	Nadiyah Aamer Research Area 20th-21st Century \| Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies \| Immigration/Globalization/Transnationalism/Diasporas \| Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies \| Media/Film/Visual Studies \| Cultural Studies \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, Georgia State University B.A. Spanish, Georgia State University B.A. Psychology, Georgia State University Bio Nadiyah Aamer is a PhD student of Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies at the University of Miami. Her main research interests include: U.S. Latino Studies/Literatures, Islam and Muslims in the Contemporary Hispanophone World, Pop Culture Studies, and Immigrant/Diaspora Literatures. She is presently a Dean's Fellow and will be a UGrow Center for the Humanities Fellow for the 2020-2021 academic year.
	Zayer Baazaoui Dissertation “Can the Nameless be Represented? Literary and Cinematographic Representations of MENA Female Same Sex Desire” (scheduled to be defended in October 2020) Degree(s) B.A. French Literature, Linguistic and Civilization, University of Kairouan M.A. in French Studies, University of Sousse M.A. in French and Francophone Studies, University of Montpellier Bio Zayer Baazaoui is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Providence College. Zayer joined the doctoral program in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies after earning academic degrees in both Tunisia and France. He is currently an A.B.D. doctoral candidate. Zayer published articles in both languages (Arabic and French). He received many Awards, among them the prestigious Excellence Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in Foreign Languages of the Foreign Language Association of Dade County in Miami. He delivered numerous papers nationally and internationally at first rank conferences (MLA 2017, NWSA 2017 & 2019, Colloque Asociación de Francesistas de la Universidad Española (AFUE) 2018, 10th Arab Week in Mexico City. etc.). Zayer has taught French at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, from the beginner level to the more advanced undergraduate content seminars. He taught also an advanced Modern Standard Arabic course and served as a Public Relations & Social Media Coordinator for the University of Miami Directed Independent Language Study program (DILS). Dissertation Advisor Dr. Ralph Heyndels
	Mauro Cazzolla Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Lidiana de Moraes dos Santos Dissertation Reclaiming Political Spaces: Black Feminist Insurgencies in Contemporary Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literatures Research Area Luso-Afro-Brazilian literatures and cultural production \| African Diaspora studies \| Subaltern Studies (with an emphasis on race, gender, and class representations) \| Postcolonialism and Decolonization in the Lusophone World Degree(s) M.A. Language Arts and Literature, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil B.A. Language Arts and Literature, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil B.A. Social Communication: Journalism, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil Bio Lidiana de Moraes is a Ph.D. candidate in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on postcolonial literary connections among contemporary female writers in Angola, Brazil, and Mozambique. She is currently working on her dissertation, entitled Reclaiming Political Spaces: Black Feminist Insurgencies in Contemporary Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literatures, where she examines how contemporary African and Afro-Brazilian writers use what Conceição Evaristo has denominated escrevivência (“survival-writing”) to construct a collective, feminist perspective of the Black Atlantic. Lidiana’s scholarship appears in the Journal of Lusophone Studies, Revista Diadorim, and the edited volume, Narrativas del miedo: Terror en obras literarias, cinemáticas y televisivas de Latinoamérica, and has been recognized with a Tinker Summer Research grant and the Santiago Achugar Díaz Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in MLL. Lidiana has held a Fulbright FLTA Fellowship (2014-15), and teaching fellowships from UM’s Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas (2018-19) and interdisciplinary program in American Studies (2019-20). In addition to Portuguese and Spanish language courses, she has designed and taught upper-division seminars on: “Exploring 20th and 21st Social Movements through Brazilian Music,” and “Cross Sections of US and Brazilian History Through Music.” Dissertation Advisor Dr. Tracy Devine Guzmán
	Rim El Belkacemi Research Area Migration Studies \| Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies \| Critical Race Studies \| Diaspora Studies \| Media/Film/Visual Studies \| Cultural Studies \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree(s) M.A. Communication in Cultural Contexts , Moulay Ismail University, Meknes B.A. Cultural Studies in English, Mohammed V University, Rabat Bio Rim El Belkacemi is a PhD student of Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies at the University of Miami. Her main research interests include: Decolonial studies, immigrant/Diaspora studies, Middle eastern and North African Studies/Literatures, Francophone literature, Arab Literature and Urban performance. She is currently a UGrow communication fellow at the Center for the Humanities for the 2020-2021 academic year.
	Heba El Sabbagh Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Marcia Fanti Negri Research Area Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality \| Literary, Theater and Performing Arts \| Gender & Sexuality Studies \| Aesthetics Degree(s) Ph.D Linguistic Studies, UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil M.A. Linguistic Studies, UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil Bio Marcia Fanti Negri is a 2nd year PhD in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at MLL. Her general research interests are Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality; Literary, Theater and Performing Arts; Gender & Sexuality Studies; Aesthetics; Teaching (Portuguese/English) as a Second Language and Teacher Education. Currently she is researching on the Transatlantic Brazil-Spain. She holds a PhD and MA in Linguistic Studies from UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Marcia is very keen on artistic expressions and their educational value to society.
	Monica Ann Figueroa Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Eukene Franco Landa Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Morphosyntax \| Language Sociology Degree(s) B.A. in Basque Studies, University of the Basque Country M.A. in Basque Linguistics and Philology, University of the Basque Country Bio Eukene Franco Landa is a PhD student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Miami. Her research is focused on the morphosyntactic variation of Basque and speakers' attitudes towards the language. She recently defended her Master's dissertation on the developement of number agreement of indefinite quantifiers in Basque. She is a conviced advocate of minority languages and cultures.
	Helen Hernandez Hormilla Research Area Cuban Studies \| Caribbean Studies \| Gender Studies \| Queer Theory \| Cultural Studies \| Immigration, Transnationalism, Diaspora \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree B.A. Journalism, University of Havana Bio Helen Hernández Hormilla is a third-year Ph.D. student in Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. She received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Havana in 2008 with a dissertation about Cuban women’s literature in the last decade of the XX Century. She has worked more than ten years as a journalist and editor in Cuba and the US. As a researcher, she has published the books Palabras sin velo. Entrevistas y cuentos de narradoras cubanas (2013) and Mujeres en crisis. Aproximaciones a lo femenino en las narradoras cubanas de los noventa (Acuario, La Habana, 2011) about Cuban women’s literature. She is interested in the transgressions of gender and sexuality in the transnational space represented by female authors from the Hispanic Caribbean and its diaspora.
	Samuel Johnson Dissertation Research Area Latin American Studies \| Social Movements \| Indigenous Peoples \| Ecocriticism \| Decolonial Studies \| Amazonia Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM M.A. Portuguese, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM M.A. Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM B.A. Spanish and History, Aquinas College Bio Sam is fourth year PhD Student in the Department of Modern Languages in Literatures. He completed his BA at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI and his master's degrees at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. While at UNM he taught Spanish as a second language and is teaching Spanish and Portuguese while at the University of Miami. His work examines cultural production and activism combatting ecological crises in Latin America with a focus on the Amazon Rainforest. When not working, he prefers to spend his time outdoors exploring South Florida’s beaches, forests, waterways, and the Everglades. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Tracy Devine Guzmán
	Lydda Lopez Valdez Dissertation Confronting Rurality & Urbanity among Mexican-Origin Spanish speakers in South Florida: towards a sociolinguistics of globalization Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Language & Identity \| Latinx studies \| Spanish & English in the US Degree(s) B.A. Linguistics, Reed College M.A. Linguistics, Florida International University Bio Lydda López Valdez is a PhD candidate (Literary, Cultural & Linguistic Studies) in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at University of Miami. Her work addresses global flows and the mobility of linguistic features across borders and how these relate to issues of identity construction among new Latino communities. Her research contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship that considers the role that linguistic difference plays in the lives of US Latino communities in terms of group identity and social inequality. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Andrew Lynch
	Lilianne Lugo Herrera Dissertation “Mediated Archipelagoes: Theater, Women, and Media” Research Area Theater and Performance Studies \| Archipelagic Studies \|Women and Gender Studies \| Media Studies \| Race \| Ethnic Studies and Latino Studies \| Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Degree B.F.A. in Theater Arts, Universidad de las Artes (ISA), La Habana, Cuba Bio Lilianne is a PhD student on the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program at the University of Miami. Her work focuses specifically on the intersection of Theater and Media in contemporary works by women playwrights. Currently, she is working on her book project Mediated Archipelagoes: Theater, Women, and Media. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose favorite places of research are crowded theater festivals. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Lillian Manzor
	Dainerys Machado Vento Dissertation The International Mediatization of Cuban Literature (2006-2018) Research Area Latin American Literature and Digital Humanities Degree(s) B.A. Journalism, University of Havana M.A. Hispanic American Literature, El Colegio de San Luis, A.C. Mexico Bio Dainerys Machado Vento is a Teaching Assistant and a PhD student in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. Her work has been focused on media and literature, specifically in Latin America and Spain. She is currently working on her dissertation on mediatization of Cuban literature, and writing her second fiction book. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Lillian Manzor
	Yasamin Rezaei Research Area Posthumanism \| Digital Humanities \| Social Media \| Theatre and Performance \| Theatre in Iran Degree(s) B.S. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran M.S. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy Bio Yasamin is a second-year PhD student teaching Italian and French.
	Ernesto Rumbaut Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Olivier Sales Dissertation 'Tout Niquer Devient Vital’: Rap Mediatizing of French Contemporary Society: Language, Body and the Urban Research Area French & Francophone Studies \| Hip Hop Studies \| Linguistics \| Gender & Sexualities \| Subaltern Studies \| Urban Studies \| Cinematography Degree(s) B.A. Philosophy, Université Grenoble-Alpes B.A. French Language & Literature, Université Grenoble-Alpes M.A. French Language & Literature, Université Grenoble-Alpes Bio Olivier Salès, currently an A.B.D. doctoral candidate in our Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program, is writing a dissertation entitled ‘Tout Niquer Devient Vital’: Rap Mediatizing of French Contemporary Society: Language, Body and the Urban. His research focuses on French and Francophone Studies in relation to « urban » cultures and contemporary literatures. Previously a certified professor of French language and literature in the Southwest of France, Olivier has taught at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, including upper-level seminars. Olivier has written articles such as “Les Amérindiens vus par eux-mêmes : vers un dépassement de la littérature identitaire ?”, published in the renown Revue des lettres modernes. He has also delivered many papers in national and international conferences in France, the US and Canada (Urban Fears (Université Bordeaux-Montaigne), Rêver le Nouveau Monde (Université Paris-Sorbonne/Carlton University), NeMLA 2019 & 2020, SWPACA 2020). Olivier is also trained in Cinematography and has worked on projects such as a short movie, music videos, interviews in El Salvador, and a Regional Emmy Awards nominated short documentary (White Noise, 2019). Dissertation Advisor Dr. Ralph Heyndels
	Nicholas Sheets Dissertation Research Area Degree(s) Bio Dissertation Advisor Dr. Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel
	María Victoria Véliz Dissertation “Silence in Performance Art: Liveness in the Americas in the 21st Century.” (working title) Research Area Performance and Media Studies \| Visual Art Degree B.A. Art History, University of Havana, 1999 Bio María Victoria “Marivi” Véliz (Cuba-E.U) is a doctoral candidate in the Literary, Cultural and Linguistics Studies Program in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. She resided in Guatemala from late 2003 to 2012, where she was teaching, researching, and curating contemporary art, primarily from the Central/Latin American area. Currently, she is working on her dissertation “Silence in Performance Art: Liveness in the Americas in the 21st Century” where she is analyzing silence as a performatic device that enables art and aesthesis. Art is the driving force that moves her to research, to learn and teach while connecting communities and people. Dissertation Advisor Dr. George Yúdice
	Amaia Villaño García Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Bilingualism \| Second Lenguage Acquisition & Teaching Degree(s) M.A. Hispanic Linguistics, University of Illinois at Chicago B.A. Modern Languages, University of Deusto B.A. Education - Primary School Teaching, University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) Bio Amaia is a first year PhD in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the Department of Modern Languages and Literature. Her research interests are Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition &Teaching, with special emphasis on the intercultural competence. She is interested in understanding crosslinguistic properties of the morphosyntax of bilingual minds, but also the relationship speakers have towards these languages and the uses they have as a consequence of that.
	Ruming Yang Dissertation Research Area Degree(s) Bio Dissertation Advisor

	Nadiyah Aamer Research Area 20th-21st Century \| Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies \| Immigration/Globalization/Transnationalism/Diasporas \| Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies \| Media/Film/Visual Studies \| Cultural Studies \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, Georgia State University B.A. Spanish, Georgia State University B.A. Psychology, Georgia State University Bio Nadiyah Aamer is a PhD student of Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies at the University of Miami. Her main research interests include: U.S. Latino Studies/Literatures, Islam and Muslims in the Contemporary Hispanophone World, Pop Culture Studies, and Immigrant/Diaspora Literatures. She is presently a Dean's Fellow and will be a UGrow Center for the Humanities Fellow for the 2020-2021 academic year.
	Zayer Baazaoui Dissertation “Can the Nameless be Represented? Literary and Cinematographic Representations of MENA Female Same Sex Desire” (scheduled to be defended in October 2020) Degree(s) B.A. French Literature, Linguistic and Civilization, University of Kairouan M.A. in French Studies, University of Sousse M.A. in French and Francophone Studies, University of Montpellier Bio Zayer Baazaoui is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Providence College. Zayer joined the doctoral program in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies after earning academic degrees in both Tunisia and France. He is currently an A.B.D. doctoral candidate. Zayer published articles in both languages (Arabic and French). He received many Awards, among them the prestigious Excellence Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in Foreign Languages of the Foreign Language Association of Dade County in Miami. He delivered numerous papers nationally and internationally at first rank conferences (MLA 2017, NWSA 2017 & 2019, Colloque Asociación de Francesistas de la Universidad Española (AFUE) 2018, 10th Arab Week in Mexico City. etc.). Zayer has taught French at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, from the beginner level to the more advanced undergraduate content seminars. He taught also an advanced Modern Standard Arabic course and served as a Public Relations & Social Media Coordinator for the University of Miami Directed Independent Language Study program (DILS). Dissertation Advisor Dr. Ralph Heyndels
	Mauro Cazzolla Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Lidiana de Moraes dos Santos Dissertation Reclaiming Political Spaces: Black Feminist Insurgencies in Contemporary Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literatures Research Area Luso-Afro-Brazilian literatures and cultural production \| African Diaspora studies \| Subaltern Studies (with an emphasis on race, gender, and class representations) \| Postcolonialism and Decolonization in the Lusophone World Degree(s) M.A. Language Arts and Literature, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil B.A. Language Arts and Literature, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil B.A. Social Communication: Journalism, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul – Porto Alegre, Brazil Bio Lidiana de Moraes is a Ph.D. candidate in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on postcolonial literary connections among contemporary female writers in Angola, Brazil, and Mozambique. She is currently working on her dissertation, entitled Reclaiming Political Spaces: Black Feminist Insurgencies in Contemporary Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literatures, where she examines how contemporary African and Afro-Brazilian writers use what Conceição Evaristo has denominated escrevivência (“survival-writing”) to construct a collective, feminist perspective of the Black Atlantic. Lidiana’s scholarship appears in the Journal of Lusophone Studies, Revista Diadorim, and the edited volume, Narrativas del miedo: Terror en obras literarias, cinemáticas y televisivas de Latinoamérica, and has been recognized with a Tinker Summer Research grant and the Santiago Achugar Díaz Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in MLL. Lidiana has held a Fulbright FLTA Fellowship (2014-15), and teaching fellowships from UM’s Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas (2018-19) and interdisciplinary program in American Studies (2019-20). In addition to Portuguese and Spanish language courses, she has designed and taught upper-division seminars on: “Exploring 20th and 21st Social Movements through Brazilian Music,” and “Cross Sections of US and Brazilian History Through Music.” Dissertation Advisor Dr. Tracy Devine Guzmán
	Rim El Belkacemi Research Area Migration Studies \| Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies \| Critical Race Studies \| Diaspora Studies \| Media/Film/Visual Studies \| Cultural Studies \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree(s) M.A. Communication in Cultural Contexts , Moulay Ismail University, Meknes B.A. Cultural Studies in English, Mohammed V University, Rabat Bio Rim El Belkacemi is a PhD student of Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies at the University of Miami. Her main research interests include: Decolonial studies, immigrant/Diaspora studies, Middle eastern and North African Studies/Literatures, Francophone literature, Arab Literature and Urban performance. She is currently a UGrow communication fellow at the Center for the Humanities for the 2020-2021 academic year.
	Heba El Sabbagh Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Marcia Fanti Negri Research Area Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality \| Literary, Theater and Performing Arts \| Gender & Sexuality Studies \| Aesthetics Degree(s) Ph.D Linguistic Studies, UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil M.A. Linguistic Studies, UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil Bio Marcia Fanti Negri is a 2nd year PhD in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at MLL. Her general research interests are Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality; Literary, Theater and Performing Arts; Gender & Sexuality Studies; Aesthetics; Teaching (Portuguese/English) as a Second Language and Teacher Education. Currently she is researching on the Transatlantic Brazil-Spain. She holds a PhD and MA in Linguistic Studies from UniversidadeFederal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Marcia is very keen on artistic expressions and their educational value to society.
	Monica Ann Figueroa Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Eukene Franco Landa Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Morphosyntax \| Language Sociology Degree(s) B.A. in Basque Studies, University of the Basque Country M.A. in Basque Linguistics and Philology, University of the Basque Country Bio Eukene Franco Landa is a PhD student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Miami. Her research is focused on the morphosyntactic variation of Basque and speakers' attitudes towards the language. She recently defended her Master's dissertation on the developement of number agreement of indefinite quantifiers in Basque. She is a conviced advocate of minority languages and cultures.
	Helen Hernandez Hormilla Research Area Cuban Studies \| Caribbean Studies \| Gender Studies \| Queer Theory \| Cultural Studies \| Immigration, Transnationalism, Diaspora \| Literary and Critical Theory Degree B.A. Journalism, University of Havana Bio Helen Hernández Hormilla is a third-year Ph.D. student in Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. She received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Havana in 2008 with a dissertation about Cuban women’s literature in the last decade of the XX Century. She has worked more than ten years as a journalist and editor in Cuba and the US. As a researcher, she has published the books Palabras sin velo. Entrevistas y cuentos de narradoras cubanas (2013) and Mujeres en crisis. Aproximaciones a lo femenino en las narradoras cubanas de los noventa (Acuario, La Habana, 2011) about Cuban women’s literature. She is interested in the transgressions of gender and sexuality in the transnational space represented by female authors from the Hispanic Caribbean and its diaspora.
	Samuel Johnson Dissertation Research Area Latin American Studies \| Social Movements \| Indigenous Peoples \| Ecocriticism \| Decolonial Studies \| Amazonia Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM M.A. Portuguese, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM M.A. Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM B.A. Spanish and History, Aquinas College Bio Sam is fourth year PhD Student in the Department of Modern Languages in Literatures. He completed his BA at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI and his master's degrees at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. While at UNM he taught Spanish as a second language and is teaching Spanish and Portuguese while at the University of Miami. His work examines cultural production and activism combatting ecological crises in Latin America with a focus on the Amazon Rainforest. When not working, he prefers to spend his time outdoors exploring South Florida’s beaches, forests, waterways, and the Everglades. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Tracy Devine Guzmán
	Lydda Lopez Valdez Dissertation Confronting Rurality & Urbanity among Mexican-Origin Spanish speakers in South Florida: towards a sociolinguistics of globalization Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Language & Identity \| Latinx studies \| Spanish & English in the US Degree(s) B.A. Linguistics, Reed College M.A. Linguistics, Florida International University Bio Lydda López Valdez is a PhD candidate (Literary, Cultural & Linguistic Studies) in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at University of Miami. Her work addresses global flows and the mobility of linguistic features across borders and how these relate to issues of identity construction among new Latino communities. Her research contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship that considers the role that linguistic difference plays in the lives of US Latino communities in terms of group identity and social inequality. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Andrew Lynch
	Lilianne Lugo Herrera Dissertation “Mediated Archipelagoes: Theater, Women, and Media” Research Area Theater and Performance Studies \| Archipelagic Studies \|Women and Gender Studies \| Media Studies \| Race \| Ethnic Studies and Latino Studies \| Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Degree B.F.A. in Theater Arts, Universidad de las Artes (ISA), La Habana, Cuba Bio Lilianne is a PhD student on the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program at the University of Miami. Her work focuses specifically on the intersection of Theater and Media in contemporary works by women playwrights. Currently, she is working on her book project Mediated Archipelagoes: Theater, Women, and Media. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose favorite places of research are crowded theater festivals. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Lillian Manzor
	Dainerys Machado Vento Dissertation The International Mediatization of Cuban Literature (2006-2018) Research Area Latin American Literature and Digital Humanities Degree(s) B.A. Journalism, University of Havana M.A. Hispanic American Literature, El Colegio de San Luis, A.C. Mexico Bio Dainerys Machado Vento is a Teaching Assistant and a PhD student in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. Her work has been focused on media and literature, specifically in Latin America and Spain. She is currently working on her dissertation on mediatization of Cuban literature, and writing her second fiction book. Dissertation Advisor Dr. Lillian Manzor
	Yasamin Rezaei Research Area Posthumanism \| Digital Humanities \| Social Media \| Theatre and Performance \| Theatre in Iran Degree(s) B.S. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran M.S. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy Bio Yasamin is a second-year PhD student teaching Italian and French.
	Ernesto Rumbaut Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Olivier Sales Dissertation 'Tout Niquer Devient Vital’: Rap Mediatizing of French Contemporary Society: Language, Body and the Urban Research Area French & Francophone Studies \| Hip Hop Studies \| Linguistics \| Gender & Sexualities \| Subaltern Studies \| Urban Studies \| Cinematography Degree(s) B.A. Philosophy, Université Grenoble-Alpes B.A. French Language & Literature, Université Grenoble-Alpes M.A. French Language & Literature, Université Grenoble-Alpes Bio Olivier Salès, currently an A.B.D. doctoral candidate in our Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Program, is writing a dissertation entitled ‘Tout Niquer Devient Vital’: Rap Mediatizing of French Contemporary Society: Language, Body and the Urban. His research focuses on French and Francophone Studies in relation to « urban » cultures and contemporary literatures. Previously a certified professor of French language and literature in the Southwest of France, Olivier has taught at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, including upper-level seminars. Olivier has written articles such as “Les Amérindiens vus par eux-mêmes : vers un dépassement de la littérature identitaire ?”, published in the renown Revue des lettres modernes. He has also delivered many papers in national and international conferences in France, the US and Canada (Urban Fears (Université Bordeaux-Montaigne), Rêver le Nouveau Monde (Université Paris-Sorbonne/Carlton University), NeMLA 2019 & 2020, SWPACA 2020). Olivier is also trained in Cinematography and has worked on projects such as a short movie, music videos, interviews in El Salvador, and a Regional Emmy Awards nominated short documentary (White Noise, 2019). Dissertation Advisor Dr. Ralph Heyndels
	Nicholas Sheets Dissertation Research Area Degree(s) Bio Dissertation Advisor Dr. Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel
	María Victoria Véliz Dissertation “Silence in Performance Art: Liveness in the Americas in the 21st Century.” (working title) Research Area Performance and Media Studies \| Visual Art Degree B.A. Art History, University of Havana, 1999 Bio María Victoria “Marivi” Véliz (Cuba-E.U) is a doctoral candidate in the Literary, Cultural and Linguistics Studies Program in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. She resided in Guatemala from late 2003 to 2012, where she was teaching, researching, and curating contemporary art, primarily from the Central/Latin American area. Currently, she is working on her dissertation “Silence in Performance Art: Liveness in the Americas in the 21st Century” where she is analyzing silence as a performatic device that enables art and aesthesis. Art is the driving force that moves her to research, to learn and teach while connecting communities and people. Dissertation Advisor Dr. George Yúdice
	Amaia Villaño García Research Area Sociolinguistics \| Bilingualism \| Second Lenguage Acquisition & Teaching Degree(s) M.A. Hispanic Linguistics, University of Illinois at Chicago B.A. Modern Languages, University of Deusto B.A. Education - Primary School Teaching, University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) Bio Amaia is a first year PhD in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the Department of Modern Languages and Literature. Her research interests are Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition &Teaching, with special emphasis on the intercultural competence. She is interested in understanding crosslinguistic properties of the morphosyntax of bilingual minds, but also the relationship speakers have towards these languages and the uses they have as a consequence of that.
	Ruming Yang Dissertation Research Area Degree(s) Bio Dissertation Advisor

Nadiyah Aamer

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Zayer Baazaoui

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Mauro Cazzolla

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Lidiana de Moraes dos Santos

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Rim El Belkacemi

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Heba El Sabbagh

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Marcia Fanti Negri

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Monica Ann Figueroa

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Eukene Franco Landa

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Helen Hernandez Hormilla

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Samuel Johnson

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Lydda Lopez Valdez

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Lilianne Lugo Herrera

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Dainerys Machado Vento

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Yasamin Rezaei

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Ernesto Rumbaut

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Olivier Sales

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