Tag Archives: Spanish

Postgraduate student interviews: Rochelle Marsh (MRes)

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2021-2022.

Hi Rochelle, what has your university journey been like?

Its’s been a very long one! I studied French and Spanish at A-Level and carried on with those two languages here at Queen’s [in my undergraduate degree]. In my third year, I went to Asturias and took the risky decision to stay there during the Covid pandemic to complete my year abroad. I later returned to Queen’s to complete my final year and started thinking about my next steps. Initially, I wanted to do a PGCE [Postgraduate Certificate in Education] but after speaking to my lecturers I learned about the Master of Research [MRes]. Intrigued, I submitted a proposal, then I was awarded a scholarship to help with funding, and now I am at the end of my Masters with a dissertation deadline this September.

Your dissertation is entitled ‘Female Voices and Testimonies From the España vacía/vaciada’, can you tell me more about this?

The female voices refer to these texts written by contemporary female Spanish authors: Tierra de mujeres, by Maria Sánchez, Feria by Ana Iris Simón and Un amor by Sara Mesa. They each focus on a unique aspect of the countryside, a motif that has long been discussed in Spanish literature but was recently brought into conversation after Sergio del Molino’s book La España vacía. The title means ‘empty Spain’ but critics challenged that La España ‘vaciada’, meaning ‘Spain emptied’, would have been a more accurate title to describe the changing countryside. His book explored the portrayal of the Spanish countryside and rural to urban migration trends in literature, film and press articles. My dissertation therefore analyses how these three texts dialogue with the concept of ‘España vacía’ and how these texts challenge the mistreatment of the countryside and rural women. I also look at the extent to which these texts can be a form of provocation or activism and if there is a correlation between the success of these texts and the fact there is a wide female readership in Spain.

Continue reading →

Prizes for Spanish American Literature and the Changing Role of the Author in Society, Friday 11 February 2022 – Seminar Write-up

Leave a Reply

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2021-2022.

On Friday 11^thFebruary, Dr Sarah Bowskill (Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies, QUB) delivered a seminar entitled ‘Prizes for Spanish American Literature and the Changing Role of the Author in Society’ at the 2021-2022 Modern Languages Core Disciplinary Research Group Seminar Series. Dr Bowskill’s talk explored the link between power and literary prestige, focusing particularly on how politics underpins Spanish American literary prizes and award ceremonies, and the role of the author in society.

image: cover of Sarah Bowskill’s new monograph

The talk commenced with an overview of the intertwining of literature and politics in Latin America. Dr Bowskill drew on the work of Doris Sommer to explain that in the nineteenth century, post-independence Latin American nations were built by author statesmen, such as Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Bartolomé Mitre. Writing formed an important part of their political work, and the texts written by these author statesmen were taught in schools, and intended to inspire love for the nation. By the early twentieth century, national prizes for literature were used by the state to further connect literary and political fields. Dr Bowskill highlighted the motivation behind introducing such prizes, since Latin American countries looked to prizes for science and literature as a way to establish international status and national pride.

Continue reading →

Sewing Thoughts Together: Pandemic, Texts, and Textiles, 10 December 2021 – Seminar write-up

Leave a Reply

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2021-2022.

On Friday 10^th December 2021, Dr Fiona Clark (Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies at Queen’s University Belfast) delivered a seminar entitled ‘Sewing Thoughts Together: Pandemic, Texts, and Textiles’ at the 2021-2022 Modern Languages Core Disciplinary Research Group Seminar Series. Dr Clark’s seminar analysed the interactions between art, environmental justice, health and wellbeing, reflecting on how Level 3 students in the Protecting Paradise cursillo (mini-module) have used their personal experiences as inspiration for creative work.

Image of a student arpillera — Anonymous student arpillera (2020) from collection held by Fiona Clark

Dr Clark opened up the seminar with an overview of the arpillera, a Chilean textile art form. The word arpillera is used for sackcloth in Spanish. This material was used to package coffee beans, potatoes and flour. From this humble background grew the arpillera textile art form used by Chilean women in the 1970s to capture their experiences of loved ones who were disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship. Since many of these women were from the poorer end of the social classes in Chile, re-using sackcloth and other materials from around the home (such as school uniforms and old shirts) made this art form accessible and personal through the introduction of materials from the disappeared loved ones. The materials were arranged and sewn together to create an image. Many of these arpilleras reflect on a violent political regime, which Dr Clark later related to the idea of ‘craftivism’: using handcraft as a form of activism. Arpilleras also served as a way to keep alive the memories of loved ones. Dr Clark explained how women would gather together to sew and tell stories. In this way, textiles were used as a way to work through personal trauma and bring communities together.

Continue reading →

Postgraduate student interviews: Aislin Kearney (PhD)

Leave a Reply

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2020-2021.

On the 20^th of April I interviewed recent Queen’s PhD graduate Aislin Kearney to discuss her research. In February 2021, Aislin successfully passed her viva for a PhD in Spanish with a thesis entitled ‘’The Ambition of Melancholy: The Aesthetics of Heroism in the Lyric poetry of Juan Boscán and Fernando de Herrera’.

Aislin began her studies at Queen’s as a drama student, where she started a beginner’s course in Spanish. She enjoyed the course so much that she decided to change pathways, majoring in Spanish with a minor in Drama. In her final year she described how she was (begrudgingly) enrolled on a Renaissance module. Unexpectedly, however, the module caught her interest, and when she went on to an MA in Spanish at Queen’s, she devoted her Master’s dissertation, and later PhD, to further examining the poetry of the period.

Portada de *Las obras de Boscán y algunas de Garcilaso de la Vega repartidas en cuatro libros*, Barcelona, Carlos Amorós, 1543.

Her Master’s dissertation focused on the work of Spanish poet Juan Boscán, a lesser-known contemporary of Garcilaso de la Vega. Central to her study of Boscán’s poetry was the emerging idea of melancholic heroism, which Aislin explained was particularly interesting when considering the historical context in which the poetry was being written. During a period in which the country was rising to become somewhat of a superpower, much of its most prominent literature was characterized by lovesick, introspective, and melancholic figures.

Aislin described her PhD as a natural progression from her Master’s research, in which she further explored this melancholic aesthetic, and Spain’s attachment to it, by examining not only the work of Boscán but also his successor, Fernando de Herrera. Aislin explained that her choice in poets was influenced by a number of factors. First, the consecutive periods in which these poets were writing allowed for a better understanding of the historical trajectory of Spanish literature during this time. Second, these two lesser-known poets’ peripheral positions in relation to the extensively studied Garcilaso de le Vega allowed for a more expansive understanding of Spanish poetry of the period. Finally, the fact that both of these poets produced theoretical works alongside poetry, where they discussed their methods and approaches, made them interesting subjects on which to focus research.

Continue reading →

Postgraduate student interviews: Ciaran Harty (PhD)

Leave a Reply

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2020-2021.

On Wednesday 14^th April 2021, I had the pleasure of interviewing Queen’s PhD student in Spanish, Ciaran Harty. Ciaran completed his undergraduate degree in French and Spanish at QUB and then proceeded to do an MRes on the Representation of Madrid in the Artículos de Costumbre by the 19^th century Spanish writer, Mariano José de Larra. Whilst undertaking a PhD was not initially on the cards, Ciaran discovered a true passion for this particular area of studies, and so, in 2018 he began his PhD with the QUB Spanish department. The current working title of his thesis is: Precursors of Costumbrismo: The creation of a genre at the end of Spanish Enlightenment.

Ciaran described the Masters as a “stepping-stone” to the PhD, because although there are many similarities, the PhD unsurprisingly involves considerably more reading, researching and writing. I was particularly interested in finding out how his writing style had changed over time. Many undergraduate students believe the common misconception that in order to be successful in your degree, you must produce work with a high-brow, overly-academic style of writing. He assured me that while feeling this pressure was normal, and indeed something that he had experienced too, it was ultimately unnecessary. The most important thing is finding your own writing style and this is something that the PhD has allowed him to do. Through extensive reading, constructive feedback from peers and supervisors and consistently practising writing, he found that he was able to develop his own style and allow it to flow more naturally. This made the process more enjoyable for him and the content more digestible for his readers.

Continue reading →

Postgraduate student interviews: Jordan Hamilton (MRes)

Leave a Reply

This post is part of our Research Initiation Scheme for 2020-2021.

Jordan Hamilton began his higher education trajectory with a BA Hons degree in English and Spanish at Queen’s University Belfast. Looking ahead to potential postgraduate study, Jordan decided to pursue his interests in Golden Age Spanish literature. Subsequently, he applied to do the MRes in Arts and Humanities. Jordan went on to successfully complete the MRes on a part-time basis under the supervision of Dr Anne Holloway.

In the following interview, Jordan reflects on his research project and methodologies. He also offers advice for undergraduate students who are considering following a similar academic pathway.

The key focus of Jordan’s MRes project was the New Spanish poet and Hieronymite nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695). His interest in this figure was sparked during the third year cultural cursillo (mini-module) on ‘Foreign Correspondents’, when he was allocated her love poetry as the theme for his class presentation. It was precisely the preparatory research that Jordan carried out for this presentation, which inspired his interest in Sor Juana’s poem Romance 51. This newfound passion served as the catalyst for his MRes proposal. Initially, his proposal included Sor Juana’s Renaissance love poetry and her self-representation.

Continue reading →