Nadia Alahmad
Nadia joined our MA program, after receiving
her undergraduate degree from the University of Birzeit in
Israel.
She was born in Tanzania, spent her childhood in Russia,
then was raised in Jordan and Ukraine. She returned to her
father’s homeland, Palestine, at age 17.
Xuefei Bai
Xuefei Bai (xbai@complit.umass.edu) is entering
the PhD Program with a focus on translation. She earned her
BA in English
Education
and MA in English Language and Literature with a concentration
on Translation from Sichuan International Studies University
in China. She has also done coursework in Women's and Gender
Studies at the University of Oregon. She will be funded through
both Comparative Literature and the Translation Center, and
plans to study critical feminist thought in literary translation
theory.
Prateeti Ballal
Prateeti Ballal is interested in early
19 century British literature, visual language, and postcolonial
theory. She is currently finishing her dissertation.
Jorge Jiménez-Bellver
Jorge Jiménez-Bellver (jimenezb@complit.umass.edu )
joins the program
funded by the Translation Center. He has worked in translation
and interpreting at the University of Alicante, Spain. He
has taught English as a Foreign Language and is interested
in the language of cellular communications.
Emir Benli
Emir
Benli (ebenli@complit.umass.edu)
was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1981. He received his
B.A in English from the Western Literatures and Languages
Department in Bosphorus University, Turkey, where he
also worked in the film center of the university, and
wrote articles for the Turkish film magazine
Altyazi. Besides German literature and thought, and
philosophy of art, Emir is
interested in cinema studies, and has already begun
making films himself. Emir
works as a TA, and as a part-time adviser in the Film
Studies Program. He is
currently grieving his girlfriend’s recent move
to Barcelona, Spain, and is
trying to deal with his severe Jack Bauer withdrawal
(until the fifth season of
24 starts in the winter).
Nicole Calandra
Nicole Calandra (ncalandr@complit.umass.edu)
received her BA and MA from Bryn Mawr College, majoring in
French. Her academic interests include French women writers, Francophone
Literature
from the Caribbean (especially Maryse Condé) and comic writing
ranging from Colette's biting irony to sketch comedy (but
most recently in the form of Zadie Smith's novels). Since beginning
her studies at UMASS, she has also become interested in translation studies
and begun
learning Italian. Currently, she is in the process of completing
her coursework and preparing for her comprehensive exams.
Antonia Carcelén
Antonia Carcelén is currently in the M.A./Ph.D. program.
Her academic interests include translation, Latin American
pictorial traditions, oral literature, and mythology. Antonia
does not have free time. Between organizing conferences,
presenting and publishing articles, and participating in
various community activities, she also takes care of her
young son.
Fatma Betul Cihan
Fatma Betul Cihan will enter the PhD Program
funded by a TA. She holds a BA in English and an MA in History
from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. She is interested
in historiography, autobiography, Ottoman women and Turkish
literature, and worked as assistant for a Fulbright-sponsored
collaborative summer institute in English and American literature
and cultural studies. Her MA thesis is "A Comparative
Analysis of the Representations of the West in Ahmed Midhat's
Novels and Travel Writing."
estheR Cuesta
estheR Cuesta (ecuesta@complit.umass.edu),
a native of the fluvial city of
Guayaquil, Ecuador, is in the Ph.D. Program. She is currently researching and
writing on Andean women's migratory experiences, particularly diasporic
Ecuadorian women's narratives in Spain and Italy, questions of transatlantic
Ecuatorianidades and colonial historical amnesias. She has taught English at the
Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja, Milan Campus.
Lara Curtis
Lara joined our PhD program having received her
MA degree from the French Program at UMass Amherst.
Lara’s specialization
is French Literature.
Kanchuka Dharmasiri
Kanchuka Dharmasiri (kdharmas@complit.umass.edu)
started her fourth year in the
M.A/Ph.D. program. Her interests include postcolonial theory,
travel literature,
women's studies, visual culture, translation, and theatre,
particularly modern
Sinhala theatre from the fifties to the present. Kanchuka
is from Sri Lanka
where she was actively engaged in theatre with her translations
and productions
of plays.
Nikolina Dobreva
Nikolina Dobreva (dobreva@complit.umass.edu) holds degrees
in English and French from Sofia University in Bulgaria
and Southern Illinois University - Carbondale respectively.
She
is about to start writing her dissertation on Roma representation
in European and American literature and film. Nikolina
is also interested in science fiction, as well as in
various aspects of popular culture. All of Nikolina's
nonexistent
free time is dedicated to playing video games.
Shannon Farley
Shannon Farley (skfarley@complit.umass.edu) is in year 5 of her Master's degree, which she started while teaching high school full time at Eagle Hill School,
a boarding school for students with learning disabilities and ADD in Hardwick, MA. Along the way she also got married, moved,
taught for a new school and quit that new school after 4 months, and had a daughter, Cassie. So that accounts for the 3
semesters she took off. Shannon received her BA in Classics and History from Williams College in 97.
Her honors thesis in Classics there, Dionysos: The God Brings Moderation, was but the first step in what
is still an abiding obsession with Euripides' Bakkhai. Nowadays, her interest is in a post-colonial reading of
the different translations of said play, and especially of the word sophrosune. However, she is setting her
sights on reading all of Ancient Greek literature through a postcolonial lens. Which she really ought to publish on. Soon.
Shannon reads Greek, Latin, English and some French. Her favorite non-Greek author is Salman Rushdie, but she is also
a big fan of SF and Fantasy fiction.
Matthew Goodwin
Matthew Goodwin is entering the PhD Program
with a TA. He earned the MA in Comparative Literature from
the University of Arkansas, and is interested in applying
Wittgenstein's philosophical and psychological critiques
to literature. He is the founder of an immigrant legal aid
organization with which he is engaged as consultant and case
worker. He has studied Latin American and Arab immigrant
narratives in the US, as well as Turkish immigrants in Germany.
Yonjoo Hong
Yonjoo Hong (yonjoo@gmail.com) will
be entering our MA program, from Korea. Her specialization
is Translation Studies. She received
her MA degree in February '08 from Ewha Womans University
in Seoul.
Milton Obote Joshua
Milton Obote Joshua (mjoshua@complit.umass.edu)
is a 2003 Ford Fellow, enrolled in the PhD program. He
has over ten years experience of teaching both
undergraduate and graduate levels at Kenyatta University
Nairobi, Kenya; Egerton University, Kenya; and Brandeis
University at Waltham Massachusetts-USA. He is interested
in the intersection of Literary Theory, Gender and Sustainable
development with a specific focus on representations of
Masculinities. Milton has experience as a training consultant
for many UN and other bilateral development agencies in
over nine countries in Africa, USA, UK and Mexico. In this
capacity he has honored several invitations to give key
note addresses to conferences such as the October 2003
Inaugural Women Studies conference at the University of
Arkansas Little Rock, and the March 2006 Chicago Battered
Women organizations conference at St. Paul University in
Chicago among others. His publications include (i) co-edited
with Professor Wanjiku Kabira a text, Contesting Social
death—Essays on gender and Culture, (University
of Nairobi: Kola 1997). Book Chapters: (ii) "Oral Theory
and the teaching
of The Riddle”, in Reflections on Theory and
Methods of Oral Literature edited by Professor Okoth
Okombo,(University of Nairobi: Kola 1993), (iii) “Teaching
Oral Poetry and English in an Integrated Curriculum” in
Teaching Oral Literature, edited by Masheti Masinjila,
(University
of Nairobi: Kola 1994), (iv) “A Critique of Gender
, Environment and Development in Kenya”, Thomas-Slayter
and Diane Rocheleau, L.Rienner, in The Egerton Journal
Vol. 1 No. 3.1998, (v) “Gender Training With
Men” in Beyond Rhetoric: Men’s Involvement
In Gender and Development Policy and Practice, edited
by Caroline Sweetman, (Oxford: Oxfam Publications, 2001),
(vi) “From Wildlife to Men and Women--Using Proverbs
for Transformative Training”, in Stories on Equitable
Development: Best Practices From Africa edited by
Dr Patricia Morris (Washington DC: Interaction Publications).
A short
translation and annotation of an oral praise poetry piece
contained in Women Writing Africa is forthcoming from The
Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2007.
Lara Matta
Lara Matta ( mattaaol@mtholyoke.edu)
joins us from Lebanon and has been teaching at Mount Holyoke over
the past year. She received
her undergraduate degree from the Lebanese University in
2000 and a DEA in
English from l'Université Paul Valéry in France. Her
specializations are Postcolonial Studies, Francophone Literature
and Arabic Literature
and Media.
Cristiano Mazzei
Cristiano Mazzei (camazzei@complit.umass.edu) earned
his MA in Translation Studies at the University of Massachusetts
Amherst before
joinging the PhD program in Comparative Literature.
With a BA in Translation and
Intepreting from the Unibero University
in São Paulo,
Brazil, Cristiano Mazzei has built a solid career in translation
(English and Portuguese) in his native country. After having
worked as a translator
in different companies, Cristiano opened his own business
in 1997, providing translation and interpreting services
to major multinational corporations in Brazil. In 2000,
after passing the board examination, he became
a Certified Translator in Brazil. He is now pursuing his
MA in Translation Studies at the.
Mariela Méndez
Mariela Méndez (mmendez@complit.umass.edu)
originally from Argentina, is currently writing her dissertation,
a comparative study of the non-fictional prose of Alfonsina
Storni and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Besides the public/private
divide in turn-of-the-century Argentinean and American
feminisms, her research interests include contemporary
Argentinean cinema and the autobiographical genre. She
is co-editor of a collection of Alfonsina Storni's essays, Nosotras
. . . y la Piel (Alfaguara, 1998), and has an article
in Volume 4 of Brújula (UC Davis): "The
Republic of Women: Notes Toward a Critical Assessment." She
lives with her husband Danny and their son Joaquín
in Richmond, Virginia.
Daniel Nevarez Araujo
Daniel Nevarez Araujo (nevarerz.daniel@gmail.com)
is joining our PhD program from the University of Puerto
Rico, Rio Piedras where he
will receive the MA this spring. Daniel's special interests
are in comparative
film theory. He has been awarded a Diversity Fellowship
for his first year in the doctoral program.
Nahir I. Otaño
Nahir I. Otaño (notano@complit.umass.edu)
comes to UMass from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras,
where
she has been an assistant director on a local independent
film and has worked on an animated music video for a local
band, as well as with children affected by AIDS. She is a
poet and editor and publisher of Tonguas, an annual compilation
of poetry and short fiction.
Alix Paschkowiak
Alix Paschkowiak (apaschkowiak@complit.umass.edu) is
currently writing her dissertation on medieval women
warriors. Her
interests include medieval literature, feminist/queer/psychoanalytic
theory, cross-dressing (figurative and literal), and
food as a metaphor for language.
Erik Perez
Erik received his BA degree from the
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus. He specializes
in cross-cultural studies.
Loc Pham
Loc Pham (loc@complit.umass.edu)
came to UMass in 2003 with a Fulbright fellowship, having
earned his B.A. degree in English from Vietnam
National
University of Ho Chi Minh City. He is currently working
on his comprehensive exams. His interests include the representation
of the Vietnam War in literature and the relationship between
literature and politics.
Daniel Pope
Daniel Pope (daniel@complit.umass.edu)
earned
his Bachelor's degree in English literature, then
studied poetry in Peru with a Fulbright scholarship.
His interests include word/image narratives,
tropes of travel, transnational cinemas, documentary
film, Caribbean literature, and rhetorics of narrative.
Luca Prada Gonzalez
Luca joined the MA program
in Translation Studies in 2007. She received her BA from
the University of Oviedo, Spain, where her major was English
Philology.
Juan G. Ramos
Juan G. Ramos (jgramos@complit.umass.edu) is currently
working on his M.A./Ph.D in Comparative Literature. He
earned a B.A.
from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey with
a major in English. Twentieth century Latin American
and
U.S. fiction,
poetry, film, popular culture and Inter-American relations
are among his areas of academic interest.
Scott Salus
Scott Salus is joining our MA/PhD program,
funded by a Teaching Assistantship. He received his BA
in Women's and Gender Studies from Rutgers University in
2005. His interests include, but are not limited to: Corporeal,
Post-Structuralist, and Second Wave Feminisms, Queer Theory,
African American, Francophone, and Latin American Literatures,
Modern Poetics, Surrealism, Postcolonial Studies, Deconstruction,
Psychoanalysis, and Deleuze. He is rigorously devoted to
politicizing disciplines; as such, his projects include
theorizing oppressions, war, illness, and masculinities.
Scott is delighted at the privilege of working with graduate
students who come from many places in the world - he learns
endlessly from his peers.
Brandon Shaw
Brandon Shaw (bwshaw@complit.umass.edu). Resolving to
put his underappreciated talents as a wise-arse to use,
Brandon
is concentrating on comedy, particularly satire in ancient
Greek and Roman literature and French enlightenment drama,
hoping eventually to compare the satirical techniques
of bygone authors to the work of contemporary comedians
such
as Dave Chappelle and Stephen Colbert. Brandon also teaches
the Argentine Tango Club at UMass and dances with Blaze
Dance Group in Northampton, MA. Brandon's academic interests
include
comedy, tragedy, and tragi-comedy; the intersections
of literature with dance, music, and philosophy.
Craig Sinclair
Craig Sinclair (craig@complit.umass.edu) is currently
in the M.A./Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature.
He is interested
in film, culture, and conspiracy studies.
Anna Strowe
Anna Strowe began studying Italian at Smith College
and has spent time living in Italy. She graduated from Smith in 2003
with a BA magna cum laude in Italian Language and Literature, and received
her MA with honors in Translation Studies from the University of Warwick
in Coventry, England, in 2006. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Comparative
Literature at UMass. Her areas of interest include translation studies
and medieval and Renaissance literature.
Aaron Suko
Aaron Suko has a B.A. in Spanish (2004)
and a Certificate in Translation Studies (2005) from the
University of Florida. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in
Translation Studies at UMASS Amherst. His areas of interest
include Post-Colonial Translation Theory and translation
in sociology, history, and political theory. At the Translation
Center he works from Spanish into English.
Hongmei Sun
Hongmei Sun (maysun@complit.umass.edu)
is from China and graduated from Peking University with
an M.A in Comparative Literature. Her interests include
Asian American literature, Translation studies, and Asian
mythology. Above all, she thinks she loves monkeys,
and at present is trying desperately to convert this
animal into six comprehensive exam topics. She hopes
she can cage it into her dissertation too. She also
hopes this will happen in the very near future.
Rhona Trauvitch
Rhona Trauvitch, originally from Haifa,
Israel, joins our doctoral program having earned the BA as
a government major at Smith College, the MS in Social & Public
Communication at the London School of Economics, and spent
her junior year at Oxford University. She has been awarded
the UMass Graduate School Fellowship for Incoming Students
and wishes to pursue her interests in literature and social
philosophy.
Scott Vangel
Scott Vangel (svangel@complit.umass.edu) is interested
in philosophy, film studies, and French language and
culture. He received his BA in English/Film from Framingham
State
and his MA in Religion/Literature from the University
of Chicago.
Frans-Stephen Weiser
Structuralist by birth, and nonstructuralist by training, when people are listening,
Frans Weiser (frweiser@complit.umass.edu)
claims to be a resident expert on travel/tourist
literature within Latin America, and a lover of all things post-WWII in Japan.
Although (in theory) he spent his most recent year in South America on the run
from the novel throes of Theory, he was unable avoid throwing a few illusions/allusions
into the novel he is currently attempting to publish.
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