FACULTY NEWS: Faculty in Department of Languages In-Action

Dr. Valenzuela leads linguistics workshop for native teachers in the Amazon

Pilar Valenzuela, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Languages, Wilkinson College, recently led a four-day workshop to analyze the grammar of Shawi, an indigenous language spoken in the Province of Alto Amazonas, in northeastern Peru. The workshop took place in Yurimaguas, a small town on the banks of the Huallaga River, and was organized by a group of native teachers specialized in intercultural bilingual education. With a population of approximately 22,000 individuals, the Shawi are among the largest indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon. Their language continues being passed on to the children, who tend to be monolingual until they attend elementary school in their villages. The Shawi bilingual teachers approached Dr. Valenzuela in search of linguistic training due to her intensive research on the sister language Shiwilu as well as a comparative work involving the two languages.




Dr. Robert Buranello represents CU in Multiple Universities 

Dr. Robert Buranello, Musco Professor of Italian in the Department of Languages, participated in The California Interdisciplinary Consortium of Italian Studies (CICIS) Annual Conference at Scripps and Pomona Colleges, California, February 10-11, 2012.  For its tenth year, the conference adopted the theme, “Italian Cities: Visible and Invisible.”  On Saturday, February 11, 2012, Dr. Buranello presented the paper “Zonderwater: the ‘tendopoli’ of identity,” part of his on-going research into Italian POW literature. 

On Wednesday, February 15, 2012, Dr. Buranello will be giving a guest lecture at the George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies at California State University, Long Beach, entitled, “Moose on the Loose: A Theatrical Representation of the Italian Canadian Experience in Los Angeles.”  This contemporary comedy by Dina Morrone played to excellent reviews and enjoyed an extended run in Los Angeles in the Spring and Summer of 2011.  Dr. Buranello will be joined by the playwright at this event.