News and Events

’Enseñar – o el arte de aprender’

El Profesor Miguel Ángel Santos Guerra dará una charla sobre el tema ’Enseñar – o el arte de aprender’ en el Siobhán McKenna Theatre el martes que viene día 31 de enero a las 9.00 de la mañana. Bienvenidos a tods.

Miguel Ángel Santos Guerra es Doctor en Ciencias de la Educación y catedrático de Didáctica y Organización Escolar en la Universidad de Málaga. Ha escrito numerosos libros y artículos sobre organización escolar, evaluación educativa y formación del profesorado. Desde su experiencia como profesor en todos los niveles del sistema educativo, Miguel Ángel comparte sus percepciones sobre el tema de la educación.

GALICIAN-IRISH SYMPOSIUM  (Full programme available here)

“ The Speckled Ground”. Hybridity in Irish and Galician Cultural Production
March 30-31, 2012

A collaboration between Spanish, NUIG; The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures;
The Moore Institute, and the Amergin Centre for Irish Studies, A Coruña.

According to the Romans, the most western point of land in North Western Spain represented Finisterre (Fisterra), the end of the known world. The region of Galicia shares many cultural and historical features with Ireland. In March 2012, academics, translators, poets and musicians from NUI, Galway and the Amergin Centre for Irish Studies, will come together to celebrate our shared cultural experiences and investigate the diversity of cultural production in Galicia and Ireland.  

STUDENT REGISTRATION

Students attending the Symposium will receive a certificate from the Spanish University of A Coruña for a total of 10 hours of attendance.

Registration will take place at the Moore Institute on the 30th March 2012 during the Official Opening.  
Should you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact Rubén Jarazo, co-organiser of the Symposium, at rjarazoudc.es  

  Friday, March 30^th  

There will be a one-day symposium on “Hybridity in Irish and Galician Cultural Production”. Guest speakers will include Professor Máirín NicEoin, (St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra), and poet Celia de Fréine. This will be followed by a reception and poetry reading of Galician poetry translated into Irish and English by Irish poets.

Saturday, March 31^st

” Dá mbínnse thall sa Spáinn/ Were I beyond in Spain.” Translating Traditional Songs.

The shared cultural heritage between Ireland and Galicia is nowhere more obvious than in song, where themes of seafaring, emigration and pilgrimage abound.   The challenge will be to translate Irish songs into singable Galician versions and Galician songs into singable Irish versions. The final refinements will be made to the verse translations during the workshop on the morning of Saturday, March 31^st. That evening, the new versions of the songs will be performed by translators, singers and musicians, with an introduction to Galician music by Marco Vélez.  The concert will take place in the public library, An Cheathrú Rua, (Carraroe). It will be programmed by Cúirt as a “pre-festival” event, and will be recorded and archived by The Moore Institute.
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An evening with Frida Kahlo

On the evening of the 21^st of September the Spanish Department was treated to a little taste of Mexican folk art. 

Mexican actress Ana Salas brought the tumultuous life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to NUIG.  In a compelling performance, Salas took to the stage characterised as Frida and delivered a monologue that brought together the triumphs and tragedies in the artist’s eventful life.  Every aspect of the performance was geared towards giving the audience a sense of the eclectic, and sometimes eccentric, nature of Frida’s personality. The stage was decorated with replicas of Frida’s paintings and Salas’ monologue was intertwined with recordings that represented the voice of Frida’s husband, Diego Rivera.  Salas’ performance also included renditions of traditional Mexican music that provided some of the more humorous moments of the night.  

The evening was a great success, and a heartfelt thanks must go to the members of the Spanish department and the Mexican community of Galway who worked together to bring Salas’ performance to NUIG; and last but not least, a special thank you to Ana Salas for bringing Mexico and the story of an important Mexican folk hero a little bit closer to all of us. 

Audience Reaction

’It felt like we were having a one on one conversation with Frida at our dining room table over a cup of tea, sort of when an older relative shares their life story with you and you are so intrigued, you can’t interrupt and you are just fixated.’

-          Koshiki Tanaka

’The performance by Ana Sala on Wednesday night was very enjoyable. I liked the way her whole life story was told and from the very start I wanted to know more about it. ’

-          Celina Doré

’I really enjoyed the performance that Ana Sala gave. It was upbeat and entertaining and I enjoyed the songs and how she encouraged the audience to participate.’

-          Donna Callaghan

’Lo que más me gustó de esta obra teatral fueron los colores vibrantes del escenario, y como bromeó con la botellita de tequila de la que bebía a menudo durante la actuación.  También me gustó su manera de hablar e integrar a todo el mundo cuando cantaba y cuando respondía a las preguntas al final.’

-          Hannah Higgins Pardo

’Me pareció muy interesante el estilo de la actriz Ana Sala – me encantó el uso de su voz para animar su exposición, mezclada con sus habilidades como actriz.’

-          Megan Connolly Bree
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Award

We are delighted to announce that Rebecca Mann (a 2^nd year student of Spanish on the BA Connect with Theatre and Performance) has been awarded 2^nd prize in the 2011 Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Literary Scholarship for her performance in her First Year Spanish examinations. The scholarship is granted by the National University of Ireland (NUI).  Each year NUI rewards First Year Spanish students from across all the NUI Universities who have excelled in their Arts exams and have achieved a high level of academic competence . Well done Rebecca!
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The Hispano Society never stops!

The Hispano Society has been hard at work putting together a series of events designed to give students an opportunity to practice their Spanish outside the classroom.

On the 11^th of October the society held a Piñata Party.  For those of you unfamiliar with piñatas, they are candy-filled containers that hang from the ceiling. The aim is to hit it with a stick until the container breaks and releases the candy inside.  Our particular piñata took longer to hang up than to crack open!

The Skeffington bar in Eyre Square hosted the first two language exchange parties of the semester.  They were well-attended multicultural affairs with a mixture of Spanish and English spoken throughout the night.  The language exchange nights give students from different courses an opportunity to hone their language skills whilst meeting new people and enjoying the free food.  Given the success of the first two nights, the Hispano Society is planning on making it a regular event.

The weekly coffee mornings have also been very well-attended.  The photograph is of the Wednesday the 2^nd of November gathering, which included Music, Engineering and Hispanic Studies student s discussing current events in Spanish, although no one would reveal who they were voting for in the presidential election! The coffee morning also gave the society time to begin preparations for a weekend trip to Spain during the second semester. The motivation behind the trip isn’t just leisure as initial dates have been set around April 2012, which would coincide with preparations for the end of year oral exams.  It’s hard to think of a better way to prepare for an exam!  
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Two New IRCHSS Scholars in Spanish!

Congratulations to two new postgraduate research students in Spanish who have been awarded scholarships by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) - Céire Broderick and Diletta Panero. Céire’s project is entitled: “Redefining Chilean National Identity in the post-Pinochet Era and the Early Twenty-First Century through the Contemporary Novels: Ay mama Inés by Jorge Guzmán, Maldita yo entre las mujeres by Mercedes Valdivieso , Inés del alma mía by Isabel Allende and Tres nombres para Catalina: La Doña de Campofrío by Gustavo Frías” and Diletta’s project is entitled: “Storytelling in the Work of Isabel Allende: A Female Genealogy”. For more information, click here.

SPANISH FIRST Tutorials

This year sees the introduction of special Academic Support Tutorials designed to assist First Year students of Spanish with their study of the language and the cultures of Spain and Latin America. They are called ’SPANISH FIRST’ Tutorials. ’FIRST’ stands for ’Forum for Investigating and Researching Spanish Themes’. Each First Year student of Spanish must attend at least one SPANISH FIRST Tutorial in the course of the academic year. For more information, click here.

People with Languages in Demand

''Everybody in Ireland is looking for people with languages’, according to Peter Cosgrove, of CPL Recruitment Group. This reinforces the message that employers consistently convey to teachers of languages, i.e., that knowing a language helps get you noticed by a potential employer and can assist you to land the job that you want. For more information, click here.

Aula Virtual de Español

This year, for the first time, students of Spanish will be able to have access to the online resources of the Aula Virtual de Español (AVE). Details of how to access the AVE will be given in class.

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