Our former Spanish student, Ahmed Abdullah, recently sent us a wonderful email to thank our faculty and highlight the importance of the Spanish language in his daily clinic practice. We are happy to share his email here, with his consent:I’m emailing as a former student in the SPN minor, and a current 2nd year dental student at Stony Brook. Every single day that I have been in clinic, I have been asked to speak in Spanish with a patient. Whether calling for appointment changes, helping with taking a history, or determining a chief complaint, the skills of fluency and linguistic navigation I learned from your great professors have been massive. 

A stray thought that I had yesterday was:”Wow, I use my Spanish classes on a day to day basis in clinic WAY more than I use my biology classes”. 

Aside from simply making me a better Spanish speaker, my experiences in your classes have made me a more well-rounded and educated person. From the higher-level classes (particularly as a result of conversations with my classmates), I have become much more intimately aware of Hispanic culture, which strengthens me with understanding these patients massively. The point of this email ultimately is to let you all know what a positive difference you have made in my, and my current and future patients’ lives. 

Thank you.

Ahmed Abdullah, D.D.S Candidate, Class of 2026, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine

As part of the activities commemorating 50^th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government of Salvador Allende that marked the beginning of the Pinochet’s 17-year-long dictatorship in Chile, our doctoral student Samuel Espíndola and Prof. Javier Uriarte organized a visit to the exhibition Chile: Dignidad, 1973-2023, by the New York-based artist María Verónica San Martín (Santiago, 1981) at Fordham University’s Lipani Gallery. A group of PhD students from the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature had the privilege of walking through the exhibition guided by the curator, Prof. Carl Fischer (Fordham University), and the artist herself.

Photo 1: Artist María Verónica San Martín in Lipani Gallery, Fordham University.

Fischer introduced the group to the logic behind organizing an art exhibition such as this one, where recent events seem to be filled with echoes of past violences, charging the words used to described them, sometimes in opposite directions. For example, during the 2019 social uprising (also known as Estallido or Revuelta) against the authoritarian government of Sebastián Piñera (2018-2022), “Dignidad” (dignity) was one of the emblematic words used in chants and famously in the unofficial renaming of the Baquedano Squarehere demonstrators used to gather. However, this word appears also in the name of Colonia Dignidad, “an insular, autarchic, fundamentalist, totalitarian compound in southern Chile”[1], an enclave populated by Germans since 1961 whose leader was the former Nazi Paul Schäfer and where systematic sexual abuse was committed. During the dictatorship, the Colonia was engaged in intimate collaboration with the military regime. In 1991, once the dictatorship ended, the name was changed to Villa Baviera; its residents were free to go but the place remained a controversial site due to numerous national and international judicial cases.

San Martín discussed in detail her creative process (including some learning and discoveries made during her formative years that led her to the U.S.), the assembling of pieces in the exhibition, spanning years of work and different materials, from book art, drawings, engravings, sculpture, to performance. Since direct interaction with the materials is an essential part of her work, the artist manipulated them, allowing us to see different ways to fold and unfold the books. Thus, the group could learn about the documentary and artistic research behind the exhibition and, ultimately, how it is shaped by San Martín’s own experience as a Chilean artist working in the aftermath of the dictatorship (not being a firsthand witness) and living in the USA during the flagrant Human Rights violations that occurred between 2019 and 2020, which inevitably brings reminiscence of the country’s turbulent past.

The visit ended with San Martín’s demonstration of how one the sculptures was used in an art and sound installation with a performance, also titled “Dignidad,” based on secret telephone documents about Colonia Dignidad found in 2012 by the ex-settler and activist Winfried Hempel and now kept in the National Archives of Chile. The piece is a modular metal structure that can be assembled as a box, a cross, a tunnel, a square, and has been presented in several venues by the artist and different performers in Chile, Netherlands, Canada, the US, and Germany.

Photo 2: Prof. Fischer (right, with hat) and HLL Stony Brook University graduate students and Prof. Uriarte (front).

[1] Fischer, “Feminist Re-Mappings of Colonia Dignidad as Antifascist Praxis”, Dismantling the nation: Contemporary art in Chile, ed. Florencia San Martín, Carla Macchiavello Cornejo, and Paula Solimano. Amherst College Press, 2023.

Blog post by by Samuel Espíndola

Hispanic Languages and Literature is extremely glad  to welcome Lina Quiroz, our new Staff Assistant. Lina will be helping our undergraduate students and faculty to navigate our Spanish courses and requirements. She will also be assisting in all matters related to the new program in Native American Indigenous Studies (NAIS),  housed in our department.

You can come Mondays to Fridays to our main office in Humanities 1055 and talk to Lina in person, in English or Spanish.  Here is a brief interview we did with her last week to know a bit more about her career and interests:

¡Bienvenida, Lina! You have a long experience working in the education industry, can you tell us more about your background before joining Stony Brook?

During my college years, I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Romance Languages. Seeking a more practical path, I transitioned into the field of immigration law, taking on the role of an immigration paralegal in New York City. As life evolved with the arrival of my first child, my professional focus shifted towards opportunities closer to home in Queens, leading me to secure a position at St. John’s University as a Senior Secretary of the Associate Dean of Global Initiatives. Within a year, I progressed to the role of Coordinator of Global Initiatives at The Peter J. College of Business, where I played a crucial role in managing the global programs within the college. This experience laid the foundation for my subsequent promotion to Assistant Director of Global Programs. In this role, I spearheaded the management of the Global Destination Course Program, involving embedded courses with travel components, and contributed to the success of GLOBE (Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs), a student managed academic program that provides small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries.

My journey has always been fueled by a passion for international studies and cross-cultural experiences. Now, finding myself in a role at Stony Brook within the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature, I feel a profound sense of coming full circle in my professional endeavors.

Did you have any previous contact with Stony Brook?

After earning my degree from Hunter College (CUNY) in New York City, I became familiar with the SUNY schools, among which Stony Brook stood out as a prominent research university. Its reputation for significant advancements in the sciences and health industry piqued my interest. While recently delving into my research on Long Island universities, I discovered that Stony Brook not only excelled in the sciences but also boasted outstanding programs in the Arts, Sciences, Engineering, and Business. Discovering that Stony Brook University holds the prestigious position as the top-ranked SUNY institution in the state also made a lasting impression on me.

What were your first impressions of our campus and department?

When arriving to campus, I didn’t realize the physical size of the University is so enormous. I have heard of Stony Brook being its own little city, and now I understand why. The numerous buildings and housing structures along with the prestigious hospital are impressive. There is a real university spirit, and you sense that as you drive through the manicured pathways of the university. I find the Hispanic Languages and Literature department to be a warm and welcoming department. Everyone I meet is genuinely nice and there is an energy of eagerness to learn. There is also a notable passion in the faculty and staff that reminds me of my undergraduate days as a language major.

What do you love to do in summer or when you are not busy working?

I proudly wear the hats of a soccer, lacrosse, and dance mom, constantly shuttling between games, practices and recitals with my family. We love to travel and experience new cultures. When international journeys aren’t feasible, we like to explore areas in our own region. Having grown up in Queens and currently residing in Nassau County, the eastern part of Long Island remains uncharted territory for me. This summer, my plan is to explore what the East End has to offer while creating lasting memories with my family.

I also pride myself in creating a meal that brings friends and family together. Cooking is my heartfelt expression, a way to show love. I enjoy making Latin and Mediterranean dishes, but I like to explore various ethnic flavors. In the summers, you will always find us in the backyard spending time with friends and family alongside an open flamed grill as the music plays in the background. As a native Colombian, my culinary skills focus on Latin-American cuisine, including my favored arepas and sancocho. The comforting Latin dishes I make while listening to salsa music and sipping on strong coffee fills our home with the lively essence of our culture.