Posted December 4, 2008
Talk by Chilean novelist signals growth of Spanish and Portuguese Department
 Photo by Kelly & Massa
Edwards
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On Nov. 13, Chilean novelist, Jorge Edwards presented “The Invention of the Latin American Narrator: Machado de Assis and Jorge Luis Borges” to a lively group of students and faculty. Edwards, a winner of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize and the Chilean National Literature Prize, is the author of 10 novels — including Persona non grata, a personal account of his tenure as the Chilean ambassador to Cuba during the regime of Salvador Allende. “The visit of a figure with the international reputation of Jorge Edwards is further evidence of the excitement building in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese under the leadership of recently hired chair, Dr. Luis Gonzalez del Valle,” said Kevin Delaney, vice dean for faculty affairs in the College of Liberal Arts. Gonzalez del Valle was recruited to Temple in the fall of 2007 from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was chair for 12 years. Under his stewardship, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the largest language department in the College of Liberal Arts, is thriving as a place for the study of language, literature and culture. In addition to bringing visiting professors and speakers to campus, the department sponsors academic conferences and publishes a highly-ranked scholarly journal. |
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The popularity of Spanish and Portuguese is apparent in the numbers of students it attracts. A full 2,000 undergraduates participate in the department’s many language, culture and general education courses. In the pursuit of their bachelor’s degrees, 180 undergraduate majors and over 130 minors select from among several tracks, such as Literature, Linguistics, Business and Professional Studies and Spanish for Education. And, the department also offers graduate courses toward master’s and doctoral degrees. To teach this wide range of students, the department has hired several new professors, including Professor Christopher Soufas, winner of a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship. |
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