	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.
	Mauro Cazzolla Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Gabriel das Chagas Alves Pereira de Souza Research Area Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality \| 20th century \| Black Studies \| Comparative Literature \| American Literature \| Brazilian Literature Degree(s) Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) M.A. Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) B.A. Languages and Literatures - Portuguese and English, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) Bio Gabriel das Chagas Alves Pereira de Souza is a Ph.D. student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at MLL and a UM Fellow (2021 - 2022). He holds a degree in Portuguese and English from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, RJ, Brazil) and M.A. in Comparative Literature from the same University. In 2020, he received the 1st place for the best master's thesis award in Brazil and is currently concluding his dissertation at UFRJ about Lima Barreto and Langston Hughes. His general research interests are Post-coloniality, Black Studies, Harlem Renaissance, Brazilian modernity and Black Literature of the 20th century in Brazil and in the United States, focused on themes such as slavery, racism, lynching and black codes.
	Jacob Dennis Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Diona Espinosa Research Area Cuban and Latin American film studies, contemporary performance arts and transmedia narratives. Degree(s) B.A Journalism, University of Havana PGCE Humanism and Society, Alberto Hurtado University M.A Cultural Studies and Literature University at Albany, SUNY. Grad Ph.D. student University of Miami Bio Diona Espinosa Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of Miami. She has been a speaker in the Latin American Studies Association Conference, the Graduate Student Cuban Studies Symposium at Harvard University, and the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies, among other symposia and academic events.
	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 Faust Research Area Brazilian Modernism \| Poetry \| Translation \| Feminisms \| Critical Race Studies Degree(s) B.A. Spanish, University of Pittsburgh M.A. Spanish, Ohio State University Bio Monica Faust is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate. She holds an B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. in Spanish from The Ohio State University. She taught Spanish and Portuguese language at St. Joseph's University and Eastern University in Philadelphia. Her research interests include: Brazilian Modernism, Poetry, Translation, Feminisms and Critical Race Studies. Before Miami, Monica lived in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil for almost seven years teaching dance, ESL and raising her two boys. She is currently writing her dissertation: "Confederate Self-Fashioning in the Nineteenth-Century Brazil: O caso confederado" which examines the Confederate exodus to Southern Brazil at the end of the U.S. Civil War from a Critical Race perspective.
	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 second year PhD student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Miami. Her research is focused on the morphosyntactic variation of Basque and Spanish of the Basque Country 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.
	Maytte Hernandez-Lorenzo Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Neta Kanny Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Massiel Medina Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Yoán Moreno Research Area Literary/Critical Theory \| Continental Philosophy \| Cultural Studies \| Internet/Media Studies \| Rhetoric \| Caribbean Studies \| 20th Century Cuban Literature and Music \| José Lezama Lima \| Afro-Cuban Music \| Black Studies \| African-American Literature \| Africana Studies \| Decolonial Studies Degree(s) M.A. English, Loyola Marymount University B.A. English, Florida International University Bio Yoán Moreno is a PhD student in Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies. He is a McKnight Fellow (2021-2026) and a Dean’s Fellow (2021-2023). He has participated in the MELUS and ACLA conferences, and has published texts in popular media. His work is primarily focused on generating new, useful/usable concepts (mainly rehearsed in Caribbean texts) for the purposes of increasing critical approaches, and sharpening his pedagogy of Writing and Rhetoric. Prior to joining the program, Yoán taught Writing and Rhetorical Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, in addition to working as an independent translator, musician, and Spanish instructor.
	Vijay Navarro Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Marisleydi Ramos Research Area Sociolinguistics, Language in society \| Spanish in the United States \| Dialects in Contact \| Language & Identity \| Heritage Speakers \| Heritage language development Degree(s) B.A in Philology specialized in Hispanic Linguistics, University of Havana M.A in Spanish M.A. with an emphasis in Spanish Applied Language, Culture, and Literature, Florida International University Bio Marisleydi Ramos Borrego is a first-year Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Ph.D. student at the University of Miami. She is focused on Spanish varieties and Hispanic communities in the United States. In 2020, she contributed to the linguistic field on Spanish dialect contact in the U.S. and more specifically, provided deeper insight into Spanish varieties in the U.S with her master’s dissertation on Nicaraguan Spanish in Miami. Her project examined the second-generation Spanish repertoire and the social factors that influenced their dialect formation at the lexical level. Her study interests include Spanish dialects in contact in the U.S., the relationship between social factors and dialect variation, Spanish literacy, language ideologies, heritage speakers, and their attitudes toward Spanish varieties. In addition, she strongly aims to study all the Spanish dialects in Miami-Dade County to integrate them into Spanish literacy in this metropolitan area. Her purpose with this action is to reduce linguistic and cultural stigmata about some Spanish varieties and their Hispanic groups in this territory and in the United States.
	Yasamin Rezaei Research Area New Media Studies \| Digital Humanities \| Social Media and Platform Studies \| Theatre and Performance \| Language & Identity (Persian: Iran and Diaspora) \| Electronic Literature \| Cultural Studies Degree(s) B.S. Process Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran M.S. Process Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy Bio Yasamin is a third-year PhD student exploring emerging linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena on social media such as #Instapoetry. She has taught general and business English in Iran, Italy, and Germany for years, has experience teaching French to undergraduate students and has assisted with Italian courses by managing “Italian through theatre” at MLL. Yasamin is the co-founder of Instasociety and a fellow of Digital Humanities at University of Miami for summer 2021. She will be working at the Center for the Humanities at University of Miami as a UGrow fellow in 2021-2022 A.Y. She loves theory and coding on Python, and in her free time, she enjoys dancing, podcasting, blogging, and hosting inspirational interviews to ignite public passion in Arts and Humanities by minimizing the gap between academia and life outside.
	Kathy Rubio Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Ernesto Rumbaut Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Savannah Saavedra Research Area 19th- 21st century Latin American Literature \| 20th century Peninsular Literature \| Cultural Studies \| Urban Studies \| Conflict, Violence, and Social Movements \| Foreign Language Pedagogy. Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, University of Virginia Undergraduate certificate in Spanish English Translation and Interpretation, Virginia Commonwealth University B.A. International Studies (concentration in Latin America), Virginia Commonwealth University B.A. Spanish, Virginia Commonwealth University Bio Savannah Saavedra is a first year PhD student in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies program at the University of Miami. Her research interests include 19th-21st century Latin American Literature, 20th century peninsular literature, cultural studies, urban studies, conflict violence, and social movements, as well as foreign language pedagogy. She is also a Holmes Fellowship recipient from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.
	Lourdes Schmader Research Area 19th and 20th century Latin American Literature \| Modern Latin American Literature \| Aesthetics \| Comparative Literature \| Digital Humanities \| Ecuadorian Literature \| Modernismo \| Ecuadorian Pasillo \| Medardo Angel Silva \| Julio Jaramillo\| Poetry\| Theater Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX B.S. in Criminal Justice, University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly UMUC), Adelphi, MD B.S. in Political Science, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil Law School, Guayaquil, Ecuador Bio Lourdes Schmader is a first year Ph.D. student in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies program at the University of Miami. In 2020 she defended her Master’s dissertation on the Ecuadorian poet, writer, and compositor, Medardo Angel Silva (1898-1919), the nation’s most prominent figure of the Latin American literary movement known as Modernismo. Her investigation analyzed the metaphors, images, and language that Silva employed in his poems to represent the act of taking one’s own life. Her aim was to contribute to a deeper understanding of the poet, whose reception is defined by the popularity of both his tragic biography and Julio Jaramillo’s pasillo––a widely-acclaimed Ecuadorian music genre––inspired by his famous poem “El alma en los labios.” Her research interests include Latin American literatures and cultures with an emphasis on 19th – 21st century Latin American Literature, and its emotional and cultural impressions and influence. She has participated in the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies SCOLAS and the Texas Medieval Association TEMA conferences, and she has taught Spanish I and II courses at Texas State University, Texas Lutheran University and Alamo Colleges, in the San Antonio, Texas Area. She is an advocate for diversity, inclusion, gender equality, and for more opportunities for all people to obtain their education, regardless of their background.
	Euge Stumm Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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.
	Mauro Cazzolla Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Gabriel das Chagas Alves Pereira de Souza Research Area Cultural Studies and Post-coloniality \| 20th century \| Black Studies \| Comparative Literature \| American Literature \| Brazilian Literature Degree(s) Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) M.A. Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) B.A. Languages and Literatures - Portuguese and English, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ - Brazil) Bio Gabriel das Chagas Alves Pereira de Souza is a Ph.D. student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at MLL and a UM Fellow (2021 - 2022). He holds a degree in Portuguese and English from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, RJ, Brazil) and M.A. in Comparative Literature from the same University. In 2020, he received the 1st place for the best master's thesis award in Brazil and is currently concluding his dissertation at UFRJ about Lima Barreto and Langston Hughes. His general research interests are Post-coloniality, Black Studies, Harlem Renaissance, Brazilian modernity and Black Literature of the 20th century in Brazil and in the United States, focused on themes such as slavery, racism, lynching and black codes.
	Jacob Dennis Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Diona Espinosa Research Area Cuban and Latin American film studies, contemporary performance arts and transmedia narratives. Degree(s) B.A Journalism, University of Havana PGCE Humanism and Society, Alberto Hurtado University M.A Cultural Studies and Literature University at Albany, SUNY. Grad Ph.D. student University of Miami Bio Diona Espinosa Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of Miami. She has been a speaker in the Latin American Studies Association Conference, the Graduate Student Cuban Studies Symposium at Harvard University, and the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies, among other symposia and academic events.
	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 Faust Research Area Brazilian Modernism \| Poetry \| Translation \| Feminisms \| Critical Race Studies Degree(s) B.A. Spanish, University of Pittsburgh M.A. Spanish, Ohio State University Bio Monica Faust is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate. She holds an B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. in Spanish from The Ohio State University. She taught Spanish and Portuguese language at St. Joseph's University and Eastern University in Philadelphia. Her research interests include: Brazilian Modernism, Poetry, Translation, Feminisms and Critical Race Studies. Before Miami, Monica lived in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil for almost seven years teaching dance, ESL and raising her two boys. She is currently writing her dissertation: "Confederate Self-Fashioning in the Nineteenth-Century Brazil: O caso confederado" which examines the Confederate exodus to Southern Brazil at the end of the U.S. Civil War from a Critical Race perspective.
	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 second year PhD student in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Miami. Her research is focused on the morphosyntactic variation of Basque and Spanish of the Basque Country 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.
	Maytte Hernandez-Lorenzo Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Neta Kanny Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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
	Massiel Medina Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Yoán Moreno Research Area Literary/Critical Theory \| Continental Philosophy \| Cultural Studies \| Internet/Media Studies \| Rhetoric \| Caribbean Studies \| 20th Century Cuban Literature and Music \| José Lezama Lima \| Afro-Cuban Music \| Black Studies \| African-American Literature \| Africana Studies \| Decolonial Studies Degree(s) M.A. English, Loyola Marymount University B.A. English, Florida International University Bio Yoán Moreno is a PhD student in Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies. He is a McKnight Fellow (2021-2026) and a Dean’s Fellow (2021-2023). He has participated in the MELUS and ACLA conferences, and has published texts in popular media. His work is primarily focused on generating new, useful/usable concepts (mainly rehearsed in Caribbean texts) for the purposes of increasing critical approaches, and sharpening his pedagogy of Writing and Rhetoric. Prior to joining the program, Yoán taught Writing and Rhetorical Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, in addition to working as an independent translator, musician, and Spanish instructor.
	Vijay Navarro Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Marisleydi Ramos Research Area Sociolinguistics, Language in society \| Spanish in the United States \| Dialects in Contact \| Language & Identity \| Heritage Speakers \| Heritage language development Degree(s) B.A in Philology specialized in Hispanic Linguistics, University of Havana M.A in Spanish M.A. with an emphasis in Spanish Applied Language, Culture, and Literature, Florida International University Bio Marisleydi Ramos Borrego is a first-year Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies Ph.D. student at the University of Miami. She is focused on Spanish varieties and Hispanic communities in the United States. In 2020, she contributed to the linguistic field on Spanish dialect contact in the U.S. and more specifically, provided deeper insight into Spanish varieties in the U.S with her master’s dissertation on Nicaraguan Spanish in Miami. Her project examined the second-generation Spanish repertoire and the social factors that influenced their dialect formation at the lexical level. Her study interests include Spanish dialects in contact in the U.S., the relationship between social factors and dialect variation, Spanish literacy, language ideologies, heritage speakers, and their attitudes toward Spanish varieties. In addition, she strongly aims to study all the Spanish dialects in Miami-Dade County to integrate them into Spanish literacy in this metropolitan area. Her purpose with this action is to reduce linguistic and cultural stigmata about some Spanish varieties and their Hispanic groups in this territory and in the United States.
	Yasamin Rezaei Research Area New Media Studies \| Digital Humanities \| Social Media and Platform Studies \| Theatre and Performance \| Language & Identity (Persian: Iran and Diaspora) \| Electronic Literature \| Cultural Studies Degree(s) B.S. Process Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran M.S. Process Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy Bio Yasamin is a third-year PhD student exploring emerging linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena on social media such as #Instapoetry. She has taught general and business English in Iran, Italy, and Germany for years, has experience teaching French to undergraduate students and has assisted with Italian courses by managing “Italian through theatre” at MLL. Yasamin is the co-founder of Instasociety and a fellow of Digital Humanities at University of Miami for summer 2021. She will be working at the Center for the Humanities at University of Miami as a UGrow fellow in 2021-2022 A.Y. She loves theory and coding on Python, and in her free time, she enjoys dancing, podcasting, blogging, and hosting inspirational interviews to ignite public passion in Arts and Humanities by minimizing the gap between academia and life outside.
	Kathy Rubio Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Ernesto Rumbaut Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	Savannah Saavedra Research Area 19th- 21st century Latin American Literature \| 20th century Peninsular Literature \| Cultural Studies \| Urban Studies \| Conflict, Violence, and Social Movements \| Foreign Language Pedagogy. Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, University of Virginia Undergraduate certificate in Spanish English Translation and Interpretation, Virginia Commonwealth University B.A. International Studies (concentration in Latin America), Virginia Commonwealth University B.A. Spanish, Virginia Commonwealth University Bio Savannah Saavedra is a first year PhD student in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies program at the University of Miami. Her research interests include 19th-21st century Latin American Literature, 20th century peninsular literature, cultural studies, urban studies, conflict violence, and social movements, as well as foreign language pedagogy. She is also a Holmes Fellowship recipient from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.
	Lourdes Schmader Research Area 19th and 20th century Latin American Literature \| Modern Latin American Literature \| Aesthetics \| Comparative Literature \| Digital Humanities \| Ecuadorian Literature \| Modernismo \| Ecuadorian Pasillo \| Medardo Angel Silva \| Julio Jaramillo\| Poetry\| Theater Degree(s) M.A. Spanish, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX B.S. in Criminal Justice, University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly UMUC), Adelphi, MD B.S. in Political Science, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil Law School, Guayaquil, Ecuador Bio Lourdes Schmader is a first year Ph.D. student in the Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies program at the University of Miami. In 2020 she defended her Master’s dissertation on the Ecuadorian poet, writer, and compositor, Medardo Angel Silva (1898-1919), the nation’s most prominent figure of the Latin American literary movement known as Modernismo. Her investigation analyzed the metaphors, images, and language that Silva employed in his poems to represent the act of taking one’s own life. Her aim was to contribute to a deeper understanding of the poet, whose reception is defined by the popularity of both his tragic biography and Julio Jaramillo’s pasillo––a widely-acclaimed Ecuadorian music genre––inspired by his famous poem “El alma en los labios.” Her research interests include Latin American literatures and cultures with an emphasis on 19th – 21st century Latin American Literature, and its emotional and cultural impressions and influence. She has participated in the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies SCOLAS and the Texas Medieval Association TEMA conferences, and she has taught Spanish I and II courses at Texas State University, Texas Lutheran University and Alamo Colleges, in the San Antonio, Texas Area. She is an advocate for diversity, inclusion, gender equality, and for more opportunities for all people to obtain their education, regardless of their background.
	Euge Stumm Research Area Degree(s) Bio
	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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Mauro Cazzolla

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Gabriel das Chagas Alves Pereira de Souza

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Jacob Dennis

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Rim El Belkacemi

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Heba El Sabbagh

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Diona Espinosa

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Marcia Fanti Negri

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Monica Faust

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Eukene Franco Landa

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Helen Hernandez Hormilla

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Maytte Hernandez-Lorenzo

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Samuel Johnson

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Neta Kanny

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Lydda Lopez Valdez

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Massiel Medina

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Yoán Moreno

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Vijay Navarro

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Marisleydi Ramos

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