraduate students.  These syllabi will treat interdisciplinary societal issues consistently posed by ALCESXXI in its meetings and publications
• -Continue fortifying the ALCESXXI community

4. Program

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25:

Introductions, formal presentation of the two-day workshop, and welcome dinner

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26:

• Morning session: Each person explains her or his research agenda (briefly, speaking clearly and without a script; this is not a mechanical reading of a paper), followed by Q&A.
• Lunch: Continue conversations from the morning session
• Afternoon: Working groups form and initiate the brainstorm process for the design of courses we want to develop, implement, and share
• Group dinner

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27:

• Morning: Compile materials and create syllabi
• Afternoon: Final discussion, along with upload of all new materials to newly-created repository
• Farewell Dinner