PAMLA 2013 Elections

The PAMLA 2013 Election ballot will be emailed on October 14 to all members who are current in dues for the 2013 calendar year.  Voting must be completed by midnight, October 25, 2013.  If you were expecting a ballot but did not receive an email, please contact [email protected].

Your PAMLA Executive Committee is the body that makes major decisions regarding PAMLA on a day-to-day basis, and that helps to plan the future of PAMLA so that we may continue to serve our members’ needs.  We really need your help in choosing the best officers possible. 

The Nominating Committee has come up with an excellent slate of potential officers.  You will vote for one candidate for 2nd VP and two for Executive Committee member. The 2nd VP moves up automatically to 1st VP and then to President in consecutive years.  The two Executive Committee members who receive the most votes will each serve three-year terms. 

We’d like to thank and acknowledge the fine work of the Nominating Committee (Ana María Rodríguez-Vivaldi, Sabine Wilke, Thierry Boucquey), and most of all the willingness of our candidates to serve PAMLA.

Candidate statements appear below.

Second Vice-President Nominees:

JOHN M. GANIM (Ph.D. Indiana University) is Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside.  He is the author of four books, Style and Consciousness in Middle English Narrative (1983), Chaucerian Theatricality (1990), both published by Princeton University Press, and Medievalism and Orientalism: Three Essays on Literature, Architecture and Cultural Identity (2005) published by Palgrave MacMillan, and co-edited Cosmopolitanism and the Middle Ages, also published by Palgrave (2013). Last year, Medievalism and Orientalism was published in Arabic by the Kalima Foundation (2012).  His essays have appeared in such venues as PMLA, ELH and leading journals in Poland and Japan. He served as President (2006-2008) of the New Chaucer Society.  Previously, he has served as chair of the Executive Committee of the Middle English Division of the Modern Language Association and is presently a member of the Advisory Boards of Studies in the Age of Chaucer and Cambria Press’ series on Medievalism, Classicism and Orientalism.  He held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2001.  At UCR, he has been department chair and director of graduate studies and is presently director of undergraduate studies.  He was part of a team that received an Australian Research Council multi-year grant to study Australian Medievalisms (2009-2012).  He has written and lectured on film, architecture and the postcolonial past here and abroad.

Personal Statement:  PAMLA is one of the best run regional scholarly organizations in America. It has the best digital presence and the most active board and is more responsive to the needs of its membership than almost any other regional society devoted to its broad scope, and I say this as someone who has worked closely with the officers and the publications of MMLA, RMMLA, SAMLA and SCMLA. No matter whom you elect, you can be sure that the Association will remain in good hands.  I have a special reason for running for Second Vice President, because I presented my earliest papers and organized my first sessions at PAMLA (before it changed its name from PAPC!) and want others to continue to have that opportunity.  As I have with other organizations that I have helped to lead, I would encourage us to include colleagues in community colleges as well as four-year institutions. I also believe, as I did with specialist organizations I have been part of, that we have a responsibility to reach out to individuals teaching at the K-12 level and insure that the ideas and enthusiasm we share can help them swim against the tide of some rough currents.  I also believe that while geography is a challenge, my many contacts at universities in Australia, Singapore and elsewhere can help us broaden what we mean by the Pacific.  As someone who has mentored graduate students and younger colleagues across the country, I believe we have a responsibility to help everyone distinguish between hostile prophecies that threaten to be self-fulfilling and fundamental structural changes in pedagogy and publication to which we need to respond with creativity and imagination.

STELLA MORENO MONROY was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She has extensively traveled in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and prior to establishing in the United States to continue her education she resided in Spain for eight years. In Spain she worked as a freelance journalist and became director of publications and the international newspapers publishers liaison for the Spanish Newspapers Publishers Association (AEDE). She obtained her BA Degree in English and French at the University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia, and her master and her doctoral degrees in Spanish at the University of Washington, Seattle. She joined the Department of Foreign Languages at Central Washington University in 1988, and since then she has taught a diverse array of courses across the Spanish curriculum and most in particular upper division courses in Spanish and Latin American Literature and Hispanic Cinema (Spanish, Latin American and Latino filmmaking). She is currently a Professor of Spanish in the recently renamed World Languages Department at Central Washington University.  Her primary research areas range from literary translation, cinema, and contemporary Spanish and Latin American poetry to creative writing: poetry and the personal essay. Several of her poems have been published in literary journals, and she is currently working on the publication of her first poetry book. In 2010 the Mexican Government published the book Porque me faltan alas: historias de la vida del inmigrante mexicano. In this literary endeavor, Dr. Moreno worked with her colleague Dr. Nathalie Kasselis. Since 2010 she directs CWU Center for Latino and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) that fosters the Latin American Studies Interdisciplinary Program (LLAS).  Dr. Moreno has been a member of PAMLA for more than a decade and throughout the years has presented papers on Latin American Literature and Latin American Cinema, areas of her interest and expertise.

Personal Statement:  Throughout my academic career as a Professor of Spanish at Central Washington University, I have consistently set high standards in regards to teaching, scholarship and service.  As I continue to grow, I enjoy an ever more meaningful interaction between my students and myself, and an ever greater commitment as an effective and responsible member of my campus and town communities. My teaching of a wide diversity of courses reflects flexibility and innovation; an integral approach to Arts and Humanities. The ongoing trend to debilitate the strength of Arts and Humanities in the American Higher Education institutions in the United States greatly concerns me.  I believe that the essence of true educators lies in the persevering defense of our disciplines in Ancient and Modern languages, as they represent multiculturalism in the evolution of mankind: gender, bilingualism; immigration, history, politics, globalization and collective and individual identity. If we trust our imagination in pursuing balance between pedagogical strategies and new technologies, we will luckily continue inspiring in our students interest in learning with intellectual curiosity; with genuine interest in the discussion of ideas. Thus, I continue traveling the path of intellectual challenge, discovery and creative research in my discipline and in the inter-disciplinary studies that enhance it. By doing that, I maintain a vital presence instilling in my students and in my interaction with colleagues critical thinking in our academic endeavors and ultimately in the pursuit of personal and career fulfillment.  In spite of the socio political tendency to place Arts and Humanities at the bottom of priorities in Higher Education institutions, we ought to advocate for them in all forums. Imagination and culture do not have a monetary prize; they are the integral foundation of mankind across diverse landscapes over millennia. I present my candidacy for PAMLA’s position as a Second Vice president 2013- 2015 sure as I am that I can contribute to the discussion on the relevance of the Arts and Humanities in Higher Education. I offer my modest knowledge on one hand; my honest, pragmatic and daring approach to build political and community awarenessin defense of Arts and Humanities in the Academia, on the other.  I, therefore, pledge for your vote for the position as 2^nd Vice President in our prestigious organization.

Executive Committee Member Nominees:

CATHERINE CUCINELLA is an Assistant Professor in the Literature and Writing Studies Department at California State University, San Marcos, and she also is Director of General Education Writing.  She teaches literature, writing, and pedagogy courses.  She received her Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Riverside.  Her book, Poetics of the Body: Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, Marilyn Chin, was published by Palgrave in 2010, and the edited bio-critical work, Contemporary American Women Poets: An A-Z Guide, was published by Greenwood Press in2002.  She has also published articles on Elizabeth Bishop, other poets and writers, and filmmaker Julie Dash.  Her most recent project involves TA training and development.

Personal Statement: My affiliation with PAMLA began in 2010.  I have presented papers, chaired and organized panels, and served as the presiding officer of Poetry and Poetics session, and currently, of Composition and Rhetoric. This year I am also the Co-Chair of the On-Site-Planning Committee for the 2013 Conference.  At my first PAMLA conference, I was struck by the exchange of ideas that occurred at the sessions and at the various events I attended.  As my involvement with PAMLA has grown, I have come to realize more fully the importance of preserving spaces and strengthening organizations that foster growth in the humanities and allow those of us working in the humanities to share our work.  Thus, I see becoming a member of the Executive Committee as a way to contribute to PAMLA’s continued commitment to intellectual exchange, to bringing together scholars, at all stages of their careers, and to providing an arena where the humanities can thrive.

RICHARD E. HISHMEH is Associate Professor of English and Humanities at Palomar College in San Marcos, California.  He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Riverside, focusing on American Literature, Film and Visual Culture, and Poetry.  He has published articles and reviews in various journals, including the Journal of American Culture, The Hemingway Review, Politics and Culture, and Modern Language Studies.  He is currently at work on a basic skills textbook for teaching pre-collegiate college composition.

Personal Statement:  I have been a member of PAMLA for 10 years.  With one exception (2010), I have presented or chaired a session at every conference since 2004.  This year, I am serving on the Site Committee for the San Diego Conference, having succeeded in getting my college, a two-year college in North San Diego County, to co-sponsor this year’s San Diego PAMLA conference.  Should I be elected to the executive committee, I would continue working to increase two-year college representation within PAMLA and at its conferences.  I am a current member of the MLA’s Discussion Group Executive Committee for the “Two Year College,” and in 2008, I presented a paper at the MLA on promoting scholarship at the two-year college.  As one of the first professional associations I joined as an aspiring graduate student, PAMLA has played an instrumental role in my professional development, and I would be honored to serve and give back to the association any way I can. Thank you for your consideration.

YASUTAKA MARUKI is Associate Professor of Japanese at Pacific University, where he has taught Japanese Language and Japanese Literature since 2006. He received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Connecticut. His research focus is Noh Theater, and he has published articles and co-authored a book about the works of Noh Master Tsumura Reijiro. His new research topic is the history of early study abroad students from Japan in the United States. As extra-curricular activities, he helped and organized on-campus events of Japanese woodblock prints, Taiko music, Asian-American films, and Japanese Theater.

Personal Statement: I presented my paper at the PAMLA conference for the first time in 2007. In 2011, when I returned as a presenter and a presiding officer, I was amazed by the growth of the conference. There were many presentations relevant to my interests, and I enjoyed the conversations with fellow educators, not only about research, but also about common issues associated with language and cultural studies at the college level. I am especially interested in the connection between Asian and Asian-American Studies and its cultural and social relevance to second language acquisition. If I were chosen to be one of executive committee members, I would like to commit myself to the continuous growth of PAMLA.

EVA NÚÑEZ MÉNDEZ is Professor of Spanish Linguistics at Portland State University, in Oregon, USA. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Salamanca (Spain) in 1998. She has taught linguistics, literature and translation courses at various universities in Europe and the US, including Middlebury College (Vermont), the University of Houston (Texas), Hope College (Michigan), the National University of Ireland (Galway), and the University of Portsmouth (England). Her fields of research focus primarily on theoretical linguistics (phonetics, syntax and history of Spanish language) and on applied linguistics (text analysis and translation). She has published three books: Fundamentals of the History of the Spanish Language (2012 Yale Univ. Press), Fundamentals of Spanish Phonetics and Phonology, (2005 & 2012 2nd ed., Lincom), and Spanish Version of Troilus and Cressida: a bilingual translation (2008 Edwin Mellen Press). She has also published numerous articles in peer review journals in linguistics and text analysis.

Personal statement: Being part of the PAMLA Executive Committee will allow me to devote more time and effort to advocating for the conference’s philosophy of ameliorating intellectual interaction in the West Coast academic forum. Since my first PAMLA in 2004, I have realized how important this annual meeting is for fostering interdisciplinary dialogue in the multiple fields of literature, linguistics, culture and other humanities disciplines as well. I have a strong belief in the Association’s roots–its mission to bring together scholars from diverse places to share in an exchange of expertise and promote ongoing interaction, for the advancement of education and forging a vibrant academic community in this part of the country. The gathering’s increasing growth during these challenging times is a testimony to its adeptness as an organization in its sense of direction and flexibility in modernizing and staying abreast of new developments as they arise.